Lewes Realty has RUINED our family vacation for August 2023. It was by accident that we learned just one week ago that the company is under investigation by the Delaware AG for alleged misappropriation of multiple homeowners' and renters' funds and was forced to close its doors in March. Reviews show the owner has a shady past and was sanctioned in 2009 for similar issues. How she got her license back is beyond comprehension. It's too late for us to find another summer rental but we will be filing a Civil Complaint against the owner and related parties with the county of Sussex. We thoroughly enjoyed three previous vacations in Lewes but doubt we will be back. read more

I was moving from NY to DE in December. I needed a rental for several months while my new house was being built. I needed a dog friendly rental for 3 people and was having a hard time finding a place, especially with Covid. I contacted Lewes Realty and Jody was able to find a house for me at Broadkill Beach. I didn't think I would enjoy the beach so much in the winter. I was there for 6 months, and appreciated that they were able to work with me on my move out date since it kept changing. Carol and Zack were also helpful when I called in for anything. I would recommend to use them to find a place that fits your needs. Regina Q read more

Horrible customer relations. Rude. Too bothered to politely assist when you call. It's not a caller's fault you despise your own existence because you live in a constant state of regret regarding your life decisions. Look elsewhere and save yourself the headache. read more

Our particular situation is difficult to categorize so I will leave it up to the reader. I am friends with the owner who gives me a slight discount as I provide professional services for her in her home town but she leaves all the arrangements of the unit to the management company. Lewes realty provides the keys and arranges the cleaning crew etc. I talked to Carol several times in the week before our arrival date to make sure everything was in order and on our arrival we picked up the key at the office and nothing was mentioned to us about any issues. When we arrived at the house late in the day and we walked into the downstairs of the house that was in the upper 80's close to 90 degrees. We contacted Carol who said something to the effect the AC on the main living floor is not working but a part should come in sometime in the following week and the unit should be up and running some time in the future. She added something to the effect that the renters before us didn't seem to mind the heat and just didn't use the kitchen. We had two kids under five with us and a new born baby only nine weeks old. Bringing in a infant into that kind of heat is dangerous. An infant can only survive those temps for a short period of time. Carol was extremely rude and her attitude was since we did not rent it thru her so it was not her problem. We find that attitude ethically immoral. I was forced to go out and buy a window unit and fans just to keep the baby cool for the first night . With much grumbling Carol managed to cajole some one else to come over with an additional unit the next day. I understand AC units stop working but not to tell us ! My guess is for those without infants you might say we were acting a bit on the hysterical side. If you have an infant and small children I am sure you can empathize . We could have waited until the unit was fixed if we had been given a chance. Yes it all worked out, the part came in ant the window units provided enough cool air to manage but the whole experience was most unpleasant and it did not have to be. A simple phone call explaining to us the week before would have allowed us to just delay our arrival for a few days. read more

Lewes Realty does not even deserve 1 star. They are under investigation for not paying property owners or paying with bad checks and property owners are not the only victims. We rented from them summer 2022 and had no issues. At the end of our stay, we requested the same property for the same week. In October 2022, I received the lease, signed and returned it with the deposit check for our 2023 vacation. March, 2023, I sent them a check for the balance. After 3 weeks, the check had not been cashed. When I searched for their phone number, I saw the 3/3 article about Lewes Realty being under investigation for not paying property owners. Carole told me we were fine and that the property owner would be handling everything going forward and Lewes would be sending deposits to the owner. I have spoken with the owner several times. She never received our deposit and she did not renew her contract with them because they owe her money. She rented her property to a long term tenant so it's not available for vacations. We scrambled to find another pet-friendly place for the same time frame as we have other family staying near by. I am not going away. I have called and mailed information to the detective. I have filed a complaint with the Delaware Real Estate Commission. I have contacted the News Journal because any possible victim(s) in New Castle County do not receive the Cape Gazette and Coast TV. Lewes Realty should never be allowed to operate ever again and should not be allowed to use any other licensed realtor to operate. read more

We rented a condo on Lewes Harbor through this Lewes Realty and arrived to find it disgustingly dirty. We had to clean all of the dishes and the area in and around the kitchen. We went to the Lewes office and told them of the problem and they were not sympathetic. In fact they said that it was the cheapest rental they had and so not it was not unusual to expect this. We knew that the rental was far from fancy but filth was not expected. We asked for a reduction in the rental fee and they said they would check with the owner and get back to us. They never called us back. When we stopped in to get an update they said that there was no reduction in rent and there was nothing that they could do. Overall I found this an unacceptable way to conduct business. We will never use Lewes Realty again. read more

