This house in Carmel Valley was listed since May, 2011, and by the end of the year the price was down to $999,000 – but no takers. They went off-market for renovations in February and March, 2012, and came back on priced at $1,150,000. After 25 days, it went pending!
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Jim Klinge
Klinge Realty Group
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Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Jim & Donna Klinge helped us sell our home of 30 years in Ocean Hills. We were very happy with their service and would HIGHLY recommend them to anyone looking for an Honest, Knowledgeable, Skilled, Informed Efficient realty team. Both Jim & Donna were so helpful in different ways and complemented each others skills. Please refer to a more detailed review that we wrote on YELP. Thank You Both for all your help!!!Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. A+ thank youTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Many years ago, we purchased a home in Carlsbad, using a realtor that was recommended to us - Jim Klinge. Fast forward to 2025, we recently had the privilege of selling 2 homes in Carlsbad, CA and didn't hesitate to reach out to Jim and Donna Klinge of Klinge Realty Group to guide us through the sales. The transactions were very different, each with its own unique situation, opportunities and challenges. From start to finish, Donna and Jim helped navigate the pre-sale preparation, the listing, showing of the house, buyer negotiations, the final close and all of the paperwork and decisions in between. What stands out with both transactions is the professionalism of Jim and Donna (and their team), wonderful communication (timely, relevant, concise), their deep understanding of market dynamics (setting realistic expectations), their access to top-notch contractors, and last, their ability to guide us across the finish line successfully. We wouldn't hesitate to use Jim and Donna in the future and highly recommend them for anyone looking to buy or sell a property in North San Diego County.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. We sold a home with Jim and Donna and from beginning to end they were consummate professionals. Their initial walk through the property resulted in a list of items to be repaired or updated. They supplied a list of vendors and job quotes to do the repairs and updates. We originally wanted to sell ‘as is’ and just get it over with. They gave us a selling price for ‘as is’ and options for doing a few updates/repairs to doing it all with the selling price for each option. We agreed to do all they suggested and we sold for the exact price they predicted. For every dollar spent we got back more than $2 back in the selling price. And they got that price in a rising interest rate environment! Donna and Jim are extremely detailed and guide you through ever aspect of the sale. There were no surprises thanks to their guidance. We couldn’t be more pleased with their representation. Thank you Donna and Jim, Jerry and MaryTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. We have known Jim & Donna Klinge for over a dozen years, having met them in Carlsbad where our children went to the same school. As long time North County residents, it was a no- brainer for us to have the Klinges be our eyes and ears for San Diego real estate in general and North County in particular. As my military career caused our family to move all over the country and overseas to Asia, Europe and the Pacific, we trusted Jim and Donna to help keep our house in Carlsbad rented with reliable and respectful tenants for over 10 years. Naturally, when the time came to sell our beloved Carlsbad home to pursue a rural lifestyle in retirement out of California, we could think of no better team to represent us than Jim and Donna. They immediately went to work to update our house built in 2004 to current-day standards and trends — in 2 short months they transformed it into a literal modern-day masterpiece. We trusted their judgement implicitly and followed 100% of their recommended changes. When our house finally came on the market, there was a blizzard of serious interest, we had multiple offers by the third day and it sold in just 5 days after a frenzied bidding war for 20% above our asking price! The investment we made in upgrades recommended by Jim and Donna yielded a 4-fold return, in the process setting a new high water mark for a house sold in our community. In our view, there are no better real estate professionals in all of San Diego than Jim and Donna Klinge. Buying or selling, you must run and beg Jim and Donna Klinge to represent you! Our family will never forget Jim, Donna, and their whole team at Compass — we are forever grateful to them.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. WeI had the pleasure of working with Klinge Realty Group to sell our home in Carmel Valley, and I cannot recommend them highly enough! Jim and Donna demonstrated exceptional professionalism, offering expert guidance on market conditions and pricing strategy, which resulted in a quick and successful sale. Communication was prompt and we were well-informed throughout the entire process. For anyone looking for a dedicated and knowledgeable real estate team, look no further! ---Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Donna and Jim Klinge of Klinge Realty Group have our highest possible recommendation. From Donna and Jim’s first visit to our house through closing their advice and counsel was candid and honest in all dealings. They kept us fully informed throughout the process. The house sold less than three days after listing with a two-week closing. My wife and I have sold several houses during our lives. This was by far the best experience. Klinge Reality is a premium service realtor. You can’t make a better choice for someone to sell your home fast and for top dollar.