Mary Simmons-Maloney is the worst realtor I've ever dealt with. She was rude, abrasive, did not protect us as buyers or sellers and put us in an extremely difficult (and expensive) position based purely on negligence. When we needed her most, she was not available to respond over text or phone call for multiple days in a row. As a "Navy Veteran" she claims to support the military but frankly I'm embarrassed for this given the way she treats others for her personal gain. If you have a choice, avoid her at all costs. read more

Highly recommend Hometown Realty. Brett Blackwell was our agent for selling our home. He miraculously sold our home in less than a week. We accepted an offer quickly. Brett was by our side during the entire process...even helping with major and even minor repairs! He always came up with a solution. Big huge thank you to Hometown Realty and BRETT!!! read more

ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE. Selling my home through Hometown Realty was nothing but disappointment, stress, and hard work on my part as not even one step along the way went as it should have due to poor work by Hometown Realty's team. I have never been so let down by Yelp so I figured I NEEDED to write about my experience so nobody else makes the same EXPENSIVE mistake I did by choosing Hometown Realty. They charge the highest commission (6%) real estate agents charge, I did NOT get what I agreed to pay for, and they refused to lower the commission. Apparently I have too many bad experiences to write about and Yelp only allows 5000 characters so here is an abbreviated version (feel free to ask about any details and I will be happy to share, I also have texts and emails to backup almost all statements). My house was beautiful, professionally decorated, even featured on a popular interior design website. It sold itself, and it did so quickly, about 2 weeks. This did not have ANYTHING to do with Hometown Realty, and at one point their misrepresentation of myself and my feelings about the date of the close of escrow to the buyer almost put the sale in jeopardy. The buyer told me this and was just someone who saw the listing online, had their agent make an appointment, loved it and made an offer. Thankfully, the buyer, being so fed up with Hometown Realty as well, contacted me directly and I was able to handle the correspondence with them to clear up all issues and make sure no other misrepresentations were made. I chose Hometown realty for a number of reasons. The first being the very good Yelp reviews, second was their marketing materials, third was their expertise in San Elijo Hills, and lastly the representation that they get you a better price then any other agency. 1. I was told I would have glossy color flyers of my home sent out. That sounds great except they did not even have these sent out until TWO WEEKS AFTER my house went on the market and I had already accepted an offer. What kind of timing is that? Any good business-minded person would know those should be in people's mailboxes the day that house hits the market. I made Jason very aware I was not in a rush and if they would have let me know it would take a week or two to get the materials I would have been happy to wait to list the house when they actually had their marketing materials ready. 2. After Jason's speech about how he can get a higher price per square foot than any other agent, he tells me what price he thinks he should list my house at. Which, even though it showed better than all of them and had better location (as Jason stated himself), was BELOW the average price per square foot of the current sales. Where is the follow through and result to go with that big song and dance you just performed? I ended up deciding to list higher than he suggested, and I did sell it for higher. I feel Hometown Realty wanted the house sold as quickly and easily as possible so their team could do the least amount of work, collect that big check, and move on to the next one. 3. I was told they don't usually do videos of condos but as mine was so beautiful Jason had gotten an exception to do one for mine. They NEVER did a video as promised. 4. Typos all over my listings and documents that needed to be signed that I had to point out many times to have corrected. Very unprofessional, no attention to detail. 5. They told me my open house would be Sun. 1-4. When I confirmed what time I needed to be out by a few days prior to the open house they said it was Sat. 12-3, to be out at 11:45. It created a huge issue as I had a friend in town and had already booked a hotel for Sat and now had to arrange for Fri as well. Keith started the open house at 11. Without any flyers or materials to hand out and an hour before they told me. Good thing I wasn't in the shower. No feedback on open house given until I texted to ask the next day. 6. They misrepresented what was included in the home and I had to go through days of back and forth with the buyer and Jason to clear things up. Which Jason then took credit for as something he had done so well when the issue was caused by him in the first place. 7. I received an email saying myself and my home would be amazing as the first in a new series of video testimonials for Hometown. I responded saying I was sorry but I was not happy with Hometown and would not feel comfortable doing that. I then received a call from the owner, Mary Malone. I saw that as a good sign. After waiting weeks for a call back from her after a couple calls and emails she would not lower the commission even though they had not provided anything they said they would and she agreed many of the things I listed were serious issues. I was offered $500 and a house cleaning which is a slap in the face or %&!$ you when paying $26,400 commission. No care for their customer, taking responsibility, or righting their wrongs. Just want your $$$$$$. read more