This group is very unprofessional, too busy to answer any questions, and just the lack of communication is unacceptable. We had a reservation set for this June during the pandemic. We paid our deposit but as the beaches were closed in DE, they either did not answer the phone, hung up the phone, or could provide 0 clarity. We requested a refund as it was 2 weeks prior to our arrival date and they couldn't answer if rentals would be allowed (not their fault). They said they would keep 15% per the contract. The home was rented quickly but they still kept the 15%. I understand that is part of the contract but this is double dipping during a pandemic. The 15% only included the price of the actual rental, not processing fee, taxes etc that the firm kept and the contract was very vague. If you like to be treated poorly and ripped off, go ahead and use this group. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THEM. read more

My company went through Lewes Realty to secure me housing for my assignment in Lewes, DE. I found the girls that worked in the office to wonderful and very helpful. When a problem did arise I called and the problem was fixed right away. Thank you for all of your help during my stay in Lewes from Feb 2015 to Sept 2015 and I am hoping to come back next summer and will recommend my company call you ladies first when securing housing read more

I've worked with Lewes Realty for many years. They are a long established, local presence that offers personalized, customized service. Simply put, Lewes Realty knows Lewes. I have been both a landlord and a tenant so I understand that the rental market can be challenging. But I have gotten great advice and a lot of help from Lewes over the years. There is a limited amount of housing in Lewes and it's in high demand. Lewes tries to make every accommodation to assist you whether you are a buyer, seller, renter, or landlord. read more

Lewes realty has some very kind people. Although that was much appreciated, I had a frustrating experience renting from them. I found it was difficult to get return phone calls for problems and repairs. Moving out was a very disappointing experience and now a financial burden. Unfortunately I felt as though there was little professionalism. read more

Don't rely on this agency to vet the rental property to ensure standards or respond if you have problems. We arrived at the outdated property - garbage bins had not been collected and full of maggots, equipment was out dated and not working properly and the house was not clean ....... for over $2000 a week. We complained at the time and did not get resolution. We wrote when we got back and received a list of complaints from the owner which were absolutely not true. This agency is just taking the letting fee and have no interest in ensuring that their rental properties are cared for. read more

* BUGS IN BED AT RENTAL HOUSE! First let me say that I am 100% not a confrontational person at all. However, never in my life have I experienced such awful costumer service. My family and I rented a home in Lewes DE for my wedding weekend from June 10th-13th. My family and I checked into the house on June 10th around 12pm. We quickly loaded our belongings into the house and then headed over to my rehearsal/rehearsal dinner. My family returned to the house around 8pm. Around 11pm one of my bridesmaids and I went to get into bed. As my friend pulled the covers back we found a bug on the sheet. The sheet that was not supposed to be on the bed in the first place. We were told to bring our own. My brother in law travels a lot for work. He knows exactly what to look for when it comes to bed bugs. While he was inspecting the bed he picked up the mattress and on the box spring was three or four LIVE BUGS crawling around. At this time my family and I went into full panic mode. Mind you this is now 11:30 the night before my wedding day. My family discovered dead bugs in one of the twin beds in the loft upstairs. My nieces and nephew were staying in the loft. The other bedrooms were okay, but this didn't exactly make any of us feel comfortable. At this point it was 12 AM. My sister got busy on the phone and contacted the after hours number for Lewes Realty. The lady we spoke didn't have much of an option for us. She offered us a refund but we had to be out in the morning. That being said we were on our own to try and find somewhere to stay. Can you imagine trying to find somewhere to stay whether it be another house to rent, or hotel in the beginning of summer at the beach!? Please keep in mind it's literally the middle of the night. This option just wasn't realistic. This wasn't a problem that I was trying to deal with hours before I had to be up to go help set up for my wedding. My sister and mom looked for hotel rooms basically all night. They were unable to find anything big enough for seven bridesmaids, a hair and makeup crew, and three photographers. This is one of the reasons why we rented a house to get ready in. The after hours contact said that someone would come over in the morning to look at the bugs. My family and I decided that it would be easiest to get ready in the house. My mother went over to Lewes Realty in the morning and asked them not to send their bug guy to the house to inspect the bugs. We made that decision because I had people coming over to start photography and hair and make up. I was completely mortified at the thought of my photographers taking pictures of my wedding dress and in the other room they would be spraying for bugs. We did let Lewes Realty know that their could send their bug guy out in the afternoon while we were at the wedding. That didn't happen. Lewes Realty was very defensive with my parents the next day when the bugs were delivered. They claimed that the bugs were carpet Beatles. My husband and I stayed in a hotel the night of our wedding. This was an expense that we weren't anticipating. My remaining family members slept in the living room of the house on the couch, and on an air mattress. After returning from my honeymoon I contacted Lewes Realty to further discuss the issue. In the beginning I was looking for a partial refund because we couldn't use part of the house. I found the realtors at Lewes Realty to be rude and to have no compassion. They even went as far to blame me and my family for bringing in the bugs. At one point I was even called a "bridezilla." As the bride I was looking for a little sympathy. However, Lewes Realty could have cared less that it was a very important weekend to me. I spoke with 3-4 people and they each were very defensive. No one at Lewes Realty wanted to own up to the problem. First it was carpet Beatles, then they said the bugs were cigarette Beatles. I literally could care less. All I care about is the fact that there were bugs in the beds! Lewes Realty promotes budget friendly rentals, but they put their noses in the air when I told them that I felt like we spent a good amount of money on the house. I was actually told that we got a good deal and the house wasn't that expensive. In conclusion it no longer is about money to me. It's the principle. If I could offer you any bit of advice it would be to take your business elsewhere. Lewes Realty is a poor excuse for a business. read more

