RE/MAX Oak Crest Realty

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 13, 2017/12/28) */
To Whom it may concern:
In response to Case # XXXXXXXX, the complaints made by *** ***, our organization feels the need to respond to these accusations made against us, in order to uphold our reputation and good name within the
community and the Revdex.comFurthermore, our organization recognizes criticisms as a way to improve our functionsWe are disappointed to learn that our client *** *** and her daughter *** *** are displeased with our services
In July of 2017, Tony *** of Farrer Auction Service contacted *** *** about *** *** being interested in possibly selling her real and personal property at public auctionThe auction was booked August 9th and scheduled for Wednesday, September 27, with the contract stating that ***, Inchad the "Exclusive Right & Authority" to offer her home and personal property for sale at public auctionThe real estate was to be auctioned subject to her confirmationWithin the contract, Mrs*** agreed to pay ***, Inca commission percentage of both the personal property & the real estate, along with other expenses including advertising and what was referred to in the contract as "Pre-Auction Labor." It was also agreed that the auction would be held at Mrs***'s residence in Bremen, IN
*** was a hoarderEvery room plus the basement and the garage was overflowing*** had moved to Ohio in February and had months to decide what needed to be discarded and what she wanted to keep before we were ever contactedApparently, she and her family were incapable of this taskTony *** offered to assist in the pre-auction preparation/organization, as his experience as an professional Auctioneer and organizational skills could greatly benefit Mrs***Often during the pre-auction preparation, our employees moved merchandise to a "discard area," only to be moved back by Mrs*** to a "must go through" sectionThe house had years of accumulation and there was little room to organize
Prior to the auction, Mr*** arranged with the Town of Bremen for a section of the street and alley in front of the residence to be temporarily closed in order to provide additional space for the large quantity of auction items and the physical limitations of the subject propertyThe contents of the house and garage were spread out in the street, alley, porch, side yard and all levels of the real estateItems of little or no value remained inside the residenceThis was done in part to keep the "Pre-Auction Labor" expenses (which Mrs*** is responsible for) to a reasonable amountTony *** product knowledge was beneficial to Mrs***'s auction as he was aware of the large value of a select number of auction items and brought it to the crying Auctioneer's attentionA number of items in this auction achieved a higher auction value than seen in recent times
After the personal property had been offered at auction, the real estate was then offeredThe real estate was in poor overall condition and needed thousands of dollars worth of upgrades and deferred maintenance completed in order to make it a desirable property*** *** knew this and as the contract stated, the home was to be auctioned "as is." Contrary to *** ***'s claim in her complaint to the Revdex.com, multiple bidders placed live bids on the real estateOnce the crying Auctioneer gathered these bids and the bidding slowed, a recess was taken and Tony *** Sam *** and Dave *** met with both *** & *** *** to discuss whether or not *** *** wanted to confirm the price and sell the real estate at auction, or decline the bid and place the property on the market traditionally for daysFor over years, we and our representatives have worked throughout the area as both Auctioneers and RealtorsOur knowledge of the real estate market is proven
As stated in the contract, Mrs*** had two choices: 1) Accept the highest bid at the auction, or 2) Reject the highest auction bid and list her real estate with RE/MAX Oak Crest Realty for daysMs*** elected to accept the highest bid received at the auction and made her own choice to sell her residenceWhen the sale confirmation was announced, bidding re-opened and bids increasedUpon the conclusion of the auction, there were some unsold personal property itemsThese items were taken out of the street and placed in the yard and were removed in the following days
In conclusion, our organization believes that both *** and *** *** had unrealistic expectations in reference to the value of the real and personal property as well as the extent of our servicesFurthermore, the organization and pre-auction preparation that took place greatly enhanced the presentation of the real estate far beyond the condition it was in prior to the process startingThe reference of a stated "target price" as *** *** referred to it in her Revdex.com complaint was thought of at her own choosingThese prices were discussed as a "possibility," not as an appraisalThis was made very clear to Mrs*** and her daughterNotwithstanding, the idea presented by *** *** that our organization tried to "shaft" (as it was referred to) *** *** is completely and utterly ludicrous***, Incworked on a commission basis only and the failure of her auction would only hurt our organizationMrs*** was never at any time "pressured" into making a financial decision
***, Inc., Oak Crest Auctions and RE/MAX Oak Crest Realty have worked throughout northern Indiana for over years and have always treated our clients with the utmost courtesy, respect and professionalismOur organization thrives on positive customer relationsWe strive to conduct our business at the highest level of professional, ethical and moral standardsWe are displeased, and of course disappointed to hear of this grievanceAdditionally, we believe that our organization completed an honest, ethical and respectful service to the *** family that produced realistic and comparable resultsUnfortunately, there are rare clients who cannot be satisfied no matter how diligent our efforts to please them
Respectfully,
Sam & Dave ***
Co-Owners: ***, Incd/b/a RE/MAX Oak Crest Realty & Oak Crest Auctions