We were selling our house and we called Mary. She came over and walked into every room with us and…read moretook notes. She told us everything that we need to change. We listened to her, and our house sold on the first day it went on the market! If you need a realtor, Mary is your gal!

What can I say she is at the top of her game! Mary was so…read moremuch help selling a home in Sumter for me who lives on the west coast. She had all the right contacts to get it ready for sale AND even brought in a buyer within 24 hours I can't thank her enough!!

I strongly recommend Melissa for any real estate transaction. She is very professional, responsive,…read morefriendly and goes above and beyond to assist her clients. She did an excellent job with the sale of my house and I would absolutely work with her again in the future.

Melissa is THE BEST Realtor I have ever had the pleasure of working with. She was very responsive…read moreto all of our texts, emails, and calls. She became a part of our family in the process. First, she's by far the most responsive, professional, and customer service oriented Realtor we've ever met. After growing frustated while "dealing" with one of the worst real estate agents in North Carolina, we decided to move our search to South Carolina. We found her after searching for South Carolina Realtors. I called her on June 7th at 2:08pm. She didn't answer but called back 20 minutes later. We told her that we were in Maryland and interested in home in Florence. She called back at 5:42pm on Zoom from inside the home we were looking at. She [virtually] walked us through the house, set us up in the Collaboration Center, and maintained communication with us on an almost daily basis. On Friday, June 11th, my boyfriend and I packed up our chocolate lab, 3 days worth of clothes and hit the road. We were going to explore the neighborhoods of some of our favorite homes on the Realtor app. On the way down, we got a notification about a home on the market for 12 minutes. We hearted it and plotted our route for Saturday morning. On Saturday, June 12th, we drove to two homes that were "meh". At our third spot (our dream home), we called Melissa and asked if she could arrange for us to see since we were in the area. She called us back and said "the listing Realtor needs 2 hours". We agreed but continued driving around Florence. You know, to get to know our new hometown. We saw the whole home! All of it! We were there for over an hour, talking and learning about the home buying process. We finally made our to her office after leaving the home and decided to put in an offer. We showed up pre-approval letter in hand. Everything was fairly painless and easy... up to that point. She'd recommended home insurance agents who wasn't trying to mutilated our pockets. By June 22nd, we'd completed the inspection. Melissa suggested that we address all the things on the report with the buyers and let them choose what they wanted to fix. It made sense so we did it. By July 13th, Melissa had sent us all the addendums for signing (which we returned almost immediately), the sellers had agreed to make certain repairs, the appraisal was done, and we were ready for our July 16th closing... or so we thought. Our lender was absolutely HORRIBLE at getting us to closing. We didn't make the July 16th closing because we are "two unmarried vets" and the bank never processed a loan like that. Melissa was right there communicating with the lender, asking for status updates, and doing all she could from the "Realtor side". She communicated with the contractor doing the repairs on the home. She reached out to her termite people to ensure an accurate and clear CL-100 (termite) report was completed. We communicated every single day via email, text, and phone calls. Even if there was no update, she messaged us to see how we were doing. Mind you. Throughout the entire process she was doing her job as a Realtor, the listing agent's job (she was completely oblivious to the home selling process), and she was our referee in the lending ring. She called, texted, and emailed our lender for updates and asking for ways she could help. For almost 3 weeks, she offered solutions for problems that the lender had, she asked if there was anything she could do, and kept us informed every step of the way. I'm almost certain that these are not things in her duty description but she went above and beyond for us. Fast forward to August 5th. We were finally able to close while we were on vacation. Not without my amazing boyfriend's persistence and determination. Major props to Angel! Woo hoo! After closing, she was still contacting us about repairs that still needed to be completed, answering any questions that we had, and helping acclimated to "Flo-town". Melissa was a completely ethical professional. She kept her composure even after I dropped a few "f-bombs" over our lenders incompetence. She spoke factually. She never gave us false promises, even after the seller threatened to pull out of the deal. I've recommended her to two friends looking to purchase homes in South Carolina. I'd recommend her to the person standing in front of me at Marshalls. Shoot! I'd recommend her to another realtor. She is that calm spirit that keeps you grounded during the entire process. She came to the house after closing to bring us a number of housewarming gifts and to see how we were loving the South. We fell in love witb Florence because of her. I'm so happy to have her in my life. Thanks, Melissa!

