The Good
The Klinge Realty Group operates like a finely tuned machine, with a very personal touch. We contacted them on a Sunday and they were talking to us about our family and our needs on our living room couch the following day. They carefully listened to us and worked with us to identify the best and quickest path to listing within 2 weeks to take advantage of the low inventory conditions in our South Carlsbad neighborhood. They knew our tract specifically and had many previous sales there over the years - they came prepared with a thorough analysis of comparative sales and recommended a pricing strategy that they felt confident would yield offers the first weekend on the market.
The Great
Over the next two weeks Donna coordinated a range of vendors who she knew from experience could get the preparation to list work we needed done on time and with high quality. Our light tune-up involved excellent experiences with their stagers, landscapers, contractors, electricians, and plumbers. Throughout this period Donna's daily communication was clear, concise, and responsive. Any time we had questions Donna picked up the phone or texted immediately - but almost always, she answered our questions before we even knew we had them.
The Outstanding
We had a tricky situation with a shared fence that could have delayed our escrow. Donna used superb mediation skills to negotiate the terms of replacement and was personally on site with the fence contractor to make sure everything went smoothly. The fence looks great and escrow closed on time.
The Truly Exceptional
Our house came on the market on a Wednesday and between then and Monday morning Jim was personally at all three open houses. He was in constant communication explaining potential buyer reaction and strength. As he predicted offers began to come in on Saturday and each one was incrementally higher than the last. At the end we had 5 offers, 4 of which were over list, and the final accepted offer was $100,000 over list. In addition to being over list it included rent back terms that met our needs.
The Recommendation
For all of these reasons we would strongly recommend The Klinge Team to anyone wanting to sell in North County Coastal San Diego. I had been reading Jim's blog for 15 years and knew when the time came to sell that he would be our first call. Jim Klinge is not your standard realtor. He is keenly aware of market conditions and sales strategies. And, works his tail off - though not as hard as Donna . At this point he's gone from realtor to friend and I plan to have him over to grill and chill at our new place to talk real estate, but also just about life and raising kids in San Diego. He's more interested in relationships than his sales numbers - and that's why his sales numbers are so high. We have already recommended the Klinge's to some close friends and another successful sale is on deck right around the corner...
SAN DIEGO — A Jamul man who ran an investment business that federal prosecutors said was a Ponzi scheme that defrauded some 300 investors was sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday.
Matthew “Beau” La Madrid was also ordered to pay $23.4 million in restitution, a sum his lawyer said in court papers filed for the sentencing he had no chance of repaying in full.
La Madrid pleaded guilty in January in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to commit mail, wire and bank fraud, and money laundering.
The charges stemmed from the Plus Money investment business he ran, as well as a real estate business that obtained millions in fraudulent loans. Some of the proceeds from those loans were used to fund the investment scheme that federal prosecutors said was itself bogus.
In all, La Madrid and several co-defendants solicited $39 million in funds from investors from 2004 to 2008. He said the money would be invested in a stock option trading program, and he promised returns of 2.5 percent to 6 percent per month.
While some investors got returns, the scheme eventually collapsed as the stock market crashed in 2007. During that time, La Madrid produced bogus account statements for investors showing the funds were profitable and trades were going well.
The net loss to all investors was about $12 million, according to a sentencing memorandum prosecutors prepared.
Many investors were encouraged by La Madrid and others indicted in the case to refinance their homes using a real estate business he also controlled. Some 94 fraudulent loan applications were submitted to private lenders and banks, securing $34 million in loans.
Investors were often steered toward loans that paid big commissions to La Madrid but were otherwise risky for borrowers. About $5 million of the loan proceeds to investors were put into the Ponzi scheme.
La Madrid lived lavishly, buying fancy cars, jewelry and other items. He lived in a 7,000-square-foot home in Jamul.
His lawyer, John Lemon, wrote in court papers that his client never intended to defraud investors. Instead, what started as a small investment club ballooned out of control and La Madrid got in over his head.
His brother, Lance La Madrid, also pleaded guilty to wire fraud and is to be sentenced next week.
Isn’t amazing how many of these stories try to show that the criminals had “no intent to defruad” but “things just got out of control” so, apparently, they simply “had to.” The state of moralality in these cases is sad, very sad.
But thank heavens we are finally bringing these crimials to trial!
Speaking of shady business, what ever happened to our buddy, Janae?
I think that (hole in kitchen) was once a wine fridge, not a trash compactor. Does anyone even buy those things anymore?
Seems like a nice deal. Good size, should be a good price per sf comp for others.