Ilana was a pleasure to work with and took care of everything from the start of looking for homes, to the final touches. She made great recommendations for contractors who did work for us after we purchased, and was attentive and communicative the entire time. We weren't originally sure if San Elijo was right for us, but after spending time with Ilana and seeing what our options here were, we were sold. We've been in our new home for 4 months and the entire community already feels like home. Ilana is not only our agent now, but is a family friend. We highly recommend anyone interested in buying or selling property in this area work with Hometown and Ilana. They know their business and how to get you what you want!! read more

When I pulled Jason Barbato's name from a Yelp Review, my husband almost freaked out, thinking, "How can we trust a Yelp review with something so important as buying our first home?" WE ARE so glad we did! We consider ourselves a young couple, which aligns with Jason style. He is up-to-date with ALL THE LATEST apps and processes for today's present market. Everything was done electronically, which made it, extremely efficient and easy. We were so nervous! Jason really sat us down, took the time to explain, in plain language, the process, he supported us emotionally, and would immediately follow-up with our many concerns. His energy for the process, attention to detail, and laid-back personality is what made this relationship a success! We met Jason on 07/16/13, then 5 days later, we found our wonderful home, placed bid and started & closed escrow (earlier than expected) on the 26th day! Jason was vital for the efficiency of the process. He was hands-on with coordinating everyone's efforts to make sure everything was done thoroughly and to completion. I couldn't ask for a better blessing. Thank you Jason! We will forever be grateful. read more

Jason Barbato was a super real estate agent to work with. From start to finish it took about 6 weeks for us to find our new home. On the first night that we met with him he had us make a list of our needs, wants, and our dislikes. The day before we moved into our home he pulled out the list we had made and every desire we had was found in our new home! Jason is very friendly and an awesome asset to have on your side, he knows what it takes to get an offer accepted. He also has contacts with everyone you'd possibly need for the moving process from inspections down to the lender. It was also nice, being our first home purchase, having an agent explain the market, terms, and process in a clear and precise way. If you want a home I'd highly recommend Jason Barbato. read more

Ilana is the best agent in town. She was not only able to find our dream home but also sold our home in 4 days. She definitely has your best interest in mind. A home is a big investment, let a professional handle it. There's no reason to use anyone else. Ilana is definitely the way to go. read more

Hometown Realty - eXp Realty - Real Estate Services Near Me - San Marcos, California

From our first meeting with Ilana, my wife and I knew our friend had recommended the right agent. Ilana Huff helped with every step of our home sale from staging our home to completing escrow. We were in constant contact with Illana via phone, text, and email throughout the process. She always responded within minutes and never made us feel we were pestering her, (even though sometimes we were!) Ilana's confidence and know how made it clear she knew exactly what she was doing and we were able to put our full trust into her. In the end she rewarded us with an amazing price for our home in a really difficult market. She's the best! We can't recommend Illana enough! read more

