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...
That is one of the most poorly laid out houses I have ever seen. Small rooms, odd angles, and most of the bedrooms in the basement. The decor is appalling, or should I say “taste specific.” I don’t think it will sell unless a big discount for a complete redo is baked in.
It’s ‘custom’.
They paid $3.6 in Jan, 2006.
I’m inclined to agree with “Another Investor.” The house looks a bit creepy, it will not be cheap to redo the kitchen so it’s less “custom” and the basement is just a deal-killer in that price point.
Plus, how long will that sliver of ocean view last? Someone could build something to block it, right?
The location is awesome, but for $2.5+ million, I think people expect more than just square footage.
I like the house and, I don’t think it would be too hard to remove the umm, unique decor choices of the previous owner.
Refinishing the kitchen cabinets is a straight forward process that, speaking from personal experience, even a novice do-it-yourselfer could handle.
As for the master bath wallpaper, well, changing that is tedious but, also strait forward.
I will give you that the price is pretty steep and, I would have recommended to the owner that changing the kitchen cabinet and master bath wallpaper to a more neutral finish would help sell the property.
The location is amazing! You can hear the waves! But that’s all I liked about it.
I don’t disagree with you often, JtR, but without a huge price drop, I don’t think it’s gonna sell. Let’s see who’s right on this particular home. I’m guessing it will go for $1.995 million…
But $2.5 million is starter-home entry level for this neighborhood.
P.S. The 5 br/6 ba 7,304 sf Del Mar Castle built in 1926 on 2 acres across the street was sold by Tony R in 1998 for $2,100,000. It was on the market for six months, on the value-range $2.5 to $3.4.