I want to start with that I have never taken the time to post to Yelp.com, but as there are no reviews, I hope mine can be of use.
Beware of this agent, or should I say his staff, as he appears to always be "busy" when you call and I have never actually spoken directly to him.
I was a buyer of a property where his office represented the seller. My husband and I offered an all cash over asking price on the property. Most agents love this scenario as it is a simple cash transaction that my husband and I have successfully completed on other occasions with other offices. However, when I called to find out if the power was on in the home so that I could have an inspection, which is a normal procedure, I was told, "of course the power is on, all our homes are on" then a pause then, "well the power is not on in this home." When I asked if we could have the power turned on for our inspection I was put on hold and then abruptly told that my agent would have to call to ask any further questions. When I informed her that my agent was busy for the next hour and that I was trying to meet their deadline, which expired in that hour I was again told my agent would have to call them if I had any questions, "because that is the rules." Angrily I told her that that was not the rules, but rather her offices' policy. I again was put on hold and a new staff person informed me angrily that "mam your agent has to call us if you have a question and that IS the rules." I tried unsuccessfully to explain the time dilemma and was met with that is not their problem and that they would only speak to my agent, whom they knew was busy until after their deadline.
My agent did call later and she was put to Mark's voice-mail. She apologized for my contacting their office rather than her and again asked about having the power turned on. She received a return voice-mail that in summary stated I was never to call the office again, that the power and water would not be turned on, and oh and by the way there was a $2000 bid to fix the electrical, which had never been disclosed until that point. He then went on to say "do your clients want to buy the property or not because I have plenty of offers on this place..."
Needless to say, his clients magically rejected our over asking price all cash offer the next business day.
Disclosure good and bad is a normal and expected ethical practice in the realestate world. In theory, this should have been disclosed with the listing and those that were making offers would be making them knowing the power could not be turned on and why.
When proper disclosure is not made, it gives the appearance that someone may be hiding a material fact and from the outside can appear deceptive. For this reason and others disclosure is a highly held and serious process in realestate.
My guess is that the staff knew there was a problem with the home, knew it had not been properly disclosed, and therefore, did not know how to handle my questions. They seemed to see the solution to be to inform me that my agent had to call, all the time knowing she would be unable to do so prior to their deadline.
And Mark's response to my agent appears at best to be unprofessional and rude. He and his office seem to be fine with clients who follow their "rules" exactly and do not question them. Funny though, we do not spend our hard earned money without proper and customary due dilegence and that seems to be threatening to this business.
Oh, on a last note, my husband and I are seasoned relestate investors who "have seen it all" in this market of distressed homes and lack of power to a home would not necessarily prevented us from buying a home, it is just helpful to know (or be disclosed to) to properly factor it into our overall business decision...an option this business never allowed us or their selling clients to properly pursue. read more
