Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.

Review: I purchased a home from a listing agent named Deanna D[redacted] from the Long & Foster office in Colonial Heights on July 22, 2015. This home has well water & a water inspection & sample must be done prior to closing to ensure the drinking water is safe for drinking, cooking, etc. The water inspection was done by [redacted] whom the seller paid for their services in the month of July. The water report came back safe without the presence of E Coli & coliform. However, the water report did not specify the presence of chlorine. According to a selling contract, the water sample must only prove to be safe from bacteria such a E Coli & coliform which it did. My realtor, LeeAnn Gibbs provided me the water inspection report from the sellers listing agent Deanna D[redacted], and we were under the assumption the water was safe according to the report. When my family & I moved in on July 25th, 2015, we proceeded to cut on the water faucets after the moving to take showers, & the fumes from bleach filled the entire home. The fumes were so strong, it literally burned the hairs in our noses & I had to remove my children from the home as my son has lung disease & he could not breathe. I contacted my realtor at 3am in the morning via text and told her the seriousness of this problem & she immediately contacted the sellers listing agent Deanna D[redacted] to ask about this. We also contacted the water inspector the sellers hired & he informed us that the sellers husband (who was not on the deed) treated the well with bleach prior to their water inspection. However, the fumes were toxic. We could not even use the water for bathing it was so strong. When the listing agent Deanna D[redacted] would not respond to our emergent efforts to get answers, I hired a water company to come & test the water. The chlorine level was so bad, it was above pool level strength and greatly exceeded the normal limits. We sent this new report to the listing agent & Long & Foster but still have no RESPONSE!!Desired Settlement: I feel it only fair that the sellers and/or listing agents should be responsible for refunding me the money that I have had to put into this problem due to the sellers husband dumping unknown large quantities of bleach into the well prior to us moving into the home. He was instructed to only use a certain amount of bleach per gallons in the well from their water inspector & according to my water company's inspector and report, the sellers husband used way too much bleach & it is documented in the report he gave me that was submitted to the sellers listing agent & the sellers closing attorneys. He even left me test strips to use throughout the last 2 weeks to test the chlorine myself. They should also be responsible for reimbursing me the costs of having to relocate my children for 2 weeks, having a new water sample tested to make sure this water will be safe to drink, and my loss of time from work having to meet with my water inspector. My son has lung disease and they are very aware!

Business

Response:

I recehred your letter concerning a complaint received from [redacted] regarding the water supply for her newly purchased residence at [redacted]. It is important to note that the listing agent was Deanna D[redacted], who is affiliated Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. and was not the agent for the [redacted]. I have since learned the pest inspection, well and septic tests were ordered for the property prior to settlement per the terms of the contract. The seller added a gallon of bleach to the well prior to testing, as standard protocol as advised by the inspector. All tests passed and they proceeded to closing as scheduled, with the exception of a delay due to the fault of the Copefand's loan not being ready. A couple of days after settlement, Ms. [redacted] called the listing agent directly, rather than contacting her agent in the transaction. She was upset that the water still smelled of bleach and demanded that [redacted] do something about it. Ms. D[redacted] advised Ms. [redacted] to contact her real estate agent, and that she would discuss with her agent a possible solution, but did not feel she should speak with Ms. [redacted] directly since she represented the seller m the transaction. Ms. [redacted] called her an explitive and hung up on her. .Ms. D[redacted] never received a phone call from Ms. [redacted]'s agent after that call. Prior to that phone call, Ms. D[redacted] did speak with the buyer's agent who said that she was dealing with the situation. Upon information and belief, the [redacted] did retain another company go to the property to test the water and was given the same information that the original inspector had given her; namely, that she was to tun the water until the smell was gone and that the water test showed no problems. Based on that report, which was forwarded to Ms. D[redacted], it does not appear that any further action is required to resohre :tvfs. [redacted]'s complaint. Please let me know if there is any further action required from you to close this complaint.