I would highly recommend Hometown Realty to others, particularly if you are looking to buy or sell a house in or around San Elijo Hills.  Mary Maloney led the purchase of our house in SEH three years ago and the sale of it recently. Here is what you need to know about Mary and Hometown Realty: 1) Mary and Hometown know everyone and everything there is to know about San Elijo Hills.  Mary was one of the first 30 residents when the development was first built. She know every street and subdivision by name, and can picture most houses by just the address.  She knows every transaction that takes place.  Due to her local network Mary has an unparalleled depth of information about houses that owners would sell but aren't on the market yet.  She knows buyers that aren't actively shopping but would buy the right house if it comes along.  Local expertise is impressively unmatched. 2) Experience shows during the transaction.  Anyone can fill out the real estate forms.  There is an art to negotiating the fine points of a deal through the paperwork process... Which areas not to go with the default time periods or clauses in the california standard contract.  When you work with Hometown, it will be visible that this isn't their first rodeo. 3) Hometown understands there is a project management component to real estate transactions. They handle it well.  By project management, I mean "who needs to do what, on what days, in what order, so that everyone's goals are accomplished and the end result happens on the day it is supposed to."  Proactive transaction management is a strength of this group. 4) The whole community appreciates the culture of genuine caring from the Hometown Realty group.  They give back to the community and sponsor community events.  Mary has done some seemingly little things for us that mean a lot at her own expense - sometimes a few hundred dollars worth or more - because she cares and because she is that kind of person.  It is a refreshing focus on the big picture of genuine care and love for her clients and community, which is also really reflective of the San Elijo Hills community overall. If your expectation is that working with a real estate agent or group should result in everything going absolutely perfect at every turn, you probably haven't closed enough real estate deals to know that there are unexpected events and twists no one can control.  If you want someone who knows how to manage and damage control those situations effectively when they come up, you feel at home with Hometown Realty. read more

Jason Barbato sold our San Elijo Hills home for us while we were 2,000 miles away in Nashville. He went above and beyond in every way, helping us coordinate getting the home ready to sell, even when we weren't there in person. We could not have found a better realtor. Jason's knowledge and attention to detail are second to none. Quick to respond whenever we had a question and proactive to help us consider things that we might have otherwise forgotten. In an industry that can be hard to navigate, we were able to trust that our realtor had our best interest in mind. If you need help selling or purchasing a home, look no further. read more

We had a wonderful experience with Hometown Realty! Jason came highly recommended from a friend, and immediately we could see why. He's friendly, tech-savvy, and quick to respond which is a BIG deal in the real estate market because things go quick! (The home that he helped us buy was sold in two days!) He was also very familiar with our search area (south Carlsbad/Encinitas) which helped us immensely. We almost bought a home while we lived in the Bay Area, and while we loved the personality of our realtor up there, he wasn't familiar with technology. It slowed our entire search process down, and he wasn't flexible with our schedule as we had hoped he would be. Jason was the OPPOSITE experience from this. He is quick to respond and schedule appointments, utilized technology efficiently, and really understood that time is of the essence. He was great to work with, even though we were out-of-towners (moving from the Bay Area to San Diego) and weren't able to fly down every weekend. We were able to find the perfect home quickly, and once we did he really expedited the process and our offer was accepted two days later. I think the greatest thing for us was that he has a young family like ours. He was able to point us in the direction of good neighborhoods to be in, good schools, and things to do with our young kids in the area. We highly recommend him! read more

Steve. The broker who was our broker when we sold our small condo in the Carmel Creek area promised me 200 dollars if I gave 2 leather bar stools to the new owner. He never sent me a penny nor did he call to apologize. The gal we used was a real dead head in my opinion. I think many of the complements his company received must have been from friends or relatives. Alfred Marton RPh, M.D. read more

Jason Barbato helped us sell our house and buy a new one. He was excellent to work with. The timing for that kind of transaction is pretty critical and Jason went above and beyond to make sure all parties were lined up and on the same page to make everything work out. His communication with us was off the charts, and he never made us feel like we were bothering him when we came at him with our thousands of questions. He was clearly very knowledgable about every step of the process and helped us to be aware of what to expect. There were a lot of crazy twists and turns in the process, and I feel extremely fortunate that Jason was there to help us see it through. read more

Work with Jason. He is extremely knowledgeable, listens to what his clients want, and truly cares for his clients. Jason helped me and my wife move in to an ideal home in north county. As a newbie to the area I was blind to my real estate knowledge (or lack there of). Zillow only gave me so much of an understanding and OTHER realtors I had worked with in the past had showed me what they thought were cool, not what I wanted. Jason listened to what our ideal home would be and delivered options. He was considerate about our time and worked tirelessly at night and weekends. He provided suggestions and was always available to thoughtfully answer questions. When it was a good opportunity Jason was in our corner battling with sellers to get the right price. During the paperwork process he was diligent working with escrow and mortgage company to make our lives easy. The home buying experience was made exciting and pleasant with Jason. read more

