Funny La Jolla Real Estate Stories!

by Marilyn Noonan

• "I'll give you $200 to ...!"

A tenant was late vacating the La Jolla Shores home Greg's clients had just purchased, so Greg went over to find out what was holding him up. After all, the new homeowners were now paying $200 a day on the mortgage...

Greg is known to be TENACIOUS. Finding the tenant distracted, far behind schedule, tinkering around with his antiques, and without discernable intention to vacate, Greg followed the guy around the house, explaining that he needed to move immediately or pay the new owner $200 for each day he was late. As the man hemmed and hawed, filling boxes and the re-categorizing and starting over, Greg--going to great lengths to represent his clients-- diligently kept up his demand that the man pay his client $200 a day for each day he was clearly going to be late. He then explained the eviction process and how unsavory that would be for this La Jolla businessman.

Finally the tenant turned around in exasperation and said, "If I give you $200, will you JUST STOP TALKING TO ME?!"

You can imagine how often we use THAT one at home now...!

• The Lottery Winners...

Greg received a referral from a former client who called to say, "I'm sending you my friends from Chicago, a lovely elderly couple, and don't let on you know, but they recently won millions in the Illinois State Lottery..."

Greg called the prospective clients and respectfully asked what sort of properties might be of interest, learning they preferred condominium living. When he approached the subject of price range, the client asked, "What does it take to own a condo in La Jolla?" Well, this was many years ago, and Greg answered that the condominiums they described ranged from less than $150,000 in the Golden Triangle to about $1 million for a seaside Village penthouse. "We'd like to see them all..." the buyer responded.

After a weeks-long search blanketing every price range and option, the lucky lottery buyers narrowed their interest to two condos: a modest $200,000 condo in University City and a gorgeous $800,000 residence at 939 Coast Blvd.

As they toured the seaside high-rise again, the gentleman explained to Greg, "My bride likes this place but she doesn't like the carpet."

Greg answered, "The carpet can easily be replaced."

The lady's eyes grew wide, and she said, "But what would they do with this carpet?" Greg gently explained that the carpet company would roll the old carpet up and take it away.

"But that would cost a lot of money, wouldn't it?" she asked, incredulous.

Her husband, giving the first hint of their newfound wealth said quietly, "Honey, in our case that just doesn't matter."

Turns out the couple had no children and had worked in manufacturing all their lives; they had never owned a home before. So guess which condo they chose? You guessed it; they were more comfortable in University City where they liked the carpet!

• The Convict Who Would Be King...

Greg represented the sellers of a beautiful home on Whalewatch Way and was surprised to receive 20 checks in the mail, each meticulously written to together total the full purchase price of the home, which was priced in excess of $10 million.

As suspected, the checks came from a prison in the Midwest.

• Agents Say The Darndest Things...

Negotiations between Greg's seller and another agent's buyer on a high-end home required quite a few conversations and some delicate and savvy skill. Greg was having some difficulty with the emotional tight-wire in which the other agent seemed to be wound up, and though he kept his side of the negotiations calm, professional, and favoring his clients as usual, Greg found the other agent difficult to say the least. Despite steadfast progress and a win-win transaction, the other agent grew more and more tense to the point of tears. Greg was completely perplexed when the agent, exasperated and in an inexplicable rage, blurted, "This would be a lot easier if you weren't so damned HANDSOME!"

Wow.

• In Greg's office the term "Lopez" refers to when someone's subconscious ambivalence causes them to actually leave the door wide open to failure...

Clients who owned a lovely La Jolla cottage decided they wanted to sell, but when a favorable deal had been signed, the Mrs. was afflicted with a tearful case of "sellers' remorse."

An honorable man, her husband was considerate to his wife's wishes but vowed to follow the agreement to the letter-all the while quietly directing Greg to look for any slight breach of contract by the buyer that would allow him to honestly and ethically halt the transaction-- and he made sure Greg made the buyer aware of the situation. Said buyer, a Mr. Lopez, was sympathetic to the seller whom he knew personally, but his wife really had her heart set on the property, too. So when a deposit was due in escrow by Friday at 5PM, everyone held their breath to see what Lopez would do...

The money arrived Saturday at 9AM.