Our Experience with Lindsay Wonderly Was a Nightmare - We Strongly Advise You Look Elsewhere…read more Working with Lindsay Wonderly at Redfin was one of the most stressful, expensive, and disheartening experiences we've ever had. We went into the sale of our rental property already stretched thin--paying two mortgages and taking out a loan to afford initial renovations. Lindsay knew this and yet continuously pushed us to spend more money we didn't have. One major example: staging. We told her upfront we didn't want to pay for staging, but she insisted that the house "WILL NOT SELL" without it. She referred a stager (with whom we later learned she has a clear partnership), and we paid in full. No disclosure was made about this relationship, which is incredibly unprofessional and possibly unethical. We were also clear that we needed to sell by mid-summer. However, when our home didn't get any offers and the housing market started softening, Lindsay was uncommunicative and did not provide any real guidance. Other comparable homes in our neighborhood and price range were selling quickly--because those realtors were actually monitoring the market and adjusting prices frequently. We had to take the initiative to reduce the price ourselves--by $25,000--in the final week just to generate interest. That drop worked. We received two offers. Lindsay strongly advised us to accept the VA-financed offer, which turned into an absolute disaster. She completely stopped advocating for us and made it clear her priority was closing at all costs. When the VA buyers demanded a full roof replacement, we objected. The roof had a leak months prior, which was fixed and professionally mitigated. We had a licensed contractor inspect it again and provide a letter stating that a full replacement was not needed. Lindsay refused to support us. She told us the buyer already arranged a roofing company and we should just allow the cost to come out of escrow. No negotiation. No advocacy. Just pressure. After an emotional and difficult conversation--where I was in tears--we caved, again. That added yet another large, unnecessary expense to a home that could have sold without all the so-called "essential" updates Lindsay pushed from the beginning (none of which included a roof).At this point, we also discovered that the staging had never been removed, despite our written request on June 24th--which Lindsay directly interfered with. The stager admitted she was told by Lindsay to leave the furniture. I reminded them both: we are the client. Lindsay had no authority to override our decision. Yet the stager refused to remove her items. To make matters worse, the home was left unlocked multiple times by the inspector and others, and we no longer felt safe having those staging items inside. I had to call again and text again, only for the stager to pretend not to know who I was, yell at me, and claim she "gets all her business from Lindsay" and had "never been treated so poorly." All I asked was for her to remove the staging items--something I had requested nearly two weeks prior. She then said she would charge us an Emergency Removal Fee. I refused. This was not an emergency of our making. But because of her close relationship with Lindsay, she convinced her to add this bogus fee to our escrow. The next day, escrow sent an updated closing statement--including that charge. I was shocked, contacted an attorney, and was told Lindsay had no legal right to add unauthorized fees. Escrow confirmed this and removed the charge--but not before another round of stress and conflict. Lindsay was furious about this. We also formally requested communication records between Lindsay and the stager three times and have been ignored every time. This entire transaction left us feeling bullied, ignored, and exploited. We did not feel supported--we felt trapped. We were hoping for a professional who would advocate for us. Instead, we got someone who prioritized her network and her commission over our financial well-being and mental health. At the end of it all, Lindsay blamed us. She said all the stress and confusion was our fault, that our house was "crappy" and she was surprised it even sold, and that we should just be grateful. We lost sleep. We lost money. We lost trust. In hindsight, we wish we had just re-rented the house and waited for a better market--and a far better realtor. But by the time it was all over, we were so emotionally exhausted and beaten down, we gave in. We will never refer Lindsay Wonderly. We strongly advise others to proceed with extreme caution if you're considering working with her. No amount of positive reviews can erase what we went through.