We can't say enough good things about Mary. She was professional in all of her dealings with us. She followed through on every commitment she made and kept track of every deadline that needed to be met. The pictures of our house made it look so good we almost changed our mind and kept it ourselves. Mary sold our house despite some ongoing construction and we even got more than our asking price. I would highly recommend Mary and Hometown Realty. read more

You know when you start feeling lazy or tired about shopping for a new home, and you know you really should get off the couch and do it? Well just give Jason Barbato at Hometown Realty a quick call and his tremendous energy will energize you into action. We've worked with a lot of agents in the past and Jason is our go to guy now. He's energetic, smart, knowledgeable, polite, and professional. He'll steer you towards the good and away from the bad. If you're open to it, he'll also show you possibilities that you hadn't thought about. What an asset to have when looking for property! read more

Amazing! We were looking for a new home to rent while we looked for just the right place to buy. We wanted to live in the neighborhood first before we bought. Ilana Huff was recommended to us at Hometown Realty and we were not disappointed! She went out of her way to find us a place in our price range and fast! We were moved in in less than 15 days. She has been wonderful to work with and we will definitely pass on the recommendation to our friends. read more

We didn't just need a real estate agent. We needed a San Elijo Hills sherpa, an interior design consultant, a negotiations pitbull, a paperwork policeman and a part-time psychological counselor. (OK, so I guess we expect a lot.) Ilana Huff at Hometown Realty provided that magical mix for us and made our entire home search, selling, and buying experience an easy and, dare I say, pleasurable one. She really got to know us and our needs, and was a true advocate for us in the process. She was not only amazingly responsive, but also very proactive, which made us feel that we really had someone looking out for us at all times. Her knowledge and professionalism were pivotal in helping us get the right price for our house and into a new one that we loved. We can't recommend her highly enough. read more

We sold our home through Ilana Huff and the Hometown Realty Team. It can be so stressful! Ilana took all the stress upon herself and allowed us to focus on the moving forward part of the move. She has incredible knowledge of the area and being so active in the community through her work and her personal life, her network of investors and interested buyers was extensive. She sold our home quickly with multiple offers coming in and with professionalism and great warmth helped us maneuver through the tough decisions. Ilana was a pleasure to work with and I would gladly work with her and her team again. read more

Great experience working with Steve Golden! Thank you for working weekdays, weekends, mornings and evenings for us!

Jason Barbato really made the process of buying our first home a wonderful and excited experience! He was on top of every detail, giving us updates all the time. I would recommend him to anyone looking to buy or sell a home! Hardworking, honest, attentive, professional and personable are just a few ways to describe him! read more

My husband and I worked with Jason from Hometown Realty to buy our very first home. Jason was so easy to get a hold of, and was extremely fast acting when we found a listing we wanted to view. He worked with our schedule and we often viewed homes in the evenings and on the weekends. We were looking during a very competitive time and Jason remained positive and encouraging -- certain that our perfect home was out there. Once our offer was accepted, Jason helped us through the entire process. We were so impressed with all of the little details Hometown Realty provided. They mailed us packing labels during our move, and sent us address labels with our new address once we were all moved in. We would recommend them again and again! read more

Ilana Huff is amazing! We sold our home in San Elijo and bought a home in Temecula. Ilana is the best. She helped me set everything in motion from my bed while I was recovering from surgery, and coordinated our closing escrow while we were on vacation on the East Coast. How's that for personal attention?!! The best part is that I knew I could trust her the whole way and now she's a great friend. I could not have asked for a better home buying/selling experience. read more

Mary and Steve are the best! Everything else I can write has been said time and time again about Hometown on the other reviews.