Mary is such a joy to work with. She is very dedicated and follows through with all the details…read more Her expertise and professionalism mixed with her kind and fun personality make her a great choice!

Mary is truly an awesome agent! Give her a call, you will be glad you did.read more

Sherry goes above and beyond helping and representing you. I had a difficult sale for her with a…read morerental home in Lexington, and she took it on like the champion realtor that she is. She is very responsive to things as they arise and quickly gets back with you on updates and information that you need to make decisions. Her experience really shines throughout the process of selling the home (in my case we needed a flipper to buy it) all the way to the closing. Her suggestions are always thoughtful and full of wisdom from the heart and experience. My wife and I already have scheduled Sherry to come over to our Columbia home to discuss options and plans to put it on the market with Sherry Chessnut as our representative realtor. Highly recommend. 5/19/2021

Sherry provided great service. I was selling my home, but living out of state. I communicated my…read moresituation and needs. Sherry communicated very well and kept me informed. She made extra trips to our home due to residing out of state. She has a positive attitude and never acted too busy for us. I was having difficulty finding a contractor to perform some work to have the home ready for sale. Sherry sent me a list of vendor contacts she had and I contacted the contractor listed. The contractor was reputable and got the work completed on time. Sherry checked out work after completion for me since I wasn't there. I highly recommend using her.

Do not rent from. Worst property management company I have dealt with in 15 years of renting…read moreproperties. We moved in and both toilets were filled to the top with feces and toilet paper. Yard was in terrible condition with weeds growing through the deck.

People of color, BE WARNED. They have different credit requirements for people of color versus the…read moremajority. And, how a rental office staffer spoke to a Latino family inquiring about the application process made me feel very angry inside. They spoke in a very condescending manner to that family, as if the family was stupid or unable to hear. Apparently, if you are not military or making big $, a minimum 700 credit score and 5 year spotless rental history in another state is NOT good enough for a person of color to rent from them. Funny, I had no issues with this type of discrimination in NC. I knew I had jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire by trying to live in this dreaded, oppressed place. Agnes (property manager) is a snobby, racist wench, simply put. I believe because she holds people's livelihoods in her hands (in her eyes), she has an ego big enough to fill the entire Berkshire Hathway/John Brabham office building. Please dodge this bullet if you can! This is a completely honest and clear review because I do not want others hurt or used by these people. In the past, about 10 years ago, I applied and was given a raised eyebrow by Agnes because my credit was perfect (as if it is a rarity for people of color to have excellent credit). Please see the Yellow Pages reviews on this company. Hawkins & Kolb (Century 21) in Sumter has some discriminatory practices too. Think I will take my $ to Columbia and get the hell out of Dodge. No way I will ever refer anyone to them, or deal with any more racists who make a living off red-lining in Sumter County. Plus, most, or all of their rentals require a full 2-YEAR contract. This is because they know that people are reluctant to continue dealing with them once you've had a taste of that horrible customer service and sub-par property management, (but they try to preface it and say it is due to the tenant being able to "lock in" a steady rental rate with no hikes for at least 2 years). Simply not so; the mandatory 2-year contract is a basic part of their repertoire of shady practices. Rental prices have not changed in Sumter much in the last 10 years, so a hike in market rate rent in 1 single year is unlikely...I know because I left the state in 5/2008 for 6.5 years, and moved back 12/2014 after having been here in Sumter originally since 1992. When I applied with Agnes in 2005, some of the same properties were the SAME price then (particularly the ones off N. Guignard and in the old historic Sumter areas off Calhoun and Haynesworth Streets (that area)) as they are today, 2/12/2015!! Take your money and family (if you have one) somewhere else, if possible. You will likely be so much happier! They even have issues realizing whether a tenant paid a pet deposit or not! Many properties say "no pets," but man, if you show them a little $, they will change their minds oh so quickly!

