Eddie89 has been one of my all-time favorite contributors here at the blog, having left dozens of comments over the last three years – thank you for your insights! I appreciate the testimonial too, and publish it below to give Kayla and Donna their due props!
Since Zillow only allows me to write 1 review per real estate transaction, per team of agents we worked with, this is going to be a super long review.
Review on Jim Klinge: Jim Klinge is the quintessential real estate agent, the “broker’s broker” of real estate agents. My husband and I reached out to Jim for the purchase of our first home in North San Diego County. We emailed him on a Saturday night, received an email reply that same night and we were hitting open houses Sunday morning!
We also had a list of potential houses we were thinking about purchasing and Jim was able to expertly go through that list and eliminate the turkeys so that we wouldn’t be wasting our time and money. Due to the very competitive San Diego market, we were outbid on several of the houses we did like, before we finally hit pay dirt and found a home in excellent condition and more importantly, in an excellent location!
We highly recommend Jim Klinge to help you buy or sell your home!
Review on Kayla Klinge: We had the pleasure of working with Kayla through her dad, Jim Klinge. Kayla attended all of the home showings and helped dig up the details on each of the homes we were thinking of buying. Even though we were not looking at million dollar listings, Kayla made us feel like “million dollar” clients and her thoughtfulness and professionalism were instrumental in helping us choose the right home in the right location. She’s definitely going to be a superstar in the real estate industry!
Review on Donna Klinge: In a world where we’re seemingly surrounded by mediocrity, it was such a pleasure and refreshing change of pace to deal with a consummate professional like Donna Klinge!
After purchasing our first home in North San Diego County, Donna took full ownership of helping my husband and I navigate the gauntlet of paperwork we had to fill out with escrow and then deal with all the myriad contractors and inspectors to help get our new house fixed up. She was also instrumental in putting together the repairs estimate based on the findings of the home inspector, which resulted in the sellers reducing the sales price to help us with repairs.
We couldn’t have asked for a better team to help us purchase our first home in North San Diego County.
We have a new Instagram account to which both of us are contributing. Kayla noted that she got more followers to this account in one weekend than I’ve added to mine in 2+ years:
Here’s my new listing of a 180-degree view home in Calavera Hills, priced at $849,000. Carlsbad has been starved for lower-end inventory, yet not everything is selling – but this view should help!
Located at the end of the culdesac and within walking distance of schools K-8, this newer Brookfield home has hardwood floors, granite kitchen, downstairs bedroom and full bath, and lush landscaping with stamped-concrete patio!
Kayla and I will have open house 12-3pm Saturday March 18th – come on by!
Park-like estate with a stunning 5br + den, 4.5-bath single-level main house that was redesigned and extensively upgraded in 2009. The large but intimate great room has soaring wood-beam ceilings, wide-plank hardwood floors, and french doors that open wide to let the sunshine in! Pool/spa, 3-car garage, detached 2br guest house, lighted tennis court, detached office, RSF schools, no HOA, and the master suite was highly upgraded in 2016! The floor plan is perfect for multi-gen families, with a 2-bedroom wing on one-side with the master suite + 2 bedrooms on the other side! Plenty of room to spread out and enjoy the Ranch – horses OK too! $2,950,000
My wife Donna doesn’t get any publicity here on the blog, but she plays a vital role in the business. Here is a review of Donna’s recent performance:
Donna Klinge and her husband, Jim, are real estate partners. Jim is the ‘face’ of the agency, I believe — he runs new business, and is who you’d likely work with to find and secure your next home, or sell your next home. And he is fab; I will review him separately.
But I feel the key differentiating reason why one should work with Jim, is because of the over-delivery Donna provides once you are in escrow, and AFTER CLOSING (yes, she continues to work with you after escrow closes).
First, Donna handles all paperwork for your RE transactions the second you ID a property. Her level of organization and savvy exceeds anyone I’ve worked with — in any capacity, let alone real estate. But she goes so, so much further. I will give you my experience as example: My husband and I purchased 2 homes on 1 lot via Jim (which you will see in my review of Jim, I simply would have never found without him, I’m certain). We intend to make rental properties out of them, which is a new experience for us; and even in the best of circumstances, becoming instant landlords of multiple properties is daunting!
Donna handled the inevitable back and forth with the sellers (regarding repairs, timing, moving schedules, etc.) with such objectivity, fairness, and strong ethical consideration, I can only characterize it as admirable.
But on top of her combo objectivity/fairness/ethics, she works with productivity in mind, so every move she makes is done in such a savvy way — she gets what needs doing, done. I feel like I could apply the Donna Klinge Method of Work to my own profession, and my parenting, and be better off for it!
But here is the magic sauce of Jim and Donna. AFTER escrow has closed — a time when most agents have completely turned their attention to the ‘next deal,’ Donna stayed with me. She secured vendors for us for: carpet and baseboard replacement, painting, HVAC, ductwork, electrical, plumbing, etc. Anything the house needed, she helped me either get done, or got me multiple bids to look through. Everything we needed to get our house rental ready, Donna has helped with. Donna and Jim have such strong credibility with contractors I am certain I could not get these people out to our properties so quickly without their pull on my own. Even if I had the time to procure multiple bids myself, which I don’t, I never could have achieved what she did, in such a short period of time, with such high quality workers.
My family is deeply indebted to both Jim and Donna for helping us achieve a financial goal of ours that has been in the works since I started reading Jim’s blog in 2007. They have materially changed the course of our financial lives and I’m so appreciative, I’ve just written my first online review ever to show it 🙂
My new listing of a classic 1965 fourplex in the heart of the Alta Vista area near Brengle Terrace, and steps to the vibrant downtown Vista scene. The current income is $52,800/yr, and we’re listed for $899,000. After taxes, 10% management fee, and 10% vacancy, it’s a 4 cap.
I love my new Encinitas Highlands listing at 733 Stratford Drive, which is at the top of the hill and offers some of the best ocean views in EH! This is another property that is ideally suited for the multi-generational buyers because there are bedrooms and full baths on the ground floor plus a detached 1br/1ba cottage out back.
This is my first real tour of a house with the new camera (and because I’m trying to move slower and smoother), so this is the extended full version of the whole property:
"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 "
