4 years ago
11 July 2019: UPDATE - Given the owner's response,...
11 July 2019: UPDATE - Given the owner's response, I can guarantee that my identity has NOT been stolen and that Tom & Cindy has once again LIED about EVERYTHING. This is ALL factually ACCURATE. I had to wait four years to secure myself from retaliation from whom I rented from. I can GUARANTEE you that Tom & Cindy is completely and utterly unethical and I would HIGHLY recommend you steer clear. I specifically chose a home in which Tom & Cindy was not involved in ANY way given how UTTERLY HORRIBLE they are. For them to write off EVERY unpleasant review as "confusing," "inaccurate" and/or "identify stolen" is beyond me. I will likely be submitting a complaint to the BBB. This is beyond unacceptable. NO ONE should EVER go through what I did.
Four years ago I reached out to Tom & Cindy as a renter. The only positive item is that I was allowed to borrow their moving truck for a day, free of charge. Everything else was the worst experience of my renting/owning life. Tom & Cindy's priority was securing their fees via a cashier's check. The assigned agent found it difficult to keep any appointments and sent her spouse. All units but one were already rented or we could not access. In addition, Tom & Cindy's standard rental contract was written to solely benefit the owner, specifically excluding a Virginia law that benefits renters. Not a word from my agent regarding this deceitful contract. Tom & Cindy represented both the owner and the renter (me). Thankfully, starting with 2017, contracts cannot be written to exclude the Virginia law that benefits renters (i.e. holding the owner responsible to actively seek a new renter once the renter has vacated). I did not know that one could pick and choose which laws are applicable. Tom & Cindy were either completely unknowledgeable or knowingly unethical, neither is ideal. In addition, Tom & Cindy did nothing / offered no solution or intervention when the owner wanted her rental checks and deposits before the first but was too busy to coordinate a key exchange until almost a week later (a week into the contract). Tom & Cindy could have offered their copy of the key, which we did with the owner's permission (still unacceptable as I already paid for access starting on the 1st). Tom & Cindy also does NO vetting of owners and I ended up with an irresponsible, unethical and non-responsive owner. I had an opportunity to purchase last fall. I noticed that Tom & Cindy touts themselves as the best and the recommended broker for multiple neighborhoods that I looked at. When I visited their sites, the sites were outdated (by years), thus reaffirming once again that Tom & Cindy will market the heck out of a situation, but will not perform the legwork. I chose another broker who was a dream - was ethical, responsible, had great connections and made me feel valued. Tom & Cindy does not. Especially as a buyer, be very wary of Tom & Cindy.