Meet Kimberly Dotseth | Real Estate Broker, Brokerage Owner and Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kimberly Dotseth and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
What sets my brokerage apart is that you get to talk to the owner every time. I answer my own phone, meet the client, prepare the listing agreement, agonize over the way our marketing looks and design it all myself. We hire out photography and staging. And I think this is very rare: we actually spend quite a bit of our own money prepping our listings for sale. We are listing experts and often pay to have things done in a home the way we want them. We have a large network of clients who refer us to their own friends. Just in the last couple of years, I have referred to myself as the “Ray Donovan of real estate” — a real estate fixer. I can sell a property like no one else and often do it off the market or boldly on the MLS. Because of our ongoing referrals, I never ask for reviews. I know! That’s terrible! Reviews online have never mattered to me and we have so few because we typically are too busy with the next thing. The brokerage is taking on a new probate division which I have great interest in, experience with and a passion for! It’s going to be a great way to laser focus on our listing work.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

I am really into holes-in-the-wall right now, places off the beaten path. I am anti-hot and new things. For breakfast, we’d head to the Encinitas Cafe in Encinitas, very old school in downtown Encinitas. Pancakes and coffee will be served. It’s a good and mellow start to what will be next: hopefully an hour or two of shopping on that two block stretch of downtown Encinitas.

If we were going only to lunch, I would probably suggest the Hob Nob Hill in Bankers Hill in San Diego. More old school dining! Very traditional at the moment in the midst of our otherwise red hot dining scene of San Diego. But I like hiding out when going out, so off to Hob Nob we’d go for something vegetarian. Probably soup and tons of bread.

If it’s dinner, then we’d going to Fidel’s in Solana Beach. Margaritas and cheese enchiladas or some variation of a classic Mexican menu. That area of Solana Beach is referred to as “Eden Garden” and is very authentically old with lots of restaurants on two streets.

Right now, I am into old school everything. I don’t see my mood changing!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are a couple of people from long ago who got me here. One is a broker named Terry Hammill. He’s in San Diego. He was “my broker” before I was a broker. The guy is a total genius and I learned so much from him. His brilliance and generosity when I was just a licensed salesperson propelled me to want to be like him. And another shoutout/shout back goes to a real OG San Diego real estate broker, John Humphrey. When I was transitioning from my then-career in commercial real estate and wanted to sell houses, I did not know where to start. My real estate school teacher (from Anthony’s School of Real Estate in Clairemont!) was a nice guy so I called him. He told me to get in touch with John. John was pretty far north, in Carlsbad, but he came to my house in University City, gave me a chance to tell him my dreams, and then took me on and gave me direction. He let me hang my license with him personally until I found a firm in San Diego that worked for me. John is still a friend now, twenty-five years later, so much so that he and his wife were at my wedding. And my most recent encouragement came from my husband, Kerry Garnett. When I finished my new book, he told me, “I thought you were into true crime?” I said I was. He said, “Well, where’s the true crime in this crime book? It’s only about the real estate?” He got me to re-write my entire book to make it more in keeping with my like, true crime, combined with my passion, real estate.

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Image Credits
Curb 360 or Kimberly Dotseth.