Homelister Review - a very bad experience for me

Buying & Selling Real Estate
5yFollow

Homelister Review - a very bad experience for me

Dan B.
Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 9 posts · 3 votes

Read about my poor experience with Homelister before listing your property with them.

Homelister seems like a pretty good deal at first for anyone who wants to save some money on selling a property and doesn't mind being a little more involved in the process. They have packages from $600 to $2,700 that offer everything from MLS posting services, professional photography, and even a licensed agent to help you through the process.

So I decided to give them a try when I was looking to sell a small rental property of mine. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until it was 18 days after the MLS listing went live and I still hadn't received a single lead. That's when a buyer's agent called to say he tried several times to schedule a showing, but never received a reply. When I inquired about what happened to Homelister, I discovered that all the leads were going to a site called ShowingTime and we never received an invite to sign up or any notifications of the leads.

Before going public with my experience, I contacted the CEO of Homelister to give her the opportunity to set things straight. She showed up 20 minutes late to our call and basically blamed ShowingTime for everything. She said none of the responsibility was on Homelister. I told her that I thought their service was pointless if I can't receive any leads and asked if they would consider having a QA process in the future to make sure all of their customers are set up properly with ShowingTime. She said that's not something they're able to do at the price point they offer. Really?? Why are you even in this business in the first place? She came off as an MBA type who could care less about her customers. My suspicion is that the mess up was on their end and they don't want to own it.

The CEO said she would get back to me with next steps and an action plan. She never did. I was offered a $250 credit, IF I sell the property, which is less than 10% of the total cost of the service. What a joke!

The main positive part of my experience is the agent that was assigned to me. She has been very helpful and responsive. But again, if I don't get my leads, the rest of the experience is of no importance.

So, in short, you get what you pay for. I'm concerned now that buyers will see that my property has been listed for a while and bid down my asking price, which could be very costly for me. In the end, I wish I just went with a realtor as my experience with Homelister has been very very poor.

TL/DR: Homelister didn’t work as advertised and they refused to make things right.

1Reply
84 views

Most Popular Reply

Russell BrazilBusiness Member
Moderator
Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
5y

Its almost a guarantee when you relist with a regular agent, that the first listing will cause you a stigma in the market place. 

All they needed to do was input your phone number into showingtime, so showing requests were sent to you. Literally 15 seconds of work. 

Theres a thousand small details though that need to be tracked when selling a house, and screwing up any of them might cost you tens of thousands of dollars. Your story is just 1 clear example of 1 detail that would take 15 seconds to complete, and how missing it is going to cost you substantial sums of money. 

I do not believe that you always get what you pay for as tons of crappy agents charge the same amount as good agents. However, the places that do charge substantially less, they just do not have the ability to attract and pay for good quality people, as exampled here.

[email protected]301-893-4635Podcast Guest on Show #192
District Invest Group545 Reviews
WebsiteView Page
5Reply
See this reply in the discussion

13 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Ronald Allen Barney
    Real Estate Agent · Tampa, FL · Member since 2020 · 411 posts · 373 votes
    5y

    Must.... not.... type.... "you get what you pay for" ....crap, too late.

    3Reply
  • Russell BrazilBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
    5y

    Its almost a guarantee when you relist with a regular agent, that the first listing will cause you a stigma in the market place. 

    All they needed to do was input your phone number into showingtime, so showing requests were sent to you. Literally 15 seconds of work. 

    Theres a thousand small details though that need to be tracked when selling a house, and screwing up any of them might cost you tens of thousands of dollars. Your story is just 1 clear example of 1 detail that would take 15 seconds to complete, and how missing it is going to cost you substantial sums of money. 

    I do not believe that you always get what you pay for as tons of crappy agents charge the same amount as good agents. However, the places that do charge substantially less, they just do not have the ability to attract and pay for good quality people, as exampled here.

    [email protected]301-893-4635Podcast Guest on Show #192
    District Invest Group545 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    5Reply
  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Russell Brazil:

    Its almost a guarantee when you relist with a regular agent, that the first listing will cause you a stigma in the market place. 

    All they needed to do was input your phone number into showingtime, so showing requests were sent to you. Literally 15 seconds of work. 

    Theres a thousand small details though that need to be tracked when selling a house, and screwing up any of them might cost you tens of thousands of dollars. Your story is just 1 clear example of 1 detail that would take 15 seconds to complete, and how missing it is going to cost you substantial sums of money. 

    I do not believe that you always get what you pay for as tons of crappy agents charge the same amount as good agents. However, the places that do charge substantially less, they just do not have the ability to attract and pay for good quality people, as exampled here.

    we have limited representation listings in this area.. the agent just fills in the MLS listing form and in agent remarks says call owner direct simple as that.. I am not aware of what showingtime is ??? we dont have that. withdrawn cancelled listings are always problimatical as in new agents buyers first thing comes to mind something was wrong with the house.