I've never left a review on here for anything, but my experience was horrible to the point where I…read morewanted to warn everyone else who is looking for a house in Sumter. My husband and I can't stand Hawkins and Kolb. They are HORRIBLE at getting back with you about problems while renting a home. As long as they can get your money, any problem doesn't seem like a problem to them. While my husband deployed, the owner of our house stopped paying their mortgage and I bugged century 21 over and over for an update about what the deal was-considering i had 2 lawyers at my doorstep telling me the house was being foreclosed. I'm yet to find out whatever happend with that. Our tub was broken from day 1 of moving in. Huge crack down the entire tub that leaked. They didn't fix it until apparently we moved out (2 years and some odd months later). They finally replaced our very old dishwasher a week before we moved out. Glad it took the burning of our utensils for them to do that. We got hardly nothing back on our security deposit. It seems as though they made up things that they supposivley used the money on, but probably used it to fix much needed repairs around the house. Everything we filed and needed fixed over the time there--they didn't fix until we left. Up until recently, the people we had to go through were pretty rude. Although they seem to own everything in Sumter, I would look elsewhere to find a house. We went to buy a foreclosed house at one point and were told by the other side of hawkins and kolb that they would never offer that house to anyone in sumter because one of the realtors would've jumped on it to buy. We had wonderful memories in our house, but can't stand century 21: hawkins and kolb.

From the owner: We are one of Sumter's top professional offices, all of our agents are full time and are highly…read moreskilled in all aspects of Real Estate. We have been serving the community since 1977. CENTURY 21 Hawkins & Kolb is a full service Real Estate company that handles residential and commercial properties and developments. CENTURY 21 Hawkins & Kolb is among the elite offices in the CARTUS Network as we are designated as one of their co-primary brokers that handles relocation business. Please contact one of our agents who are highly trained to make the moving process as smooth as possible. In addition, we have consistently ranked as a top producing office for Century 21 Real Estate, LLC, in our region.

Lynn came to evaluate our home to sell. She helped us decide on what updates to complete in order…read moreto get the most money for our home. She even suggested we re-measure the square footage, because she believed it was more, and it absolutely was, which made us more money on the sale! Lynn marketed our home online, and she explained how the market works, then negotiated with the buyer. Lynn listed and closed our house in 56 days! Now Lynn's helping us find our next home. You're in great hands when Lynn's leading the way!

I found Lynn through Yelp, and I could not have been happier or more satisfied with the experience…read more She was absolutely phenomenal and endlessly patient throughout our seven-month search for the "perfect" second home in the Columbia area, a home we also intend to use as our retirement residence. Lynn maintained nearly daily contact with us, consistently providing new listings, recommendations, and expert insights that stayed within our preferred parameters. She truly listened to what we wanted and never pushed us in any direction that didn't feel right. Her professionalism, warmth, and genuine commitment made the entire process smooth and stress-free. When we finally chose a home in Irmo, Lynn guided us every step of the way through closing. Her knowledge of the market, meticulous attention to detail, and constant communication gave us complete confidence throughout the entire journey. If you're looking for a realtor who is dedicated, responsive, and extraordinarily supportive, Lynn is the one. We couldn't recommend her more highly!

Don't go there. Don't use them as your property manager. After trusting my real property to them, I…read moreended up with $40,000 in damage repair. If I could, I'd give them a zero. The reason? They refused to take responsibility.

Working with Ms. Debbie Bowen was heaven sent and one of my best experiences with selling a house…read more I am Active Duty located in a different state and she made the process so easy and stress free. The value that she puts into her craft is amazing and I would recommend her 10 times over again. Thank you Ms. Debbie for your patience's and support throughout this process.

If you are buying a home in the Florence area. Look no further than Janet Elvington. She has been…read morehere her whole life and knows everyone. Don't make a purchase without her. She is full service. Her knowledge of contractors and business owners make her invaluable.

Very professional businesswoman. Whether buying or selling, I feel 100% confident in her advice…read more Kind, helpful and dedicated. I happily recommend her to my family and friends.