Lance Thomas went above and beyond for my wife and I. It was not easy process due to unforeseen…read morecircumstances but Lance made everything easy. His quick responses and the ability to contact him at any time really made the difference. I cannot recommend him or Benson Agency enough. 5/5 Stars without question.

Called them several weeks ago, they wanted to sell my garden residential/commercial property for…read moreless than its worth without looking at it in person, to make them look like great sales people, they offered to sell it for maybe $250,000, but it is worth more. What some realtors also do in this area is that they do not list the public area attractions so they can lower the value. For instance, if you go to Captain's Cove, Virginia online listings that area often lists the private and public attraction areas nearby like gym, swimming pools, marinas, etc. In Upstate, NY, like Oneonta, NY, realtors often do not list the nearby public swimming areas, YMCA, 2 colleges/universities, several parks, etc. They do not do any marketing, and sometimes lower property values by doing that. The small village I live in has several attractions, so I would find Benson Agency that has an office about 20 minutes from where I am substandard.

Ben and his team represented the sellers in our transaction (we did not use a realtor) and he went…read moreout of his way to help us out as buyers. He kept us well informed throughout the process and kept an open line of communication from start to finish. Straightforward, honest, and professional--I highly recommend.

My experience happened about 4 years ago. I never wanted to say how poor it was but the home that I…read morepurchased was a money pit. Leaky roof rotten water pump really bad plumbing throughout the house I don't know who she paid Sharon teeter the agent but it passed inspection and I couldn't believe it I've had almost everything service since I've been here in the listing it showed a cabin that is so debilitated once I could get on the property cuz I came up in the winter that I would need at least $20,000 to fix up. The man or woman cave which is a glorified large shed also in need of dramatic care the full car garage was probably better built than the house. I won't say how she presented because then I could get shoes for libel very disappointed with her ended up going to court long story trusted someone I shouldn't have

Their agent, Mary Kay Flanagan, managed to take three days to write up our offer and did it wrong…read morenumerous times, and then we lost the house to someone else. She got the county wrong, our name wrong, and then said she sent it via email for us to sign but we never got it. It was all a ploy to delay the sale to get a better deal. No customer service whatsoever,definitely shady, and probably illegal. I would NEVER use them.

A Very knowledgeable staff of competent realtors. Ashley assisted in the listing of our business…read moreand arranged for several showings before a buyer was finally found.

We had to use a different realtor, they do not adhere to NY State law and require ID and Poof of…read morefunds before showing a property, maybe the only company we know. We have bought and sold so many homes over the years, and to just look at a property, we never had to show proof of funds just to view it. We can understand it if you are making an offer, but to just look at a property. They are horrible to work with. I looked up the law and it said: Summary of Legal Requirements No, New York State law does not explicitly mandate that a realtor must obtain identification or proof of funds from a buyer before showing a property. I know someone else told me they had problems with this realtor in the past too. Anyway, you may want to use someone else, I found them to be completely impossible to go to see a property that they show as the listing agent. I don't think they want to drive around their whole large selling district. Anyway, their loss. We will just use someone else who is more user friendly and serious in selling a property for someone by showing it to us as potential buyers.

When searching for a realtor, I heard a few horror stories: One person was lied to, another felt…read moreripped off, and a last's experience was so bad that he got a refund. Therefore, I knew I had to do my due diligence. I checked websites and reviews for dozens of realtors and put together a top five list. Cricket Keto was first meeting I set up, and she made such a great impression that I decided to go with her without even meeting another realtor. From the start, I was impressed with how Cricket balanced a down-to-earth friendliness and an effective professionalism. Throughout the entire process, she communicated well. I could generally expect a response within a day and often within the hour. Even when she went "on vacation" (technically an emergency trip), she got back to me quickly and efficiently. As the home-buying experience went on, I was happy to discover that her experience, knowledge, and savvy was exceptional. She always provided excellent answers, and often with pin-point accuracy. For example, when negotiating for a six figure home, her estimation was only a few hundred dollars off of the appraisal, and she predicted exactly what the seller's negotiating team would do down to the dollar. Cricket's experience with and close attention to the local market is fantastic. She would easily inform us when a house that fit our criteria went on sale, why certain homes were a certain price, and the pros and cons for specific listings. Our home-buying experience was rocky, so Cricket had ample opportunity to demonstrate her skills. At least thrice, when I expressed a concern, Cricket had either already solved the problem or was very close to a resolution. At least once, when a surprise expense arose, she negotiated a reduced fee, and then arranged for someone else to pay for the service. In additional to her personal skills, Cricket's professional references also served us well. When I vetted her referrals, they passed with flying colors, and our experience with them was wonderful. For example, Patti Canner, the lawyer Cricket referred us to, caught a small problem that everyone else had missed that could have cost us huge amounts of money and headaches further down the line. While I prefer to keep professional reviews professional, I would be remiss if I did not emphasize what a wonderful person Cricket is. While waiting for seller's agents for a showing or everyone to gather for a contract signing, I had the opportunity to chat with Cricket and exchange stories. Thanks to our talks, I noticed that Cricket loves her work and her town and that she is legitimately grateful for her clients. In conclusion, Cricket Keto is a skilled and experienced realtor who works hard on her clients' behalf. By working with her, we saved time and money, and we obtained a wonderful home that we hope to enjoy for many years to come.

Susan is reliable, creative, sharp, and extremely knowledgeable when it comes to old houses - what…read morelooks intact, what doesn't - and properties overall. She's also just really fun to work with. We were looking for an old farmhouse on a piece of property that we could turn into a dream farm - sloping hills, old barn, mature trees, views, the whole shebang. She understood the project right away. She worked with us diligently for over a year, worked through various thought experiments to help us hone our vision, and got us what we wanted. I just can't say enough about how fantastic Susan is as an agent and as a person!

From the owner: After more than ten years working with the top boutique and corporate real estate companies in the…read moreHudson Valley and the Catskills, owner/broker Susan Barnett established Upstate Country Realty to combine the best of both real estate models in the western Catskills. UCR is small by design and by intent, representing only character, country and commercial properties with something very special to offer, whether its location, historic detail, or investment potential. UCR prides itself on marketing that is a cut above the rest, and client service that is second to none. That's why we say "It's Better Upstate."

Poor service, lack of market knowledge. I wouldn't recommend, try Oneonta realty, the staff there…read morehave the market pulse and know the city codes.

Al Grust guided us through pandemic looking for a house. Honest and knowledgeable of construction,…read morehe seemed to really understand what we were in the market for and showed us just that. Highly recommend working with Al!