If you are a seller, DON'T DEAL WITH THIS AGENT!! Beware! Mrs. Montgomery is not only a real…read moreestate agent, but also a real estate investor. Realizing that our house - a family home that had been in the family for nearly 50 years - was much larger than we needed, and that it needed more work and money than we were willing to put into it, we listed our home for sale 'AS IS', stipulating UP FRONT that we would need several weeks to get out. Because we were priced well and in a great location, we received an offer from Mrs. Montgomery and her husband within hours. We settled on what we felt was a fair price, and were under quickly under contract, but our realtor advised us that the Montgomerys were adamant that we had to be out in only 1 week. When we explained to our realtor that we couldn't possibly get out that quickly, she advised us that the Montgomerys were 'prepared to walk away' over the issue of the possession date. They had told her that they already had a remodeler scheduled to get started on the house "the first thing Monday morning!", and that they "'already had a tenant lined up!" We pleaded for more time, and the Montgomerys finally agreed to give us an additional 3 days, allowing us the weekend to get out instead of vacating on the Thursday night of the closing date! Reluctantly, and under pressure, we agreed, and hastily rented an apartment until we could find a house.
With the contract accepted and a closing date set, the Montgomerys said they were sending "Their Yard Guy" by to mow the lawn, which we had told them we already had someone scheduled to do. "Their Yard Guy" came and went in under 15 minutes, mowed only the front, which wasn't nearly as high as was the back, and he did it so poorly that our own yard man re-mowed, edged and blew away the debris the following day, when WE PAID HIM to mow the back yard that "Their Yard Guy" hadn't bothered with. We paid OUR yard man to re-do what "Their Yard Guy" had done, because we already had him lined up to come, and because "Their Yard Guy" did such a half-ass job! They also advised us that "Their Pool Guy" would be coming by to start working on the pool. We assured them there was free access to the back yard, no animals in the yard, and they were welcome to start anytime. FOUR DAYS after we assured them the "Pool Guy" was welcome to get started, Mrs. Montgomery posted on Facebook, looking for recommendations for a "Pool Guy" to clean the pool! So "Their Yard Guy" didn't do his job, and "Their Pool Guy" didn't even exist!
We have moved on 2 previous occasions, with our own pick-up truck and virtually no help. But due to the big rush to get out this time, we were forced to hire packers who hurriedly crammed things into mislabeled boxes and movers who could only accommodate us on the Thursday prior to the closing date. When we refused to vacate prior to the closing date, the Montgomerys, unwilling to negotiate with us for more time, actually pushed the title company to rush the paperwork so they could move the closing FORWARD to the move-out date. We spent the following 3 days after 'the move' boxing up the aftermath the packers had left behind, and actually worked ALL NIGHT LONG Sunday night to get out of the house in time for the remodelers who were supposedly arriving that Monday morning. The total cost for packers, movers, storage units, an additional half-month's rent, and re-doing the yard work was over $4,000.00...and all for something we could, and would, have easily handled by ourselves over 2 or 3 weeks, if given time.
While I was at work that Monday, my partner went back by the house to pick up a few remaining items we had left outside. THERE WERE NO REMODELERS!! It actually became a daily vigil to pass by the house and check, as day after day the house sat empty with no evidence of workmen or tenants. The locksmith DID come by; he had to drill out 2 locks, because in our haste to vacate, I had no opportunity to even meet with them to pass on my keys! Someone DID go in one day and sweep the floors...something I would have happily done, had it not been after 5:00 AM when I finally got the last box out of the house Monday morning! And someone DID throw out some things we left behind in a storage shed...again, something we would have done ourselves if given time. But for the next 6 WEEKS the result was the same - NO WORKMEN OR TENANTS, until FINALLY on Friday, a full 6 WEEKS after our mandatory departure deadline, we saw evidence of work in the house...someone threw out a ceiling fan! There WAS NO REMODELER 'lined up to start the 1st thing Monday morning", and there was ABSOLUTELY NO REASON to force us out in 1 week, except to prove they could throw their weight around. The house stood vacant for 6 FULL WEEKS, with no remodelers, let alone tenants!
Mrs. Montgomery may be a competent realtor, but as a real estate buyer/investor, she is a first-rate selfish manipulator! And I'm out $4,000.00 for my trouble!