I have known Mary at Hometown for almost 10 years and she has provided exceptional service and advice for all my real estate manners. She has helped me with rental properties and the purchase of my current home. Recently she helped me sell a condo in San Elijo Hills at the highest price per sq ft in the neighborhood! Her service and her teams efforts are among the best in the business. read more

Steve Golden was our agent. His knowledge of the market and his expert advice throughout the sale of our property in Carlsbad made for a quick , seamless and professional experience. Our son sold and purchased a home using Steve and the Hometown Realty Company. Their home sold in 2 days and Steve was able to locate a beautiful home for them in the exact area they wanted to live. We have bought and sold several homes in different states and this was by far the easiest process. We were kept informed each step of the way and only had to be present twice for signings . Did I mention we sold for full price?! Thank you Steve and Hometown Realty. My only regret is I have no more properties to sell. read more

A truly wonderful experience, the team at Hometown Realty handled every aspect of our home sale perfectly. Jason Barbato is certainly the most talented and diligent agent we have ever worked with. We could not be happier. read more

I recently purchased my first home through Hometown Realty. Tristen Campanella was fantastic throughout the whole process! She is the perfect combination of professional, personable, and determined but never pushy. She was also really good about explaining the home buying process and keeping me updated every step of the way. It also doesn't hurt that she's an expert on the market in North county. I would certainly refer her to any of my friends looking for a good realtor! She's the best! read more

In one sentence to make it simple: Maribel is amazing. I was referred to her through one of my friends and I am so glad we met with her. She is very professional and knows her material very well. My husband and I were the first time homebuyers and didn't know much about the process. There are so many technical terms involved in process of buying a house that could get overwhelming very easily. Maribel sat down with us and she started going through everything. She has some pamphlets and manuals that break things down for us. First she added us to an email list where she sent us every house that came to the market and fit our criteria. She was able to make time for us any time we needed her. She came to every single house with us to show it to us and was never hesitant or tired of our vague criteria. When we first started we weren't so sure of what we want and we were almost seeing every house that looked good, but slowly we learned and we were doing a better job. The whole process she was patient, gave us useful comments and guided us to narrow our choices better. We had a little pause between our search due to a change to my husband's job. She kept in touch with us the whole time and she treated us really well. I know agents who treat you just like a client and if you cant make them money, you are out their loop. Instead, Maribel stayed with us with all her positive attitudes and eventually we were able to find our dream home. Every house that we wanted to make an offer, she made sure first, how strong we loved the house and what was the best we could do so that there is no regret at the end. She is the cutest and most thoughtful person I have ever seen. The day we actually got our key and could go in our home for the first time she got there before us (we didn't know that). She went in and put on candles, got us Champaign, got us many gifts and wrapped them all nicely. We received our first house-warming gift from her. We are very please with her and recommend her to all of our friends and family who will buy new houses in future. Thanks Maribel, You are awesome. read more

Jason was wonderful in my search for a home and through every step of the way. He responds to your text messages, emails and phone calls very fast. He will guide you throughout this entire sometimes stressful process! He coordinates with the loan officer, escrow company etc. and reminds you to take care of the paper work on time. I felt comfortable working with him. He is honest and he doesn't put pressure on you. I feel like I am blessed to find a good agent like him and we are moving this weekend!! I cannot thank him enough for his support. read more

Steve Golden and the Hometown Realty team in SEH are simply great. My wife and I listed our home in Carlsbad with Steve last year before moving to SEH, and we couldn't have asked for a better experience. Steve and his team were attentive, kept us up to date on the progress and had regular open houses. In the end, Steve even brought in a buyer above our asking price. If you're looking for a top firm that understands professionalism, look no further. Highly recommended. read more

I LOVE Hometown Realty! Mary is an amazing realtor who got us a fantastic deal on our home. She is funny, a little loony, but in a good way, this lady know her stuff! She will get the job done and get it done right! It doesn't matter if there are complications with the sale, she always keeps her cool and knows exactly what to do to fix the issue! Buying our home was a wonderful experience. I would highly recommend anyone at hometown, but especially Mrs Mary Maloney!! read more