    Podcast Guest on Show #222
    JLH Capital Partners51 Review
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
  • Dan B.
    OP
    Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 9 posts · 3 votes
    5y

    Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:
    Originally posted by @Russell Brazil:

    Its almost a guarantee when you relist with a regular agent, that the first listing will cause you a stigma in the market place. 

    All they needed to do was input your phone number into showingtime, so showing requests were sent to you. Literally 15 seconds of work. 

    Theres a thousand small details though that need to be tracked when selling a house, and screwing up any of them might cost you tens of thousands of dollars. Your story is just 1 clear example of 1 detail that would take 15 seconds to complete, and how missing it is going to cost you substantial sums of money. 

    I do not believe that you always get what you pay for as tons of crappy agents charge the same amount as good agents. However, the places that do charge substantially less, they just do not have the ability to attract and pay for good quality people, as exampled here.

    we have limited representation listings in this area.. the agent just fills in the MLS listing form and in agent remarks says call owner direct simple as that.. I am not aware of what showingtime is ??? we dont have that. withdrawn cancelled listings are always problimatical as in new agents buyers first thing comes to mind something was wrong with the house.

    Russell - thanks for confirming this was an issue on their end with their process. They denied that, but I suspected otherwise.

    Jay - ShowingTime is an app for setting up showing appointments. Homelister claimed it is a mandatory to use for MLS listings in my area, but I am not really believing anything they say anymore. I heard that cancelled listings can be problematic, so I'm still trying to work with Homelister. The agent I have been assigned has been really good, my complaint is more with their broken process and the CEO's inability to set things on a better course.

    1Reply
  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Dan B.:

    Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:
    Originally posted by @Russell Brazil:

    Its almost a guarantee when you relist with a regular agent, that the first listing will cause you a stigma in the market place. 

    All they needed to do was input your phone number into showingtime, so showing requests were sent to you. Literally 15 seconds of work. 

    Theres a thousand small details though that need to be tracked when selling a house, and screwing up any of them might cost you tens of thousands of dollars. Your story is just 1 clear example of 1 detail that would take 15 seconds to complete, and how missing it is going to cost you substantial sums of money. 

    I do not believe that you always get what you pay for as tons of crappy agents charge the same amount as good agents. However, the places that do charge substantially less, they just do not have the ability to attract and pay for good quality people, as exampled here.

    we have limited representation listings in this area.. the agent just fills in the MLS listing form and in agent remarks says call owner direct simple as that.. I am not aware of what showingtime is ??? we dont have that. withdrawn cancelled listings are always problimatical as in new agents buyers first thing comes to mind something was wrong with the house.

    Russell - thanks for confirming this was an issue on their end with their process. They denied that, but I suspected otherwise.

    Jay - ShowingTime is an app for setting up showing appointments. Homelister claimed it is a mandatory to use for MLS listings in my area, but I am not really believing anything they say anymore. I heard that cancelled listings can be problematic, so I'm still trying to work with Homelister. The agent I have been assigned has been really good, my complaint is more with their broken process and the CEO's inability to set things on a better course.

    OK since Russ knew what it is ( Showingtime) I guess its something you use.. we dont have apps on the west coast for appointments its old school i guess you look at the MLS listing.. there is contact info on the private side / and you can put contact info on the public side and you simply call or text the agent or if the agents say call owner direct you go OLD school and call them make appointment and show it.. I think we are getting APP crazy to much can go wrong with those things I think.. just like whats happened to you.. but again I am a dinasour in the retail end of real estate. I just watch what my wife does and sit back and help her spend her money LOL>

    Podcast Guest on Show #222
    JLH Capital Partners51 Review
    WebsiteView Page
    2Reply
  • Dan B.
    OP
    Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 9 posts · 3 votes
    5y
    0Reply
  • Carla Sanders
    Member since 2021 · 1 post · 3 votes
    5y

    I am a customer service manager with HomeLister. First, Dan I would like to apologize to you for the negative experience that you had. You did not receive the 3 ShowingTime contact agent requests that you had for the first 18 days of your listing. Your name, phone and email was posted in the MLS the entire time and one of the 3 contacts who did not get a response through ShowingTime called you directly to schedule. You then let us know that you were not getting the ShowingTime requests and we contacted ShowingTime to get it fixed and it was fixed within 1 day. You continued to get ShowingTime requests after that. You let us know that the other 2 contacts were no longer interested in seeing the home. You demanded to speak to the CEO, you were successful in doing so. You spoke to both the CEO and the Chief Legal Counsel of the company. You were offered a discount on your listing and then you were finally refunded the entire amount that you paid. You threatened to sue us, you posted complaints and then demanded that we pay any difference between final selling price and your original list price. We understand that getting inquiries is important and that is why we contacted ShowingTime to fix it right away when notified. That is also why we always post your direct contact information in the MLS for agents to be able to reach you directly should something go wrong.

