I called this office two years ago based on a recommendation from a friend. I had a tenant who who was trying to purchase the home she was currently renting from us. I got 3 recommendations and Patti Hale's office was the first office I called. I explained to Ms. Hale that I was trying to find someone who would be very patient and 'gentle' and fully guide the tenant through the process. Let me emphasize - I COMPLETELY understood that the tenant would be Homestar's client - NOT me and that for privacy reasons, Homestar would not be able to communicate details with me. I put the two of them together and that was it. That was a huge mistake on my part. I sincerely wish that I'd just told the tenant to just find someone on her own, but she asked for my help and she had been a very good tenant. When I spoke to Ms. Hale - she was so sweet and so kind that I thought the two of them would work well together. But the entire experience was awful. Ms. Hale was uncommunicative. She had some things happen that caused her to be out of the office and I'm sympathetic to that. But even her staff refused to respond to emails and phone calls. Keep in mind - the tenant would call her office - then not hear back and because I'd made the introduction - the tenant would then call me complaining that she couldn't get a call back. So then I would try to call her - and I would have the same result. I would email her and ask her to call the tenant and she would still not contact the tenant. I finally did a 'pop up' at the office. The desk was unmanned, but I could hear someone moving around near the back of the office space. I sat in the front for about 10 minutes, then finally walked towards the back saying "Hello" and Ms. Hale came out and greeted me. She explained that she had been out of the office - but had no explanation for the others in the office not returning calls. That was the last time I ever spoke to her verbally. She did make contact with the tenant after my visit, but within a few weeks - the unreturned phone calls and ignored emails started back up again. Ultimately the deal fell apart - and it became a situation where the tenant was not comfortable moving forward. During my final email communication with Ms. Hale, she kept 'reminding' me that she could not discuss details with me for privacy reasons. I found this insanely frustrating because I KEPT telling Ms. Hale that I did not want details, that I simply wanted her to call the tenant because the tenant had questions or didn't understand something and when she couldn't reach Ms. Hale, she called me. Before anyone private messages me saying that my expectations were unreasonable. Please be advised - I told Ms. Hale, at the onset, that the tenant was completely new to the homebuying process and would need a lot of guidance and hand-holding. And even though I am a homeowner, it's been over 20 years since I purchased my home - so me giving her advice would be like the blind leading the blind. Add to that - it felt like a bit of a conflict of interest for me to give the tenant too much 'advice.' Ms. Hale assured me that it would not be a problem. I certainly learned my lesson - and I will NEVER try to help anyone out in this manner again, but I absolutely believe that Homestar contributed to this situation by their lack of professionalism and responsiveness. read more