Business

Response:

Dear Ms. [redacted],Attached is a copy of a check I am mailing today reimbursing Ms. [redacted] $90.00 for the water test she ordered post-closing. Although her complaint requested "$0.00" reimbursement, she called today, and after a long conversation she mentioned that we could at least reimburse her the $90.00 water test fee. While Long & Foster does not accept any responsibility for the cost of the same, it is important to us that Long & Foster's clients and customers are satisfied. Accordingly, I wanted to inform you of the actions we are taking in pursuit of that goal.Most sincerely,[redacted]

Review: Long & Foster is the seller's agent in a RE transaction. I am the buyer. The transaction did not go through and was cancelled at the consent of both buyer and seller. The deposit money for me as a buyer is held by Long & Foster as escrow agent. The deposit money should be returned in 5 business days upon the signing of release agreement. I signed it on 10/1/2015 and faxed to my agent [redacted]. [redacted] forwarded it to Long & Foster promptly. However, I did not get check by 10/12 so I contacted my agent [redacted]. [redacted] contacted [redacted] who is seller's agent from Long & Foster. [redacted] passed on answers from Therese Beitz that the check is in mail twice. I emailed the branch manager [redacted] twice. [redacted] said in email that she will look into it twice. However, Until today, 10/26/2015, Monday, I haven't get either check nor an explanation from [redacted].Desired Settlement: I like to get my money back. I also like to get an explanation from Long & Foster about why it takes so long.

Thanks!

Review: I contracted with [redacted] (who is now Long and Foster Property Management) to manage my rental property [redacted], NJ. I have been with them through two tenant turnovers with this last turnover being the reason for my complaint. Aside from my property manager, becoming unprofessional during the turnover process (he explained that my turnover was taking too much of their time and that I should finish the remaining work myself), I found at least three instances where work was contracted and paid to be completed, but no work was ever done or the work that was completed was of very poor quality. This is extremely disappointing, since I live out of state and I put my trust in a company that does not appear to be providing the services it claims.

I have since ended my relationship with this company, but I have been unable to resolve a billing issue with this company. I called my previous property manager, the regional manager, and the maintenance manager all several times and no one has responded to me (from the middle to end of July, 2014). I finally sent another email 8/12/2014 to ask why I still had an unpaid bill listed on my account when my previous property manager explained in an email dated 7/22/2014 that the work completed on my property was paid and that any balance in my account had been returned to me.

This company has been awful to deal with and communication has been poor at best. I hope that Revdex.com is able to help resolve my issue and their other future customers don't experience the same level of service that I have. Thank you in advance for your help!Desired Settlement: I would like:

1) A detailed invoice for any outstanding work that owe.

2) A letter saying that my account is closed without any outstanding bills after I pay the balance (excluding the items below).

3) An apology for the unprofessional behavior exhibited by my previous property manager.

4) My account refunded for both the last property management fee (they required I pay for August, even though they were no longer managing the property and I had already paid through 8/12/2014) as well as the $85.00 for a dishwasher handle that was charged (and paid for) but never replaced / repaired.

Business

Response:

We value the relationships with our clients and we work hard to protect their interests. Unfortunately, in some situations, we are unable to meet a client’s expectations and in those cases we try hard to part ways in the most fair and professional manner.

We have ended our contract with [redacted] and have met all of [redacted] "Desired Settlement" requests as follows:

• Mr. [redacted] has no outstanding invoices at this time. We have no detailed invoices for outstanding work needed because there is nothing outstanding.

• A letter of apology and official closure of Mr. [redacted] account was sent on 9/25/14

• Mr. [redacted] account was refunded for $85.00 dishwasher repair. Although we completed the repairs as he requested June of 2013. We will absorb this cost as a gesture of goodwill to Mr. [redacted]

• Mr. [redacted] account was refunded $38.33 for the management fee that was prorated for the month of August, 2014. Although Mr. [redacted] agreed to pay this per the terms of his signed management agreement, we will waive this cost as a gesture of good will to Mr. [redacted]

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns,

Thank You,

Maintenance Manager

Long and Foster Property Management

###-###-####