Lewes Realty - Dead bugs found in one of the beds. - Real Estate Services Near Me - Lewes, Delaware

I used Lewes Reality to book rentals for my condo which is located on the Delaware Bay. The office staff were great they understood my concerns and were able to secure rentals for the summer. I highly recommend them and appreciate how efficient they are. I will be back next year. read more

We bought a small lot down at the beach. I specifically asked the real estate agent to put settlement on the condition that we receive a septic permit. He stated the sellers agreed and sent me back only the last page to initial (this was my first mistake). We had settlement scheduled for 9/30 but when my husband called the attorneys office the day before to confirm they received the funds (via wire), they stated the settlement was pushed back because the "septic permit" was not obtained. She was surprised our realtor didn't contact us about this and thank god we called before we made the 3 hour drive there and took off from work. Settlement was rescheduled for 10/28. They handed us the site evaluation which my husband and I were not aware there was a difference between a site evaluation and a septic permit. We did not find out our terms of settlement were not met until we contacted a plumber to install the mound system who told us we did not have a septic permit. I called the attorney to let them know we never got the septic permit which was a condition of settlement, she replied "yes you did, that was the holdup at settlement" and suggested I call the realtor. I contacted the realtor on 11/11 who explained we only got a site evaluation and I put it in writing (via email) to him settlement was on the condition the sellers obtained a septic permit. He told me he would get back to me, he never did. I followed up with an email to please talk to his supervisor about our disappointment and see what we could do, no response. I left a message with Carole (the owner) with no response. I followed up on 11/21 with an email directly to Carole regarding our disappointment that our terms were not met along with lack of communication related to settlement being pushed back, no response. We have family members that are looking into purchasing some property at Broadkill, unfortunately, we cannot recommend Lewes reality. The lack of communication (settlement postponed notification) and not getting back to us regarding settlement conditions of a septic permit was unprofessional. We are very disappointed our condition of settlement was not followed through as the terminology "septic permit" was used up until the day of settlement. read more