    4Reply
  • Dan B.
    OP
    Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 9 posts · 3 votes
    5y

    @Carla Sanders - 

    I almost always give a business an opportunity to make things better before posting a negative review publicly. This situation was no different. And I understand that things can and do go wrong, especially with a startup like Homelister. Most of the time, I am able to resolve things privately when issues arise, but that was not the case with Homelister.

    My main complaints with Homelister were and still remain how disrespectfully and dismissively I was treated, how the promises that were made to me by your CEO were not followed through with, how disinterested your company was about improving your processes for future customers, and how your company didn’t take any responsibility for not being able to deliver the service I paid for.

    Yes, a phone number was listed. Why does that matter if the buyers’ agents that tried to schedule a showing gave up after not receiving a reply to their ShowingTime requests? It took 18 days for someone to finally call and ask why we weren’t approving his repeated showing requests.

    Your reply here, which is full of half-truths and more evasion, is just further evidence to me that you do not have the processes or the people in place to deal with situations that go sideways and are almost certain to encounter this kind of situation again in the future.

    1Reply
  • Gina Cavalier
    Member since 2021 · 1 post · 1 vote
    4y
    Same here - Nah, skip it - I would say. I didn't like how people were not able to
    contact me directly. Adding a layer to potential clients not coming
    directly that go right to them. In 5 days in So Cal I got zero
    inquiries? Basically impossible. I saw that my property was saved many
    time on Zillow and others so I knew there was interest. You call a
    number, it's a call center and they know how the product works but not
    much else. Feels like this is a big way to get more clients for the
    owner Jennifer than anything else. I know they have to list the MLS (the
    whole reason why I went here), but i CAN be the contact - that is false
    information. I thought the portal would collect inquiries so I could
    manage, how am i supposed to know what is going on. I had a friend reach
    out and no reply so I don't really know what is going on. But cancel
    within 14 days and pay $99. I have 30 days if it doesn't sell and I'm
    done or I will have to pay additional. Nope, nada, never!
    1Reply
  • Danielle Jackson
    Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2021 · 504 posts · 282 votes
    4y

    Thanks for sharing your story. Tough lesson re: value in what we pay for, but helpful to those who may be considering that route. 

    1Reply
  • NA Miller
    Member since 2022 · 1 post · 0 votes
    3y

    A year late... But as a homeowner that has made quite a few purchases and sales I assure you that realtors are no better.

    I relied on realtors that never wanted to show or accept offers nor make an offer on my behalf..

    I've lost so much time and money with realtors. 

    I'm not pointing to one agent, but multiple. I had to change five agents with one broker on one property alone because they failed to call buyers back and not call me about showings. We blew out the front of the house and redid the full face of the house and one agent didn't redo the photo for a full month. We changed brokers.  And sold the house right away. It took a year with the initial broker and only two weeks with the new broker.

    The buyer wouldn't work with the initial listing agent and was even interested in the house prior to the front remodel. 

    For Sale By Owner is the best way to go. You can list it in the MLS yourself, I believe.. or on Zillow and hire a real estate attorney. Believe me. Agents don't care who they bring into your home. Use an email specific for the listing or grab a second phone.

    I went into real estate school and received my license to start saving money on my sales and purchases. But I will ALWAYS prefer For Sale By Owner. 

    1Reply
  • Dawson Brewer
    Realtor · Austin, TX · Member since 2020 · 43 posts · 26 votes
    3y

    @NA 

    @NA Miller As a realtor that specializes in selling homes that expired and for sale by owners, I wouldn't recommend going the for sale by owner route. It seems that your experience was terrible with realtors. However, just like with any profession, there's bad, good, and great. It seems like that first brokerage in general was bad. 

    Again, my niche is working with private sellers and expired listings. Stats actually show that private sellers sell their homes for 35% less than what an agent can sell it for in my market. This is due to a numerous amount of different reasons. Biggest one is exposure. Now, yes you can list on the MLS yourself, but then you lose the negotiating advantage and one will most likely incorrectly price their home. A real estate attorney only helps with the legality of the paperwork. They offer nothing else other than that.

    The stats and odds are against for sale by owners and I wouldn't recommend anybody to do it. The best thing to do is work with a professional that matches your standards. You'd be able to tell the contenders from the pretenders. And you'll see that a lot of agents in the field are pretenders. 

    Just my 2 cents.

    0Reply
  • Henry Lazerow
    Real Estate Agent · Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    3y

    Never try to save money on a realtor. In the scheme of things the 2-2.5% you save on the seller side is NEVER worth it. You also won't know how to effectively negotiate repairs like an experienced realtor which alone can cost you the commision amount or for the deal to die not knowing what is reasonable to accept. I even have a licensed agent client who I have sold 3 million for ($75,000 in commissions my side) he works a full time job at a trading firm and knows its not worth it to try to part time be realtor on his own deals.

    1Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free