HO HO HO! Santa has a lump of coal for the Agency!
My client in West Hollywood constantly complains about a sale in his building where the British Boys (James Harris and David Parnes), unloaded a condo last year to one of their friends for $125,000+ below market value. To make matters worse, Mr. Harris and Mr. Parnes sent out a flyer to all the homeowners in the building after close of escrow touting how they got "over asking price" and "sold with multiple offers". This is all baloney. Mr. Harris and Mr. Parnes never put the property on the Multiple Listing Service and never held an open house. The property was sold in an off-market transaction to a friend or close client of the Agency for $125,000+ below market value. Period. And unfortunately, the seller of the condo had no idea what the true market value of the condo was at the time. Knowing this information, Mr. Harris and Mr. Parnes leveraged their television fame and took advantage of the situation.
Still fuming from the situation more than a year later, my client did some research on the Agency and Mr. Mauricio Umansky (head of the Agency), and found this article:
https://theblast.com/rhobh-kyle-richards-husband-real-estate-lawsuit-dismissed/
After reading the article, one thing is clear: morals and work ethic are not a top priority at the Agency. In the article Mr. Umansky tries to deny any wrongdoing saying that the sale was "subject to the terms of the U.S government", but that doesn't mean Mr. Umansky is automatically dismissed of his fiduciary duties to his client. Did the U.S. government sign the Listing Agreement?? I don't think so. Therefore, Mr. Umansky's loyalty and obedience is to his client, not the U.S. government.
Furthermore, another condo (with an inferior view but similar in size and condition), recently closed escrow in my client's building for much higher than the one Mr. Harris and Mr. Parnes sold, further solidifying the fact that Mr. Harris and Mr. Parnes deliberately sold the property for below market value to a friend at the detriment of the seller, my client, me and every other homeowner in close proximity of the discounted sale.
In summary, not every agent at the Agency is bad. I know a few agents there who are honest and hard-working. But as they say in sales, the fish rot from the head down. Being that Mr. Umansky is in charge and the British Boys are viewed as role models, taking a refresher course in ethics might be worthwhile. However, if these antics keep up perhaps the Agency's marketing department should consider changing their mantra from "Your Move" to "Got Ya". Just a thought.
P.S. In no way is this review an endorsement for Josh Altman. read more