Beware! Our experience working with Eleni Filippone and Rick Cox was disappointing and very…read morefrustrating. After finding a house on Zillow, my wife and I were connected with Eleni, who seemed professional and eager to help us purchase the home. Since we immediately decided we wanted to put an offer on this house, we were happy to sign a contract with her, and since we didn't know her, she said it would be fine if we ever decided we didn't want to continue working with her.
However, as we progressed through the home-buying process, several issues arose that caused concern. During our short time working together, Eleni did not provide sufficient comparative market analysis, seemed dismissive of HVAC issues in a high-value property, and overlooked important details in the contract regarding appliances. She also seemed intimidated by the sellers' realtor, which did not make us feel well-represented. As one example, she initially advised against a septic inspection since the sellers were supposed to perform the inspection. That septic later revealed significant problems, and as we were outside the window for an inspection, we could not independently verify the issues with the septic.
As we approached closing, there were outstanding issues with requested repairs and documentation/receipts, despite our multiple requests. When we raised these concerns, we felt pressured by both the realtor and broker to proceed with closing despite these unresolved matters. They told us that we may be sued by the sellers if we didn't close or agree to an escrow. After deciding not to move forward with the purchase due to the repairs not being completed, we requested to be released from our contract with Rick Cox Realty. Despite Eleni's assurances that we would not be forced to work with her, Rick denied our request, leaving us unable to work to search for other houses and work with other realtors until the expiration (6 months from the time of signature).
Throughout this process, we spent a considerable amount on inspections and home preparation, which felt like a waste given the outcome. The realtor showed us only one house and we worked with her for only a few weeks. In that short time period, my wife and I wasted thousands of dollars in inspections and preparing our house for the market, as well as a lot of time and energy. We wrote to Eleni and Rick explaining our negative experience and asking to be released from our contract with them since we wanted to start over with someone else. When my wife spoke with Rick on the phone, he was unprofessional and yelled at her. He blamed us for the sale falling apart and claimed that the price reduction we had asked for was unreasonable, despite the fact he had previously said it was a good idea. He never tried to reassure us or affirm his commitment to helping us look for another house; he simply told us that if we found another house within the 6 month timeframe, we would owe him 3%. All of these experiences, but especially the experience with Rick was confirmation that we did not want to continue working with them.
Based on conversations with other realtors, industry professionals, and realtor associations, Rick's conduct (denying our reasonable request to release us from the agreement, blaming us, etc.) is far outside the norms of the industry. I would never recommend anyone work with Rick Cox or his group, and would caution others to carefully consider their choices when selecting a realtor and brokerage.
