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Old 11-03-2012, 07:32 PM
 
27 posts, read 50,347 times
Reputation: 40

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Yes, many real estate agents are weasels that collect a generous comission and do little to justify it. Yes, this is particularly true on the buyer side. Yet there are exceptions... I know because over the past few years I have had the pleasure of working with two such individuals who easily earn their keep.

Now I need to look in the greater San Diego area - either La Jolla/Del Mar/Pacific Beach/etc or in the city (Mission Hills, Hillcrest, and Kensington/Talmadge, South Park). Price range is up to $700k, 2+BR. Anyone had good experience with an agent they are willing to recommend? PM is fine if you don't want to do it in public, and yes I can keep my mouth shut if you ask so :-)

Thanks!
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Old 11-03-2012, 11:11 PM
 
Location: Mission Hills, San Diego
1,471 posts, read 3,328,770 times
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I think any recommendation should be through PM to you. this is your one and only message, it looks like spam, like all the other others ..." if only I could find a good carpet cleaner....house painter....car insurance company....investment opportunity..."
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Old 11-04-2012, 12:02 AM
 
27 posts, read 50,347 times
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This is what I think too, which is why I added the PM sentence. As for spam, yes, this is my first post here, but your attitude is a bit harsh. You never had a new member ask a question as his first post before? Just google this username and you will find me using it on many, many forums. No this is not spam but a fair question, if you can help please PM me, otherwise let me be :-)
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Old 11-04-2012, 01:25 AM
 
1,014 posts, read 1,562,947 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GroovyGeek View Post
Now I need to look in the greater San Diego area - either La Jolla/Del Mar/Pacific Beach/etc or in the city (Mission Hills, Hillcrest, and Kensington/Talmadge, South Park). Price range is up to $700k, 2+BR.
$700k in La Jolla, Del Mar, Kensington, Mission Hills, good luck with that. It will be an old, garbage property in need of massive upgrades or with hidden problems. Perhaps you'll squeak by with an apartment or condo, with hellish HOA fees.
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Old 11-04-2012, 02:03 AM
 
27 posts, read 50,347 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by USDefault View Post
$700k in La Jolla, Del Mar, Kensington, Mission Hills, good luck with that. It will be an old, garbage property in need of massive upgrades or with hidden problems. Perhaps you'll squeak by with an apartment or condo, with hellish HOA fees.
Yes, $700k is pushing it for a 3BR, maybe not so unrealistic for a smallish 2BR - the few that sometimes become available... or I am just deluded. This is why I am here, to learn, thanks for the advice. What would be reasonable neighborhoods to look into with these parameters within a 30 min commute of La Jolla?
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Old 11-04-2012, 09:58 AM
 
Location: Mission Hills, San Diego
1,471 posts, read 3,328,770 times
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Mission Hills and Kensington are possible, and the property might even be in fine condition too. The issue is that price range is very competitiive and inventory goes fast. Because inventory is diminished everywhere the listing agents want( more than ever )to sell their own listing, obviously for financial reasons. Which means they ignore/stall the buyers agent hoping they can get a better offer from an unaffiliated buyer.

Probably the most important thing is having an agent that is VERY responsive to you and everyone else so no time is lost, and opportunities for the deal to fall through. And while you should not make compromises you are not happy with, for low inventory reasons this is a sellers market, so in any of those neighborhoods, there will be many waiting in the wings for the deal to fall through...with cash offers in hand. So don't get hung up on small stuff (a few $1000)
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Old 11-04-2012, 10:30 AM
 
Location: 92037
4,630 posts, read 10,236,439 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Clevelandgal View Post
Mission Hills and Kensington are possible, and the property might even be in fine condition too. The issue is that price range is very competitiive and inventory goes fast. Because inventory is diminished everywhere the listing agents want( more than ever )to sell their own listing, obviously for financial reasons. Which means they ignore/stall the buyers agent hoping they can get a better offer from an unaffiliated buyer.

Probably the most important thing is having an agent that is VERY responsive to you and everyone else so no time is lost, and opportunities for the deal to fall through. And while you should not make compromises you are not happy with, for low inventory reasons this is a sellers market, so in any of those neighborhoods, there will be many waiting in the wings for the deal to fall through...with cash offers in hand. So don't get hung up on small stuff (a few $1000)

^^ This.

Anyone that has bought in the last 2-3 years has seen the glut of absolute garbage on the market and knowing they are going to wait in line once anything decent comes on.

IMHO its a sellers market right now. Well priced and updated homes can be in such short supply for more in demand zip codes that sellers, if they have something that shows well, really have the upper hand in bidding wars.
Buyers will just line up, cash in hand as Clevelandgal mentioned. Dont fool yourself either, if this keeps up and there are no changes in the lending environment, I see the prices continuing upwards, everywhere for turn key homes.

Here are a few suggestions:
Look on trulia's forums or zillow. See what kind of responses agents have for folks that have questions in the SD area. If the replies seem relatively intelligent, this might be a good sign.

If you are in the area, I would suggest looking up agents in a given neighborhood or zip code and popping in. Just talk to some and you will know if they know their stuff or not or are some wonky trainee.
Getting a great agent is priceless IMHO. Look for some agents that also have their own websites that appear to have a fair amount of experience. If you do a google search for a zip code and real estate agent blogs you should see some. See what they have to say.

San Diego is a unique place when it comes to RE due to age of houses and location. Educating yourself on neighborhoods, pros/cons of houses built during certain eras etc will only help you in the long run. This is where experienced agents really pay off. They can give you information that is priceless.
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Old 11-04-2012, 11:44 AM
 
27 posts, read 50,347 times
Reputation: 40
Thanks for the comments and suggestions. Yes, I understand that it is tough out there. Even in my current home market in the Northwest that is not nearly as competitive my house sold in a day for full price with an all-cash offer. And I agree that a good agent is priceless, I have some suggestions and will talk to these people.
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Old 11-04-2012, 12:39 PM
 
Location: Mission Hills, San Diego
1,471 posts, read 3,328,770 times
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If you are coming from out of area, I'd rent first to get a lay of the land. What looks good on paper or even a visit might not work in the long term.
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Old 11-07-2012, 01:36 AM
 
27 posts, read 50,347 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Clevelandgal View Post
If you are coming from out of area, I'd rent first to get a lay of the land. What looks good on paper or even a visit might not work in the long term.
Yes, that is the sane rational thing to do, except that I don't want to move again in six months. Moving is such a PITA. Given how tight the market is in San Diego, it is unlikely that I find something during the few days I will be there, so chances are I take your advice whether I want it or not.

As for your advice to watch out for self-dealing (agents representing both sides of a transaction), what an eye opener. I pulled a list of 840 sales over the past year from Redfin, then wrote a macro to extract the names of the listing and buyer's agent from the Redfin web page (they are the only ones who do that, albeit not in the spreadsheets they let you download). The list was much longer than expected - 65 transactions were with a single agent on both sides. And there were a few agents that had no transactions other than self-dealing, which IMO should be a huge red flag for anyone working with them.
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