Whenever I need assistance with renting a home or need to refer someone, I think of hometown reality. I have had many wonderful experiences with this business and I'm always happy to have Ilana Huff help us. She is the best. She's quick, helpful, honest, and has always looked out for our best interest. I will always continue to work with her and refer her. I can count on Ilana for sure. She has made tough situations for me and my family much easier to go through, and we are always happy and on the right track in the end. Hometown reality is a business I can count on and trust. There office staff has been extremely polite and helpful as well. We needed a copy of our lease agreement to enroll our children for school. Within minutes I had a copy waiting for me at their front desk as well as an electronic copy sent from Ilana at the same time. Saved me on such a crazy day. Thank you Hometown Reality. read more

Hometown was great!! Jason was prompt and professional and helped us get into a home that we really enjoy!! We couldn't be happier with how he and Hometown treated us. read more

If you're searching for an agent who makes you feel like you are his only client, your search is over! Jason Barbato stands out like no other agent. He is extremely courteous, professional, knowledgable, and extremely responsive. It was always refreshing to work with him during our long search for to purchase a new home in Carlsbad. He remained calm, focused, patient, and eventually helped us purchase a beautiful new home for our family. In addition, he always made sure we would not offer beyond what the home was worth during the negotiation process and paid attention to every detail in the contract. All in all, we highly recommend using Jason for any of your real estate needs and promise he will exceed your expectations! read more

Hometown Realty. In my wife's and my dealings with them went like this. A young lady realtor showed us around to a number of condos. Nothing looked too good. But one day we found a town home that we were very interested in. It was a Monday. My wife called her at the realty office in San Elijo Hills and she said she was not available till Thursday...she wanted to go to a convention. So we called another realtor from another company and met a nice young man who showed us that particular town house. We put a bid on it with a contingency that our condo sells. We were called by the broker of Hometown realty who told both my wife and I not to drop our contingencies which was a smart thing to tell us even though we realized that if we dropped out contingencies we could end up keeping our condo and contracted to by the town home. In a couple of days we were called again by the same broker and I believe the owner of Hometown Realty and he shouted to my wife, to me and to our new broker to drop our contingencies because we were holding up escrow. A total reverse of what he said a few days ago and yelling like a madman. He was totally unprofessional. Our new broker said that he may have some mental issues. One other thing. The buyer of our condo asked us for two of the bar stools we had. We called the broker and he said give it to them and I will reimburse you. They were 100 dollars each. A month has gone by and he never even sent us a thank you or anything. This sale and purchase was really hellish. The escrow company, Corner Escrow was great. In all good faith I cannot recommend this company to anyone. Just remember. There are many realty companies out there. You may save yourself a lot of unnecessary heartache and problems by staying away from Home Realty. If you wish to patronize them, don't ever say you weren't warned. Al Marton, Pharmacist (you can always count on your pharmacist to tell you the truth. read more

Ilana Huff At Hometown Realty was most excellent! She is patient and diligent! I found her on line before we moved here, and she worked with me way before even meeting us! She get's the job done. We searched and searched with her help and found our sweet home in San Elijo Hills! Thanks Hometown Realty and Thanks Ilanna!! Dawn & Tim... read more

My experience in working with Ilana Huff was nothing short of amazing!! Ilana's vast knowledge, attention to detail, positive energy, genuine concern for her clients and all parties involved permeated throughout our communications. What could have been an difficult, arduous task instead evolved into such an exciting positive encounter. Everyone involved achieved, even exceeded, their goals and established wonderful relationships in the process. I have never been a part of anything so wonderful. THANK YOU Ilana! You are truly in a class by yourself. read more

Jason Barbato at Hometown Reality did a fantastic job caring for us. We had a complicated scenario (We had moved out of the area and were selling our home that was currently rented by a tenant. All of this was done at a distance.) Jason worked hard, communicated well, and was incredibly persistent. Through his efforts we achieved a result that was above the goal price we were shooting for! I am grateful for a professional and enjoyable selling experience! I couldn't recommend him and Hometown Realty more highly! read more

Illana Huff at Hometown Realty is AMAZING!! My husband and I were purchasing out first home and had no idea what to do. We were introduced to Illana and within 2 appointments she found our dream home.. She was there for us every step of the way.. She was attentive and just plain awesome! Thank you Illana!!! read more