TESTIMONIALS
1905 Avenida Salvador, San Clemente
Sold Over Asking!
“Working with Don Atkinson was an absolute pleasure. We met Don at several of his open house events in San Clemente. Don found us the ideal home when there were very few to choose from, and at a good price. We have completed numerous real estate transactions and found Don to be extremely professional, with great communication, extensive knowledge of the area, and the ability to manage and guide us through a successful and smooth transaction. We also worked with Don on the sale of our residence. The sale of our house was an even better experience! Don went out of his way to get the property ready for the market and used proactive and creative ideas to market the house during the pandemic. The result was a quick sale at a sale price above the listing price. Don has become a trusted friend and I enthusiastically and sincerely recommend Don to anyone reading this. Thanks again Don!”
– Dave and Lisa Brill
12721 Chalk Hill Road, Healdsburg
Sold For $3,600,000
“Well Don did it again! Because Don and his team did such an awesome marketing job for my last home here in San Clemente, I called him up once again to see if you would be willing to travel all the way to Sonoma Valley to market and sell my vacation home there. He’s the only agent I would trust to do a spectacular job in the photographing and drone video of my beautiful home in Healdsburg as well as capturing its essence in descriptive language for the marketing, and because I am in marketing myself, I knew this would translate into the highest selling price. I was also exciting to learn Don was now with Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty to get the best world exposure for my unique property. I don’t know of any agent that would have done what he did… he packed up all his equipment: photography gear, done system, and iMac editing computer and drove 7 hours to my home. He then lived there for 5 days getting to know the area and doing his magic. Don first took care of the staging buy purchasing accessory items himself because the staging companies were not available and he even rented a truck from Home Depot to transport the outdoor patio furniture and then spent hours assembling everything… all this to make sure that the home would look its best for the photography & drone production he had in mind. After he learned about the area, he produced as amazing video of my 54-acre property and of the area which I’m sure helped increase my properties perceived value. I encourage anyone reading this to check it out. Don’s calm problem solving ability was so refreshing during all the issues that came up that were out of anyone’s control… the Corona Virus hit and then the fires hit. Thru all of it, Don & his team patiently guided me once again through the whole complicated process and got us to the finish line! Thank you again Don for being not just an amazing Realtor going above and beyond, but also a trusted friend!”
-Robert Lendino
246 Calle Cuervo, S.C.
Sold Over Asking, Record Sale!
“When our grandchildren were no longer living in California, we decided to relocate to be more centrally located for visits. We had a beautiful unique property and we felt we knew its worth. Unfortunately, none of the properties in the area or on our street had sold for that amount. We had a million-dollar view, single story home but we needed someone with an ‘out of the box plan’ for getting us what our home of 20 years was worth. We had collected real estate flyers from Don Atkinson over several months. His flyers always caught our eye as each one announced another sale “over asking” price. When we received # 6 over asking we knew we would call Don Atkinson. We contacted Don with our time line for retirement, selling the house and moving out of California. We immediately sensed what made him successful and learned that the process he and his team use is unique. We followed their direction precisely. This included what we would change or wouldn’t have to change. When we spoke with other sellers we often heard their agent showed up with a contract, stuck a sign in front of the house, had multiple open houses and continual inconvenient viewings with very little results…often asking you to discount when the house didn’t sell fast enough. Don knew exactly what we wanted and moved forward with brave fortitude. He is a master at architectural and other photography and we were literally blown away by the way he was able to capture in pictures the beauty we also saw in our home. The Marketing materials were incredible. We saw Don nearly daily making sure everything was just right…did we need one more photo to capture it in this light and the follow up to make sure we were following the plan and on track for the big grand open house. In the end as planned, we had one grand open house resulting in multiple ‘over asking price’ offers. We were able to choose the terms they suited our situation the best. Although we, Don, and his Team, had been planning for weeks, the sign went up one week before the grand open house. We spent one weekend at a near by hotel for the grand open house and that would equal our total inconvenience. No people wanting to view your house at all hours while you are trying to keep it in pristine viewing condition for extended periods of time. The grand open house had over 300 people show up. Our neighbors referred to it as an event and many of them came to us after to say that meeting Don and seeing the result of his work had completely changed their minds about using real estate agents. One neighbor, who for work moves frequently, said they had always used the cheapest agency they could find but we had completely changed their mind on that going forward. We offer our highest recommendation for Don Atkinson. If you are looking to sell your home or even just thinking about selling your home, you need to talk to Don first. As Don says it doesn’t cost anything to just have him come in and look and give his advice and recommendations.”
