The real estate industry gets accused of its slimy tactics quite frequently, and it is well deserved – you really should Get Good Help!
In a last-ditch effort to survive, the red team went into the rental business recently. Here they have been publishing a ‘corporate rental’ that has been fed to them by Rently – who has ‘refreshed’ their listing a couple of times:
So then this real estate broker and mortgage licensee from the Bay Area comes along and steals the photos and advertises 4100 El Arbol (not 5100) on this slimy ‘national MLS‘ at a ridiculously low for-sale price (about HALF of the actual value).
The Z team – no stranger to the real estate slime – picks up their feed and is now advertising it publicly:
Hat tip to realtor Tanya who alerted me to this fraud! She contacted them yesterday to report it and was told that they would remove it right away. But as of this morning, it is still an active listing:
Why would a long-time real estate broker from San Jose bother to devise this concoction? He must be selling leads to realtors – another slimy part of the business. I get 2-3 solicitations every day from people who want to give me leads and all I have to do is cut them in on the commission (I ignore them).
Here’s an example:
Here’s how it turned out (plus cases against Capital One and a Berkshire-owned mortgage company):
In the post-settlement world where agents are expected to prove their value, Compass will soon unveil a new client-facing portal that it says will streamline the transaction process for buyers and sellers while also helping its agents build more business.
The new portal is being introduced as Compass continues to pushagents and consumers toward its private listings channel — betting on a future where the hotly contested Clear Cooperation Policy is repealed.
An all-in-one interface for buyers and sellers
According to Rory Golod, Compass’ president of growth and communications, the portal — dubbed Compass One — is “the first of its kind” in the industry, allowing an agent and client to work together through the entire transaction. The brokerage has also called the product, which it developed fully in-house, “the #1 most requested piece of technology” for agents and clients. Compass built it out in phases, Golod said, starting with the agent tools and then creating Compass One.
“It’s interesting that in other advisory businesses — whether it’s banking, accounting or other businesses — you log into a portal,” he explained to Real Estate News. “If you work with a private wealth manager, you go to their portal, you see all your assets, your communications, and your documents.”
The platform offers a detailed timeline of the buying and selling process along with the expected timing for each step. Service providers such as mortgage brokers or inspectors “live in here too,” Golod said.
But bringing the client, agent and other professionals together isn’t the only thing the new platform does. It also integrates the company’s “3-phase marketing strategy” where agents are encouraged to pitch sellers on the Compass Private Exclusives channel first and the Compass Coming Soon channel second before going to the open market. The company formally launched this strategy last November.
“Taking a listing and just throwing it on the MLS and aggregators on the first day you launch it without getting any feedback from the market, understanding if you’re priced right, understanding what the demand is and building up interest — you’re not serving your clients’ best interests,” Golod explained.
Currently, Compass has about 5,500 Private Exclusive listings, a spokesperson said.
One of the first tasks for sellers and their agents in the One Compass portal is to discuss the Compass Private Exclusives channel. Golod said the push toward private listings puts regular home sellers on the same footing as “homebuilders, celebrities and ultra-high-net worth clients” who often sell their homes off the MLS, and it helps sellers avoid “negative insights that hurt their value” such as days on market and price reductions.
All of the listings mentioned above were listed in the MLS and available for buyer-agents to sell. But where are they? Realtors will tolerate the current policy for a while longer, but we don’t like it either – and though the MLS used to be the ideal solution for all involved, those days are behind us now. For many agents, representing buyers is more trouble than its worth.
Remember a couple of years ago when I started predicting that buyer-agents will go away?
This is it – it’s happening right in front of us, and nothing will stop it.
Being realistic is a great place to start. Virtually every realtor promises to find you a ‘dream home’, and it’s easy to believe that there must be a perfect home out there, no matter the price range.
The perfect homes start at $10 million though. If you are in that range, I will find you a dream home!
Everyone else will have to kiss a few frogs to help narrow the search to homes that are suitable.
