Skip to content
×
PRO
Pro Members Get Full Access!
Get off the sidelines and take action in real estate investing with BiggerPockets Pro. Our comprehensive suite of tools and resources minimize mistakes, support informed decisions, and propel you to success.
Advanced networking features
Market and Deal Finder tools
Property analysis calculators
Landlord Command Center
$0
TODAY
$69.00/month when billed monthly.
$32.50/month when billed annually.
7 day free trial. Cancel anytime
Already a Pro Member? Sign in here
Pick markets, find deals, analyze and manage properties. Try BiggerPockets PRO.
x
All Forum Categories
All Forum Categories
Followed Discussions
Followed Categories
Followed People
Followed Locations
Market News & Data
General Info
Real Estate Strategies
Landlording & Rental Properties
Real Estate Professionals
Financial, Tax, & Legal
Real Estate Classifieds
Reviews & Feedback

All Forum Posts by: Dan B.

Dan B. has started 1 posts and replied 9 times.

Post: Homelister Review - a very bad experience for me

Dan B.Posted
  • Investor
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 3

@Carla Sanders - 

I almost always give a business an opportunity to make things better before posting a negative review publicly. This situation was no different. And I understand that things can and do go wrong, especially with a startup like Homelister. Most of the time, I am able to resolve things privately when issues arise, but that was not the case with Homelister.

My main complaints with Homelister were and still remain how disrespectfully and dismissively I was treated, how the promises that were made to me by your CEO were not followed through with, how disinterested your company was about improving your processes for future customers, and how your company didn’t take any responsibility for not being able to deliver the service I paid for.

Yes, a phone number was listed. Why does that matter if the buyers’ agents that tried to schedule a showing gave up after not receiving a reply to their ShowingTime requests? It took 18 days for someone to finally call and ask why we weren’t approving his repeated showing requests.

Your reply here, which is full of half-truths and more evasion, is just further evidence to me that you do not have the processes or the people in place to deal with situations that go sideways and are almost certain to encounter this kind of situation again in the future.

Post: Homelister Review - a very bad experience for me

Dan B.Posted
  • Investor
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 3

Post: Homelister Review - a very bad experience for me

Dan B.Posted
  • Investor
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 3

Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:
Originally posted by @Russell Brazil:

Its almost a guarantee when you relist with a regular agent, that the first listing will cause you a stigma in the market place. 

All they needed to do was input your phone number into showingtime, so showing requests were sent to you. Literally 15 seconds of work. 

Theres a thousand small details though that need to be tracked when selling a house, and screwing up any of them might cost you tens of thousands of dollars. Your story is just 1 clear example of 1 detail that would take 15 seconds to complete, and how missing it is going to cost you substantial sums of money. 

I do not believe that you always get what you pay for as tons of crappy agents charge the same amount as good agents. However, the places that do charge substantially less, they just do not have the ability to attract and pay for good quality people, as exampled here.

we have limited representation listings in this area.. the agent just fills in the MLS listing form and in agent remarks says call owner direct simple as that.. I am not aware of what showingtime is ??? we dont have that. withdrawn cancelled listings are always problimatical as in new agents buyers first thing comes to mind something was wrong with the house.

Russell - thanks for confirming this was an issue on their end with their process. They denied that, but I suspected otherwise.

Jay - ShowingTime is an app for setting up showing appointments. Homelister claimed it is a mandatory to use for MLS listings in my area, but I am not really believing anything they say anymore. I heard that cancelled listings can be problematic, so I'm still trying to work with Homelister. The agent I have been assigned has been really good, my complaint is more with their broken process and the CEO's inability to set things on a better course.

Post: Homelister Review - a very bad experience for me

Dan B.Posted
  • Investor
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 3

Read about my poor experience with Homelister before listing your property with them.

Homelister seems like a pretty good deal at first for anyone who wants to save some money on selling a property and doesn't mind being a little more involved in the process. They have packages from $600 to $2,700 that offer everything from MLS posting services, professional photography, and even a licensed agent to help you through the process.

So I decided to give them a try when I was looking to sell a small rental property of mine. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until it was 18 days after the MLS listing went live and I still hadn't received a single lead. That's when a buyer's agent called to say he tried several times to schedule a showing, but never received a reply. When I inquired about what happened to Homelister, I discovered that all the leads were going to a site called ShowingTime and we never received an invite to sign up or any notifications of the leads.

Before going public with my experience, I contacted the CEO of Homelister to give her the opportunity to set things straight. She showed up 20 minutes late to our call and basically blamed ShowingTime for everything. She said none of the responsibility was on Homelister. I told her that I thought their service was pointless if I can't receive any leads and asked if they would consider having a QA process in the future to make sure all of their customers are set up properly with ShowingTime. She said that's not something they're able to do at the price point they offer. Really?? Why are you even in this business in the first place? She came off as an MBA type who could care less about her customers. My suspicion is that the mess up was on their end and they don't want to own it.

The CEO said she would get back to me with next steps and an action plan. She never did. I was offered a $250 credit, IF I sell the property, which is less than 10% of the total cost of the service. What a joke!

The main positive part of my experience is the agent that was assigned to me. She has been very helpful and responsive. But again, if I don't get my leads, the rest of the experience is of no importance.

So, in short, you get what you pay for. I'm concerned now that buyers will see that my property has been listed for a while and bid down my asking price, which could be very costly for me. In the end, I wish I just went with a realtor as my experience with Homelister has been very very poor.

TL/DR: Homelister didn’t work as advertised and they refused to make things right.

Post: Cozy transition to Apartments.com

Dan B.Posted
  • Investor
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 3

The Cozy transition to apartments.com has been painful for me. They shut off my listings TWICE without notifying me, preventing people from applying. They pushed back the migration date TWICE when I’m wanting them to just get it over with. Support hasn’t been responsive at all lately. It’s a shame because I used to be a big fan of the service. 


Anyone else having a really negative experience?

Post: Cozy.co Doom is near?

Dan B.Posted
  • Investor
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 3

The Cozy transition to apartments.com has been painful for me. They shut off my listings TWICE without notifying me, preventing people from applying. They pushed back the migration date TWICE when I’m wanting them to just get it over with. Support hasn’t been responsive at all lately. It’s a shame because I used to be a big fan of the service.


Anyone else having a really negative experience?

Post: Appeal property tax valuations in Philadelphia - Help!

Dan B.Posted
  • Investor
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 3

I'm really pissed.  Taxes across my 3 properties are up 37.39% from last year.  Since 2015, they're up 60.36%.  One of them went up 147% since 2015.  That's assuming the rate doesn't go up, which it might!

Post: Philadelphia Section 8 multi family

Dan B.Posted
  • Investor
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 3

Also, there's no longer a fee for Business Privilege License and it's now called Business Income and Receipts Tax.

https://business.phila.gov/overview-of-business-income-and-receipts-tax/

Post: Philadelphia Section 8 multi family

Dan B.Posted
  • Investor
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 3

I highly recommend the book Buy & Rent Foreclosures by Joseph Neilson.  Lots of great info.  He's a Philly area investor that specializes in section 8.  

http://www.amazon.com/Buy-Rent-Foreclosures-Millio...