-Linda and Richard Ewing
210 Calle Cuervo, San Clemente
Sold Over Asking in 1 Day! Another Record Sale!
“Working with Don, Bobbi and their Team was an absolute delight. I recently lost my mother and quite frankly I couldn’t even think let alone sell my house. Don and Bobbi showed so much compassion and support for my situation. They introduced me to a new service with Pacific Sotheby’s “The White Glove Service”. Within days Don had a contractor and proposal with an itemized list for a remodel of my home. The best part is it didn’t cost me anything; it was all paid with the proceeds of the sale of my home. Don and Bobbi were always available whenever I had a question or concern. Once the remodel was complete, we had a private showing the next day and just like that, we had a record setting offer the same day! I believe with the knowledge and expertise of Don, Bobbi and his Team, along with their new “The White Glove” program that Sotheby’s offered me, I was able to sell my house for well over $75,000 more than if I hadn’t done anything at all! Everything Don & his Team told me was true and I made much more profit on my house by following their leadership. Now my house set an all the time record sale here in Presidential Heights! I would highly recommend Don and his Team to anyone. Words can’t express my gratitude!“
– Art Kirker
1807 Avenida Salvador, San Clemente
Sold Over Asking!
“We want to tell others how grateful we feel about having chosen Don Atkinson and his team to represent us in selling our home. We had previously hired 2 different agents who were unsuccessful in selling our home and that left us feeling quite disappointed. Though there were many other agents who later tried to get us to list our house with them, none of them seemed very genuine or like they really cared about us.Ultimately, we chose Don Atkinson because he seemed extremely knowledgeable, very personable and he took the time to first understand our situation. Don explained the many advantages that he and his firm had to offer over everyone else. Don was thorough in his explanation of the process, professional with his demeanor and always patient with us when he was answering our questions about the process. He just seemed so different and more genuinely friendly than all the other agents we spoke to… and on top of that, he actually grew up here in San Clemente.
Though this can sometimes be a stressful time in one’s life, Don made this process amazingly smooth and painless. In addition to advising us about which finishing touches to put on our house, Don also orchestrated amazing photography which captured the true feel of our home.He seemed to know exactly which angles and shots were needed in order to best emphasize the best lifestyle features of our home. He and his team personally staged several areas of our home as well as our rooftop observation deck. We know that his added effort with those photos helped our home sell fast and for more than our list price. Everything Don and his team told us was true. His marketing strategy for pricing our home to create excitement with buyers helped greatly when it came to negotiating the final price and terms. In the end, Don negotiated strongly and got us over our asking price and in only 10 days! We couldn’t have been more thrilled! The timing worked out perfectly for us.Don far exceeded our expectations with his great communication, his follow-up and his overall commitment to us. We highly recommend Don Atkinson to anyone looking to buy or sell. You’ll find like we did, that Don’s unique skill set and caring personality make him the obvious choice. It will be the best decision you make!”
-Caesar and Sally Cruz
149 Avenida De La Paz, San Clemente
Sold For Maximum Profit!