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Donna and Jim provided exceptional support and professionalism throughout the entire process. We couldn't have been happier with their efforts. They made our house shine, and thanks to their expertise, it sold above the listing price in the very first weekend! Truly a fantastic experience from start to finish.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. This year has been difficult on our family, mainly due to having to sell our home. Thankfully we knew God had a plan for us and working with the Klinge team was a key part of it. It was an obvious decision to work with them again after such an amazing experience when purchasing the same home we needed to sell. The challenge was, how will we do this in so little time with so much going on? Jim and Donna held our hand every step of the way. Whenever an unexpected issue arose they found and provided a solution. Never once did we feel pressured to make a decision and the Klinges were always reassuring after providing the information that the decision was ours to make. Despite the curve balls, they never panicked and exemplified the “can do” attitude, making us feel optimistic and taken care of. Their expertise and professionalism was superb. But of all the reasons to work with the Klinges, the most impactful and valuable is their compassion and genuine care for their clients. We pray that we can one day purchase our forever home and you better believe that Jim and Donna will be representing us - as long as they will have us of course. Thank you again Klinge team! Your execution, experience, and care are unmatched.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Jim and Donna were fantastic! Jim understanding my needs, recommending potential places, pointing out the pros and cons of each property was invaluable. Then when the offer was accepted Donna’s organized guidance through the inspections, paperwork etc made the whole process seem effortless. So grateful that I had them on my side!Load more
looks so much better. Any guess what they spent doing the improvements?
I kind of like the “before”–except for the black carpet. I’m a sucker for checkerboard. Of course, a million dollars for “vintage” 80s does seem unreasonable.
Less than $50k sounds about right. You can get travertine for real cheap these days, $2-3/sqft, the labor approx $5/sqft. Assuming $8/sqft, with approx 1200 sqft, that’s $10k. Carpeting should not be that much, assuming $5/sqft for rest of the house , that’s $12k. Let’s just assume kitchen granite plus appliance is another $10k. And paint for the house is another $5k.
Total of $37k. I’ll assume they went with their agent’s recommended reno team, so I’ll add another $10k for grand total of less than $50k.
Not bad in regard to investment.
I think the smoke smell would kill it for me more than anything. I take it that they got rid of that smell completely?
I think it’s more the timing than the upgrades, things have improved some since 2011. I don’t want to believe that people will pay $100k extra so they don’t have to go through opening a phone book and offering some contractor $50k to make their house presentable.
I think part of it is many buyers don’t have an extra 50k for the renovations after scraping together a down payment. If the seller does it, it lets the buyer roll it into the mortgage, making it much more friendly.
If you do buy with the idea of doing some work, you separate yourself from all these people and get a better final product for less money.
The sellers lost out on another 50k for not bringing the Frog Jockey back.
I can see leaving the MBR tile. If you like what you see so far, by the time you get upstairs, you are thinking, oh, nothing to redo here except this bath and I can do it how I like, so big deal, what’s an extra $10,000-$15,000 whatever which I can do whenever. I’ll take it!
It’s kind of like what the cake mix manufacturers discovered 50 years ago when the premade cake mixes weren’t selling and market researchers discovered that housewives felt a little guilty dumping the mix out of the box and adding water to bake a cake when a “real” cake from a “real” Mom was made was scratch.
So what was the solution? Let them add an egg to the mix! Then they felt like they were actually baking and maybe a little less guilty for buying that mix box instead of working from scratch.
Leaving just the master bath tile is kind of like that egg. The buyer can think, OK, I want a house that’s basically done since I don’t have time to work from scratch, but I would like to personalize it just a little bit. Oh, look! I can add my own touch with tile in the master bath. Perfect!
@ profhoff
Haha, that’s a good point. Something small and easy that the buyer will claim as their own. 🙂