Historically, buyer-agents haven’t really had to demonstrate their true value – most buyers just grab somebody they like. But now the buyer-agent compensation is going to be revealed in Washington, starting tomorrow – and it is inevitable that it will happen everywhere. Buyers making smarter decisions about who represents them is a great idea – hopefully they won’t select their realtor purely based on their rate! P.S. This is buyer-side only. I’m not sure the listing-agent rate will ever be public.
Starting immediately, the new rules will make it easier for homebuyers to figure out if their agent is only showing them houses offering a high buyer’s commission, said Greg Gans, a broker at Hardy Realty in Seattle who describes himself as “almost exclusively” a buyer’s agent.
“I know plenty of agents who see a 1% commission, and they’ll show the house, but they’ll say, ‘Oh, this is a problem, and you’re going to have to spend this amount of money on the kitchen,’” Gans said. “Brokers think of crafty ways to steer people away from homes where they’re not going to get the full commission. Or brokers may not put together the most competitive offer” on homes offering low commission.
In the long term, though, the change could lead to a system where buyers and sellers each compensate their own agent, said Windermere broker Russ Cofano, instead of funneling commission through the seller’s agent. That could make it less expensive to sell a home.
Let’s review what it takes to create a solid bidding war.
Maintain and improve your home constantly over the years.
Install a master bathroom like this!
3. List with Jim the Realtor for an attractive price, do $3,200 of staging, and take off for the weekend!
I inputted the listing at 8:30am on Saturday morning with professional photos, and got immediate results – over 100 people came to open house the same day.
Sunday’s open house had nearly as many people, and those who didn’t attend could watch my walk-around tour on video: https://youtu.be/LCEDYc4rkaQ
We’ve received EIGHT WRITTEN OFFERS (seven over list price), and going for more. Three showings set up for today, and Donna and I are fielding questions and encouraging higher bids all day long!
To ensure top dollar, we treat everyone fairly and give them every opportunity to bid up the price. The highest offer so far is $890,000, and others have said they are going higher so we raised the list price from $869,000 to $899,000 on the MLS for added exposure on the realtor hotsheet. I mentioned that we have eight offers too.
Want this kind of attention when selling your home? Hire Jim the Realtor!
The end-of-summer market feels similar to last year, with just a few more pendings over the last five weeks. In spite of the high prices, people don’t seem interested in selling much though.
There was a 13% drop in new listings, year-over-year:
NSDCC Last Five Weeks:
Year
New Listings
New Pendings
2018
434
246
2019
379
257
Diff
-13%
+4%
When is the best time to sell? When there is little or no competition, and rates are in the 3s!
This is one of the safer-looking areas along the Neptune bluff in Leucadia, due to the landslide in 1932 before the area was sub-divided. It gives this stretch some buffer!
This just closed for $3,075,000 full-price cash and 10-day escrow:
MLB star Manny Machado has swung for the fences in the Sunshine State, shelling out $11.3 million for a waterfront mansion in Coral Gables, Fla.
It’s a massive sum, but only about half of the estate’s original asking price of $22 million, records show.
The four-time All-Star is putting his new contract to good use. After a season with the Dodgers, Machado inked a 10-year deal with the Padres earlier this year worth $300 million. At the time, it was the largest free-agent contract in the history of North American sports.
Claiming an acre in the gated community of Tahiti Beach, the property overlooks Biscayne Bay with 121 feet of water frontage. The 8,300-square-foot home sits at the end of a spacious front lawn framed by palm trees.
I had 100+ people attend the open house today, which is a great response.
One of the attendees asked how I did it, and I said that I’ve been here before. When the market gets soft, you have to have both a good-looking property AND an attractive price.
Most of the houses you see for sale has one or the other. This property has both.
When buyers see an attractive listing online, they come running. I literally inputted this listing onto the MLS about 8:30 this morning. At noon we had three couples waiting.
There’s nothing wrong with the market – it’s fine! What’s wrong is your price or condition.
Are you looking for a quiet and private culdesac home with white kitchen and new master bath?
Then check out my new listing in RP! This 4br/3ba, 2,394sf house is 900ft above sea level and gets gentle breezes daily! Open floor plan, 3 full bathrooms, low-maintenance yard, central air conditioning and whole-house fans. The house and yard are great…..but wait until you see the dazzling new master bath! Great curb appeal too – with putting green in front yard!
Here’s a video tour of a recent LVP installation by Ken Calkin.
A commenter on the YouTube side thought that the wood tile is a better solution, but with tile you see the grout lines and have to maintain those over the years. The LVP looks like hardwoods!
"Jim the Realtor is legit - I interviewed three brokers; he said list price should be $100,000 higher than the other two brokers; listed it with him and had all cash (no financing) offer in two days, five day contingency period, closing in two weeks - and it closed at his recommended list price. I could not recommend anyone more than I recommend Jim the Realtor. more "
5.0/5.0
by gary t moyer
5315455
"When we moved to San Diego in 2005 we rented a big house on Mt. Soledad (La Jolla) with 180 degree ocean views for the same payment as a mortgage on a dump in Chula Vista. Clearly something was wrong. Yet, the media was full of the usual happy-talk nonsense, so I was glad to find Jim's blog. I've followed his honest assessments and data since. more "
5.0/5.0
by drp2drp
5315455
"Where do we begin..2020 has been a year for everyone. When COVID hit and shut down both my husband and my businesses, we were left with a mortgage and very little income coming in. We were stressed, scared and felt stuck. We made the hard decision to sell our home and move out of state. We contacted the Klinges' and spent a good hour going over what we hoped we could accomplish. Jim and Donna came over with comps in hand and suggestions on improvements to get our house ready for the market. It was overwhelming to think about, but Donna was there and one step ahead in every scenario. more "
5.0/5.0
by AmberleePiercy
5315455
"Jim and Donna Klinge made the sale of our condo extraordinarily easy. They know the market and gave us sound advice backed by details and very considerable experience, reflected both in the initial pricing and subsequent negotiations. They work together as a team and are always available to talk. more "
5.0/5.0
by WAH08
5315455
"I cannot believe there are no reviews of Donna yet, ugh!! She is the secret sauce of the Jim Klinge/Donna Klinge combo! I will touch on Jim here, but Donna is why I'm so totally loyal to these two (no offense to Jim :)).
I consider myself a rather savvy buyer/seller. I've bought/sold 7 times in more "
5.0/5.0
by bethamunce
4911411
"Jim and Donna Klinge are by far the most professional, personable and responsive realtors I have ever worked with. They provide VIP concierge level service in every area of the process of selling your home. My home was marketed so successfully that we received an offer the day after our first and only open house. Thanks to Jim's pricing and negotiating, our house is now the highest sold in our community... more "
5.0/5.0
by Ann Romanello
305973
"Jim educated us, helped us find the perfect house, and then negotiated us a great deal. I would hate to be sitting across the negotiating table from ... more "
5.0/5.0
by user6611938
332633
"Jim is thorough and will be brutally honest about the homes he shows you. He provides great service and follows through until the very end and even ... more "
5.0/5.0
by Melanie
351390
"I highly recommend Jim as a buyer’s agent. Working with Jim, we closed this week on a San Diego condo. Jim prepared a list of comparable sales to ... more "