Here are a few quick ideas to help qualify the homes you see:
You will be considering older homes that could use some work. Only consider buying the homes that have at least HALF of the necessary remodeling already completed. Unless it has a spectacular location or other premium feature, then make sure the seller has given you a quality head start on the remodeling.
Expect to spend $25,000 to $50,000 on any house you buy. It changes the mindset from searching for the perfect home to a realistic hunt for where you will spend the money to add your personal touches to someone else’s home.
If this purchase might be your forever home, then insist on at least 2,000sf.
Compromise is part of the package. But limit your compromises to one or two only. If you find yourself seeing more than two things you don’t like, then this home ain’t for you. Importantly, this isn’t the last home for sale – there will be othesr!
The preferred features to consider in your search: location, private, sunny backyard, interior with natural light, larger functional kitchen, one-story, view or visual openness, 3-car garage, bedroom suite downstairs, possible forever home.
Hat tip to Jorge who sent in this interview with Jeffrey Gundlach, the prominent bond trader who speculates with confidence on the Fed’s half-point cut and what it means for the markets. He speaks quite knowledgeably about everything except the future of the housing market, which he called the ‘wild card’ for the economy.
This video starts where he says that he expects another 3/4% Fed cut this year, and then housing:
He said that none of us really know what’s going to happen……but let’s use math to predict the future.
My Theory:
It’s the HIGHER HOME PRICES that are locking in the current homeowners, not mortgage rates.
Everyone who bought a home before 2022 is enjoying a bonanza of new-found equity. Let’s use the 2019 buyer for an example. They hit the jackpot to buy a regular home for $1,300,000 back then, and now it’s worth around $2,385,000 – wow, an extra million dollars of equity, just like that!
Some may have a good reason to move, and they are DREAMING about using their same equity, and same mortgage amount to buy up and live with a slightly-higher rate.
But they can’t buy a much-better house for $2,385,000 – they already own a similar-sized house! The old house that was worth $1,300,000 is now $2,385,000. So they have to spend more to make it worth moving.
My rule-of-thumb is 50% more, or $3,577,500.
But let’s say that they work with a really sharp, experienced realtor and find a home that makes it worth moving for $3,200,000 and use ALL of their equity from the old house after closing costs:
Let’s also point out that in California the property taxes would go up an additional $1,742 per month, so the $11,345 + $1,741 = $13,086 MORE PER MONTH to move to a better home in the same area. Even if rates were to drop to 3.5%, the combined P&I+T = $10,713 per month.
“You’re killing me, Jim – aren’t there any other alternatives?” Yes, there are two:
Buy a smaller, crappier house in the same area.
Move out of town.
That’s it, or throw down another $1,000,000 in cash to keep the loan amount down where it was.
What does it mean for the 2025 market?
Mortgage rates should be lower than they are today, and probably in the mid-5%s. There will be a new president, and all the wait-and-see buyers who were determined to see the Fed cut rates before venturing out again will be storming the streets en masse. Those first-time buyers and out-of-towners are used to these prices now and will succumb.
What about the supply? We will have a similar number of deaths, divorces, and job-transfers (The Big Three) who always sell every year. Will those who bought a home since 2022 who made a mistake and bought the wrong house be motivated to sell? Not unless they can buy something at least equal or better – the ego can’t take a step down, so they may just refi to a lower rate instead.
But those who already own a house here will appreciate it even more, because once they look around, they will realize that their existing home will have to last them forever – they’re not moving!
The new rules don’t allow the MLS to publish on active listings how much buyer-agent commission is being offered by the seller and listing agent. But in a strange quirk, the CRMLS – the biggest MLS in California covering about half of the state – now requires that when marking a listing sold, the listing agents have to publish how much compensation was paid to the buyer-agent.
Since August 17th, there have been 173 NSDCC closed sales, and 54 of them published the buyer-agent compensation paid (CRMLS and SDAR are the competing associations/MLS companies in the county, and SDAR doesn’t require these stats from listing agents).
