I listed and sold a home with Gateway Realtors in Hasbrouck Heights, and must say that it was the…read moreworst sales experience I have ever had. I have bought and sold several homes using a realtor, so I am very familiar with the process.
I listed the home with Eddie Norman Narvaez, a new agent that moved here from Florida. He has to be the laziest agent in the industry. I was promised an open house, and never had one. I had repeatedly asked Eddie to schedule the open house, but he was reluctant. It is my belief that he did not want another agent to sell the house, and that he wanted to keep the entire transaction in his office. This had severely limited the amount of exposure we received for the property.
Communications with Eddie has been very poor as well. He would not return email, phone calls or text messages. I would send him very specific questions, but would never receive a response. On the very rare occasion that he would respond, I would receive a canned response that I need to speak with my attorney, even though it was Eddie's job to follow up on the issues at hand.
Due to the limited property showings that we did have, we only received one offer, which was from one of his clients. It was at this point that I contacted the agency's owner, Mary Ellen Courtney. I expressed my concerns to her in regards to Eddie's lack of response, not having an open house, and Eddie referring me to my attorney for questions he should have been handling. Mary Ellen stated that she would speak with Eddie, but nothing changed. Mary Ellen seemed to be inconvenienced with my concerns, even though she's the owner of the office.
Once we accepted the offer, Eddie was non-existent. He dropped the ball on following up with the client regarding the mortgage, home inspection, town CO inspection, homeowners insurance, etc. Every time I had asked Eddie about the status of these items, he referred me to my attorney. He refused to make any contact with his client to move the sale along. He has the idea that once the listing is taken, that his job is over. He has no concept of how to handle a real estate transaction, and should not be working in this field.
Eddie never mentioned to us that the buyer's mortgage fell through. The mortgage commitment date had passed by for two weeks, and Eddie never thought to mention this to me. I became very concerned at this point and requested that the house still be shown, as the buyer was having a problem obtaining a mortgage. My email and phone calls to both Eddie and Mary Ellen went unanswered. After at least a week, I finally spoke with Mary Ellen over the phone, and she so rudely told me that I was bothering her, and that she was spending time with her family! This is her business, but she does not want to speak with her customers?
Eddie never informed the buyers that they needed to schedule a home inspection, or start the homeowners insurance process to get the necessary paperwork for the closing. He also did not set up the CO inspection, so I had to pay an extra $100 to get a last minute CO inspection from the town, since it was requested within three days of the closing. Again, I brought my concerns to Mary Ellen, but she did not want to get involved. She mentioned that when she hired Eddie, he seemed like a nice guy, and seemed like he knew what he was doing. But yet, she still did not want to get involved in the many problems that plagued this transaction.
Bottom line, DO NOT trust the purchase or sale of your home with Eddie, Mary Ellen, or anyone else at Real Living Gateway Realtors in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ. They are by far the worst real estate company I have ever dealt with. If you are looking for a hassle free, professional transaction, you should definitely look elsewhere. Don't be fooled by their presentations and BS. All they want is their commission, and don't want to work for it at all.
A real estate purchase or sale is one of the largest transactions a person will have in their lifetime. It requires professionals that know what they are doing, and work on your behalf to ensure that it goes smoothly, and that they have your best interests in mind at all times. Be very careful when a realtor avoids having an open house, and when offers are only coming in from realtors within that office alone. Some realtors will do whatever they can to keep your listing in their office, and avoid cooperating with other agencies. If you experience similar problems with Gateway Realtors, demand that they cancel the listing contract, and file a complaint with the Board of Realtors. What they have done in my transaction is unethical, and highly unprofessional.
Avoid this agency and look elsewhere. You'll be glad you did!