“We could not be for grateful to Don and his Team for guiding us through the complicated process to sell our family home of over 50 years. Don’s patience and understanding of our unique situation helped relieve the stress during this emotional time in our lives. His communication was on time and on point. Don’s guidance was what we needed and a pleasure to experience something so important to our family. Also, Don’s above and beyond marketing skills produced some of the most spectacular photography and drone video pieces we have ever seen, in fact, we have concluded Don (Donnie, we call him) and his Team made our house look so spectacular, there is no doubt they helped us get our highest price! “Our whole family thanks you Don! “ ”
– Don Lund & Family
122 Avenida Cuervo, San Clemente
Sold Over Asking, Record Sale!
“Don represents the company well, knows the area and has an agreeable personality. Very responsive, gives good suggestions and made him self available for all times we needed his expertise. He made promises, laid out his plan, followed through and with just one open house garnered four offers which exceeded all our expectations. A job well done.”
– Dale and Marcia Becker
408 Avenida Crespi, San Clemente
Re-marketed and Sold!
“When we tried to sell with another agent before, we didn’t get any offers. We had a great experience with Don and his team in getting our house sold. We first met Don and his team at one of his Grand Open House events which he put on for a house he sold for one of our neighbors. Then we heard that Don and his team sold the neighbors house in only 12 days and for over the asking price! As soon as our contract ended with the other firm, we called Don. Don and his team advised us about how to get our home updated for a faster sale and a great price. His suggestions included interior and exterior décor, staging, structural wall modification, and curb-appeal finishes giving the home a high-end luxury look. Don even personally came up with the design of the front landscaping, which later received an award from the San Clemente Garden Club! All the contracts and documents seemed so confusing to us at first, but Don’s team explained everything, which really helped reduce the stress of selling our home. Now that our house is successfully sold, I can honestly say we trust Don more than ever and are excited to have him help us with buying our next home. Don, thank you so much for caring so much about our family and the expertise you showed in getting our house sold. We truly found a friend for life in you!”
-Brenda and Thomas Carter
2175 S. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach
Represented Buyers
“We were so thankful we found Don to help us buy our dream beach home! His excellent communication throughout the whole complicated process of buying a property was so refreshing. I loved his local knowledge and how he really cared about my wife and I and what we needed. I highly recommend Don and his team if you want great representation to find a property and guide you through the whole complicated process of buying a home these days. Can’t thank you enough Don for your detailed representation in helping us purchase this fantastic Laguna Beach home!”
– Mario and Rayna Dominguez
224 Avenida Monterey, San Clemente
Sold $100,00 Over Asking!
“To whom it may concern: We want to take a moment to express how fortunate and grateful we feel about having chosen Don Atkinson and his team to represent us in selling our home. During this exciting and stressful time in our lives, they made this process amazingly smooth and painless. Whether it was by advising us about finishing touches to put on our house, or explaining the many advantages that First Team had to offer over everyone else, and answering all our questions about how this whole process works, Don was very thorough and professional. In the days following listing our home with Don, we quickly came to know we made a great decision by choosing him and First Team to represent us. Everything Don and his team told us was true. His marketing strategy for pricing our home to create excitement with buyers helped greatly when it came to negotiating the price. Don then hired a great photographer who captured the true feel of our home. Don also hired and brought in a drone video specialist because he felt it was very important to show buyers just how close our home was to the ocean. We feel this greatly added to the perceived value our home. Don also suggested the importance of promoting the beach lifestyle of where our house was located and staged our rooftop observation deck. He then came over at sunset, lit the gas fire pit, arranged the furniture, then took a fantastic photograph that became our featured lifestyle photograph which helped our home sell fast and for substantially more than our list price. In the end, Don negotiated with the buyers and got us $100,000 over our asking price and in just 4 days! We couldn’t have been more thrilled! He then guided us through all the confusing disclosures and documents and made it painless. Our house closed escrow less than 2 weeks after it went live on the market! The timing worked out perfectly and we were able to make our move in the time-frame we wanted. Things couldn’t have been more perfect. We want to recommend Don to anyone who reads this. If you want to get the most professional representation and the highest price for your house, I can’t urge you more strongly to choose Don and his firm to sell your home. ”
– Emily and Joey Berg