Of the 54 sales who published the amount paid, here is the breakdown:
2.5%: 25(46%)
2.25%: 4(7%)
2.0%: 20(37%)
1.5%: 2(4%)
1.0%: 1(2%)
Zero: 1(2%)
This is roughly the same mix that we’ve seen since April when I first started logging the commission rates being offered by the listing agents. We will follow this trend because buyers deserve to know the chances of them having to pay some or all of the commission to their buyer-agent.
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I have every intention of persuading the seller and listing agent to pay my buyer-agent fee.
In the event that we get stuck with an unreasonable seller/listing agent who insists on paying little or nothing – and the buyer doesn’t want to pay either – then I’m not going to hold you to it. I’m going to turn you over to the listing agent and bow out gracefully, if you don’t mind, because Donna doesn’t work for free (she plugs in once we have an accepted offer).
Why would I be willing to work for free for weeks or months? Because that risk has always been part of the buyer-agent environment – historically, we have always risked spending our time without any promise of getting paid. It’s the main reason why we deserve good compensation – it is risky. I will take my chances that I can get the seller and listing agent to come around, and/or have the buyer recognize and appreciate our services enough that I’ll get paid. If not, then fine.
The lawyers think we should do more to prove our worth, so I’ll mention our recent sales where we represented the buyers.
Some may think we are too busy to help them or have other pre-conceived ideas, but hopefully these will help to demonstrate our ability to assist buyers. I encourage every buyer and seller to review an agent’s Zillow account to examine their sales plus reviews – here is a link to ours.
1. The sellers were getting divorced and we thought their price was attractive for a good-looking home in a premium south-facing location so we offered full price, and they took it.
2. Our buyers wanted to purchase a single-story turnkey home with view for less than $1,000,000 – which is getting harder and harder to accomplish. This had a new kitchen and primary bathroom, so our folks installed new hardwoods to complete the full package.
3. Our buyer completed a 1031 exchange with this groovy 2br condo west of the freeway in downtown Carlsbad. We made cash offers and lost out on six other properties before finally landing this gem:
4. Getting a house this size in Carmel Valley for this money has only happened four times this year – and one of those was an off-market sale, and another was one of the goofy Harcourt auctions:
I cover all price points and areas, and my specialty is identifying the less-obvious concerns while we are at the home or by video – which works great if you are busy or out-of-town.
I do all the showings and negotiate the contracts myself, and then Donna takes over. Once the home inspection is complete, she gets quotes for anything that needs attention and then goes to work on the sellers so they pay part or all of the expense.
I don’t think I’ve ever sold an actual ‘dream’ home. My buyers typically get a premium property at an attractive price – and I tell every buyer to expect to spend $25,000 to $50,000 on any house you buy!
Whenever I have a buyer who loses out on a bidding war, I try to get them right back on the horse. Thankfully, there are several houses sitting around that aren’t not selling in the $3 million range, so we made another offer yesterday.
First, I went to the open house and discussed for 30 minutes the state of the market (soft and picky), the good and bad features of the home, the sellers’ motivation, and generally built rapport with the listing agent who I had never met.
His listing of a 5,000sf tract home on a smaller lot has been for sale since April.
I mentioned that people don’t need a house this big. Buyers would rather spend less on a house that still suits their needs without the extra bedrooms, library, wine tasting room, etc. He mentioned that he had comps, and I pointed out that nobody else is coming to the open house. The market has changed.
The list price is $3,598,000.
We offered $3,150,000 with closing in two weeks.
I mentioned in my email that since the sellers had paid $2,100,000 in 2020, that they would experience 50% appreciation in four short years, or 100% cash-on-cash return on their $1 million down payment when they bought it, which is unheard of in the history of real estate.
He called me this morning.
He said that they are willing to counter $3,575,000, or $23,000 below list.
Don’t think that this market is going to get easier. The amount, and the quality of help will be going down further with the new rules. It will make it harder and harder to put deals together.
This will probably be the day that the real estate world changes forever. It will end up being the day that more paperwork buried the participants, which we’ll get through but it will take a few months before consumers get comfortable with it.