Too bad I can't post with a zero star.. This agency is horrible. For one they are very unprofessional and two they are inconsiderate of future residents. I'll try to keep this short but I definitely won't refrain from holding back my frustration. It was late August 2013 when I made my first call to Lewes realty. Julie, one of the realtors, picked up. I told her I was interested in 3 rentals that I found through their posting. She said she'd help but sounded very distracted. I asked if it was a bad time, she replied with a no. We then went ahead and set up a time to meet. Granted my girlfriend and I were coming from Jersey which is a three hour drive, so I wanted too make sure there were other rentals. I planned it out for two weeks later, this way if anything came up we'd be able to see something new. I emailed and called a couple days later to see if anything came up but I got no reply. So,I called again 5 days before we were heading down. I asked her if anything else came in. No, she replied. I told her if anything comes in to give me a call. She replied with a, well Zack the other realtor will help you on Saturday since I'm going on vacation then. I asked again and she just replied with a we'll see I've got another call. I was starting to get upset but I figured maybe Zack can be of help. Long story short, my girlfriend and I met with Zack. He turned out to be friendly but unorganized because Julie didn't give him the right information. We looked at one house then Zack was about to leave. I told him about the other two. He had no clue because of the lack of communication in the office. He actually felt bad and it seemed as if he may have been the realtor to go with in the beginning but that's not how an agency should be run. You shouldn't have to call and hope you get the one who actually wants to work. Either or, we went back to the office to collect some more information. While we were at the office he found a beautiful 4 bedroom that just came up. We went to look at it and liked it a lot. After looking at it, I told him we'll call on Monday to sign papers and get everything going. He said he'll get it all set up. So, Monday came and I called. His reply,"Mike, I'm sorry but someone looked at it on Friday and took it. I didn't know".. I was heated. I asked how that can happen, then I asked when it came into their office. Well it landed on Julies desk a day after I spoke to her. This was a day after I asked her to call me if anything came in. Her main goal, her main concern was going on vacation. Not helping a future resident. Well, we finally found a beautiful 3 bedroom through Jack Lingo working with Sherry. She seemed to help us out a little better than Lewes realty.. Bottom line.. DO NOT USE LEWES REALTY!! read more

Never rent your home with them! We wanted to give business to a local company but were proven wrong! They lost all of our parking and rec passes, all of the keys to our home and mismanaged our rental weeks and cost us thousands of dollars in rental income without so much as any acknowledgement or apology. Terrible business practices and service. It's a crime that they are allowed to get away with how they do business!! read more

Our dealings with Lewes Realty in helping us to find a home to buy in their town was a pleasant and enjoyable experience.To this day we are forever grateful that we went with a family owned company because they truly treated like one of their own, and it was truly genuine. Zach, Carol, and Julie could not have been any more on board with helping us by listening to our requirements of all the details that we were looking for in our "beach home". Their knowledge of the area and the homes that would suit our needs made us realize that they truly knew their stuff, and made the long , drawn out search quite pleasant.. We can not say enough about the patience that they had in dealing with the seller and our bank lender !! The line of communication that Lewes Realty had with all of parties involved in closing made us feel very confident that they were thinking in our best interest, and were with us to the end. I promise that you will be pleased with their professionalism and knowledge in being a full service real estate company!!! Gratefully....new home owners in Lewes Delaware. read more

Lewes Realty is the most unprofessional realty choice in all of Sussex County in my opinion. We have rented from them on 2 seperate occassions, the last ending in disaster. Upon looking around for new rentals, it turns out that Lewes Realty is the laughing stock among other realtors in the area. Seems to have an office full of bottom feeders of the realty world. There are better choices out there, so it pays to shop around. The rental department is terrible, terrible, terrible! read more

Terrible company, awful customer service. We originally rented a property off their website, put down a deposit with Zack, then, AFTER we put in the deposit and thought we had the house, we were called and were told the house was already reserved by another family who had been renting it "for years prior" so they offered us "an equivalent property, great for kids-- we have 3 little ones, 5/3/1 yo, and even cheaper than the previous one!" We trusted them that It was a comparable property-- BY WERE WE WRONG TO DO THAT!-- when we arrived, the house was dirty, full of junk, breakables, and DIRTY. There was literally vermin poop in the drawers which were filled with dirty/rusted utensils, the blanket on the master bed had poop of some kind, there was cat hair EVERYWHERE and there was a clump of hair in the drain. The worst part was the horrible customer service I then experienced, the nasty, derisive, frankly rude and completely uncaring and unsympathetic tone I received from Julie who told me there was nothing she could do for us and that she had no way to offer any sort of discount either, that this was a problem I had to take up with the owner, who had already been paid handsomely and in full! Halfway through our week a big rainstorm came through and caused a leak in the ceiling, we called and were told someone would be out but no ever came. So very disappointed our one family vacation for the entire year had to be ruined by this awful house and the terrible and rude customer service I had to experience. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY FOR YOUR VACATION RENTAL NEEDS~ ! read more