When I found this website and read the previous postings I couldn't believe they are all the same story, mine included. I signed a contract on 8/6/06 with Foxtons agent Bryan Herman from their Lyndhurst, NJ office to sell my mother's home. He went through the whole laptop presentation emphasizing all the services Foxtons offers that other realtors don't - like interior photos and virtual tours of the home posted to their website, along with floor plans, maps, etc. He promised open houses, advertising campaigns, brochures, the whole package.
Their marketing material is a scam. The spend money on full color, glossy publications with pictures of rooms in mystery houses that are not even on the market when they go to print. Some have been off the market for as long as a year or more. Some probably never were for sale at all.
He told me he wanted the photographer to take the photos asap so he could get the website posting active quickly. He said he would have a lockbox put on the home right away and the pictures would be taken in 2-3 days from the date we signed the contract so the posting could appear on the website by the end of the week. Since Foxtons has an exclusive right to sell for the first 30 days, I figured they would hustle to make a sale while they had their exclusive and didn't have to share commissions with another realtor. Silly me! They have no intention of doing anything they tell you.
After a week went by and nothing happened, I started calling Bryan Herman leaving messages on his office and cell phones with no return calls. My emails to him went unanswered also. After 10 days, I finally called the 800# at corporate office in West Long Branch to see what was going on and I was told Bryan was no longer working for Foxtons. He had done absolutely nothing to list the house.
I spoke to Juan Vazquez, suppposedly their Customer Service Manager (not so sure about that now) who assured me another agent would be assigned and I would get a call right away. Kelly in corporate also said she would set up photo appt right away and she would also make sure the lock box was installed.
I did a call from Fran Staffin in the Lyndhurst office - supposedly another "manager" who said one of their 'top' agents had been assigned to my listing and he would call me. Sure enough, Troy Morano called later that day and made all sorts of promises that he would make up for lost time and get right on it.
Well, let me say if he is their best and brightest, Foxtons is in a whole lot of trouble. He has done nothing but drop the ball and them lie about it. The website did not include any interior photos nor did it include a virtual tour. Troy's excuse was that 'he made the decision' to leave those out. Found out later it was because there was never a lockbox put on so the photographer could not get in to take the pictures.
An open house was scheduled for 9/10 (5 weeks after the contract was signed and no one had set foot inside the house yet - not even our new agent from Foxtons). Since I do not live in the area, our new "top" agent assumed I would not be in the area on the day of the open house.
Surprise! I stopped in a few minutes before the scheduled end to find that the open house had been cancelled! I called Troy Morano's cell phone immediately to find out why. He called me back and said they had the wrong key so the agent who was supposed to host couldn't get in. Since there was never a lock box put on the house, no one at Foxtons had ever checked the key. He didn't call me that day to ask for a key or to tell me the open house did not take place. When (if ever) was he going to tell me there was no open house? If I had not caught him, he would have gotten away with another lie. On top of that, the brochures for the 'open house' had mistakes on them and the inside of the brochure was blank (no floor plan or interior pictures)
I had another key made and waited for him to come to pick it up. I watched as he put the lockbox on. Finally, some progress. He promised to reschedule another open house for two weeks from that date (which would be 9/24/06). Guess what... No notice of open house is on the website. Now he says he scheduled it for 10/1 because it's not a good idea to have open houses too close together. How can they be close together when there hasn't been one yet.
I'm not sure why Foxtons is even in business. I thought a realtor is in business to buy and sell real estate. Foxtons doesn't even try to do either. It is now 7 weeks since I listed the house and only two non-Foxtons agents have shown it as a result of MLS listings (which were also late!) How does Foxtons think a house will sell if they don't advertise it and show it? This delay has cost me several thousands of dollars in market value.
I am filing a formal complaint with the N.J. Real Estate Commission as well as the Better Business Bureau. I will also contact as many consumer advocate agencies as I can find to get the word out that no one should use Foxtons to buy or sell anything. No one I have had contact with there has any idea what professionalism or ethics is. They have no commitment to their clients and don't seem to see anything wrong with their behavior. They are disrespectful, deceitful, arrogant, incompetent and sleezy.
STAY AWAY FROM FOXTONS. You really do get what you pay for!
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