I’d like to memorialize the day with a story from the field. I mentioned that we made an offer last Sunday on a hot new listing in Carlsbad. We finally had a conclusion yesterday.
My buyer offered $3,730,000, which was $230,000 over the list price, and had an 80% down payment.
We lost.
We found out when the auto-notification was received that it had been marked pending. We had to wait for five days, and that’s how it ended – nice.
Those who think it looks easy to just go out and buy a house without any help, good luck to you. It is probably easier these days to buy an overpriced house that has been on the market for weeks, but if you want a good buy, don’t be surprised if it is hotly contested. For the rest of time.
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.
jesus a sahagun
2024-11-10
Verified
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.
SabihaPasha
2024-07-22
Verified
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!
dodyfrancis
2024-07-10
Verified
I appreciate Jim & Donna's great teamwork, sound advice, and guidance that eased the stress of selling our Carlsbad home. Their professional input and assistance throughout the process was very helpful. Highly recommended!
sbisachsen
2024-07-10
Verified
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...
user19164788
2024-06-21
Verified
We recently had the pleasure of working with Jim and Donna from Klinge Realty Group to sell our house, and we couldn't be more satisfied with the experience. From the initial meeting, they listened attentively to our needs and provided invaluable guidance on specific improvements to get our home market ready.
Their responsiveness throughout the entire process was truly impressive. Anytime we had questions or concerns, they were quick to address them, ensuring we felt comfortable and informed every step of the way. What stood out the most was their team and extensive network of tradespeople, which made addressing any necessary repairs or updates seamless and stress-free.
Thanks to their expertise and dedication, our house sold quickly and at a great price. We highly recommend Jim and Donna to anyone looking to buy or sell a home. They are a fantastic team who truly care about their clients and deliver exceptional results.
cali4neal
2024-05-07
Verified
We had a wonderful experience buying our home with Donna and Jim! In particular I was very impressed with their efficiency and support through the purchase process. As we were doing the walk through, Donna started contacting roofers, plumbers, aircon, electricians, etc for all the areas we needed potential repairs - by the time we were done with the walk through appointments were already set up to get estimates for all the major services. When we had to change an appointment, or couldn't make one, Donna was there to arrange things to fit our schedule. Even after we closed on our home, Donna helped set up the repairs we needed before move in day. They truly went above and beyond to deliver exceptional service. I'll be calling them for our next home!
zuser20160809095816651
2024-03-16
Verified
The sale of our home exceeded our expectations - Jim and Donna Klinge are the best!
We’ve followed Jim’s Bubbleinfo blog since the 2006 housing bubble. After he helped us buy in 2017 we stayed in touch and Team Klinge were the obvious choice when it came time to move. They guided us through the preparation of the house, including a kitchen refresh - Donna and Lisa skillfully managed the various contractors for us after we had moved out of state. Donna’s excellent attention to detail and regular communication made the whole process run smoothly from a distance.
Jim’s market knowledge, expert negotiating skills and candid opinions, together with Donna’s responsive communications and problem solving, set them in a league of their own.
Highly recommended!
bourmakin
2024-02-09
Verified
Jim and Donna have exceeded my expectations with sale of my house. It was best experience with house sale. Professional, responsive, superior negotiating skills. I would recommend them with 5 star (I would give them even more than max) rating. Sale of my house was closed for really good price in 10 days. Jim and Donna perfectly handled house preparation for sale. Thanks a lot!!!
user1916779
2023-11-17
Verified
Jim and Donna have exceeded my expectations and made my most recent move back to California go so much more smoothly than I expected. Jim’s Bubbleinfo blog was full of useful information about the current market conditions. His experience helped us make a successful offer for the home we wanted in a desirable neighborhood. After the purchase Donna organized the work we needed done in the house without us having to make an additional trip. We were pretty worried when we started searching for real estate that not being in the area was going to makes things really difficult but Jim and Donna made the process so much easier. I enthusiastically recommend them.
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