San Diego Housing Bubble News and Analysis

We released contingencies on our purchase in Fairbanks Ranch today and in another week or so will be moving into a beach rental in Del Mar until we can move into our new house. So our 18 month home search here in NorCal and SD is finally over and we are about to become your neighbor.

For the past almost 10 months, I have been posting on this board, in excruciating detail, my buyer's journey. I have shared every trial and tribulation, factoid and observation, opinion and reaction, success and failure. I think I have revealed a bit to much of myself at times. Many times I have been critical of sellers and even their agents (or the agents who showed homes for listing agents). Other times of me, my wife, or my own agent. But those comments were remote and should never be taken out of context.

Kudos to my Agent, Laurie Johnson of Coldwell Banker

As for my own agent, I found somebody who went far above and beyond what I could have ever expected of any agent. She stuck with me, an out of town buyer, for a year, looking at over 150-175 homes in SD, an pre-touring many of them for me. She put up with what you folks know to be an OCD, overanalytical, rule freak, obnoxiously petulantly picky client. I mean who insists on 6 tours of the same home? I frustrated her far more than she frustrated me. I tried to do her job for her a bit too much. I got in her way. She did not need me to. She was doing just fine. Many times when we clashed. I was wrong and she was right. Simple as that.

She has left me and my wife so impressed with her, that we are proud to now call her a friend. She proved that she cares for us as clients and human beings, and time and time again took actions that made that all too clear. I will recommend her to everyone I meet looking for a house. Anyone should want her at their side in their buying journey. I know I could not have done this without her. She stuck with me, can you imagine that? I put her through hell at times, and in return she gave her best. I thank her dearly.

Her name is Laurie Johnson with Coldwell Banker based in Carmel Valley and I publically recommend her to the world. If anyone knows what a pain of a client I can be, it is the folks on this board. You all know it takes a special person to put up with me (yes, my wife is special too.)

My Apologies to Listing Agents

I do realize that my posts may have offended sellers and their listing agents. It is safe to say that I toured somewhere between 200-250 homes in NorCal and SD these past 18 months. Conservatively speaking, I would say I interacted with maybe 100-175 listing agents and "showing" agents. I understand that while I often spoke positively about listing agents, my less than flattering occasional comments about selling/listing/showing agents never pointed to particular agents by name. While that can protect the guilty it can also imply that those comments applied to all such agents. They did not. Out of that 100-175 or so, the vast majority were professional and honest. Where I had particularly negative experiences, many of which I have shared here, I simply refused to further consider the house or dealing with that agent.

While my posts were from a buyer's perspective, I never intended to offend the whole class of selling/listing agents. I now realize many such posts could have been so construed, particularly if taken out of context. I know many agents I have delt with have read my posts on this site. Perhaps that hurt my negotiations as they knew every detail of my strategy and views etc. That is ok, but I never intended to offend anyone.

While my negative experiences with some selling agents were real, I had many more positive experiences than negative. In particular, the group below I found to be particularly professional, cordial, and reasonable. They represented their clients very well, but never rubbed me the wrong way. Quite the contrary, they made me want to deal with them. They treated my hard working agent with respect and made it easier for her to deal with them as well. They were experienced and knowledgeable about their listings and sellers and left lasting positive impressions with me and my agent and I want to publically thank them for that.

• Cathy Worster
• Daniel Beer
• Cathrine Barry
• Feather Slingerland
• Ann Brizolis
• Donna Medrea
• Randy Podolsky

Thanks to my wife

You all know what she put up with. In the end, IMHO, a home purchase should not be an investment or the best %sales/asking price deal. It should be the best compromise of what the people who will live in the house need and want. We found that compromise. She is happy, I am happy, and that is all that matters.

Thanks to all of you

I realize I have thanked you all many times before. I greatly appreciate the help and input I have gotten from people on this site and in particular Rich Toscano, SD Realtor, sdrealtor, BobS, JL, jp, NavyDoc, Rene, FLU, nd, TG, and a number of others. I do plan on offering up a get together after I move in so stay tuned.

gratefully,

raptorduck