Howard Hanna
Reviews and Complaints

I purchased a property that had a burned out house on it they needed to be removed. I was told and asbestos test needed to be done which that was fine when my asbestos inspector got there he informed me that this needed a state demolition process to the cost of $30,000 which I had no idea, was never disclosed to me in the closing of the property in Lisa, Ostrander was the seller of the property. She never disclosed this to me.

The town of Queensbury had told her that this needed to be done. And it was never disclosed to me. I need to know how to take the next step to either get my money back or for Howard Hanna to pay for the demolition I would’ve never purchased this knowing it cost that much money. A $20,000 piece of property is now going to be 50 to 60 by the time everything is done with demolition.

I contacted her and she did nothing just told me that she wasn’t my agent.

I found a mobile home I wanted to purchase but keep our first home while we finished the remodel to sell. The realtor told me about their buy first sell later program and worked with Joe. Very nice but when I told him the title company I wanted to work with he stated I was required to go with theirs due to the type of loan we were getting. We agreed and kept on with the process. The day before closing I was informed the title company called and said they do not do mobile homes. Howard hanna scrambled to get another title company still not williing to use mine. Then we go to close and the fees are 750.00 more than we initially agreed to. Also I was told I had to pay for an appraisal for the house we were purchasing with cash. Wrong again, strike 3 you are fired. I had to go get another mortgage company and am trying to get the money paid into Howard hanna. We should close next week and heard today she is going to ask us to pay for the lot rent for the mobile this month because we put off the closing. I will never work with this group again they do not even know real estate law. First off I can use whatever title company I want, second I do not have to pay for an appraiser on a house paid in cash, Third I am required to get closing cost at least 3 days prior to closing. Never again after I get through this

I did sign my lease site unseen- but the apartment was disgusting, hodge podge thrown together, I could feel the gravel/foundation under the house in the hallway, the posts holding up my roof didn’t touch the ground, all the windows/doors leaked air/heat, all of the appliances were dated, they had our water heater set on 82 degrees. They were trying to increase my rent without any updates. The best- I was sent my bills in groups of 3/4 months with only a week of extended time to pay it off. NOT renter friendly.

Just Finished buying a property through the what used to be her realty, now Howard Hanna team of Carly Thompson and Amanda withrow. The process was disappointing with lies and broken promises throughout. Ended with me getting possession of the house that still had multiple dumpsters full of trash that didn’t get cleaned out despite me requesting to have that made clear during the process. Very disappointed

Called Howard Hanna agent Donna Schoonmaker at 9:30am regarding her listing at 5351 E Bay Pointe Cir, Pt Clinton, OH which was active for only 2 days. She informed me that she only had two low ball offers and there were NO deadlines. I asked her to 1) inform the seller to expect an offer from me 2) pass me along to another agent in her office to arrange a showing 3) keep me posted if there are any status changes. Six hours later another Howard Hanna agent calls with no clue what I wanted. She then informs me that the property is no longer available. I hope the seller sees this because I was willing to go $40k over list. Seems like she got a friend a good deal.

This realtor was

Very unprofessional and very late to our showing. She didn't have time to greet us and show us around the property. She had several calls from her boyfriend and was using vulgar language. Our family will not be using Howard Hannah ever again.

Hello,

I will try to be succinct as possible.

We are located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. We started working with Kathryn Sharpe from the Howard Hanna, Laskin office. We actually were going to go with someone else, but Kathryn assured us that her sales were higher than the average agent, that she had a number of years’ experience, and that in this market nothing would be left on the table for the seller. We decided to go with Kathryn based on these assurances.

Firstly, Kathryn did not work the majority of the weekend/open houses. When we were trying to obtain feedback regarding the open houses, she was dismissive. She also made comments about how much we would be making off the sale, and how we had to be realistic about how much houses can go for “in certain neighborhoods.” She also boasted about an $800K sale, which was clearly a more important sale than ours.

Our family was away for the weekend due to the open house, however Kathryn presented us with offers Sunday night. We voiced our surprise that in this market there were only 2 offers. She said that no one else indicated that an offer was coming in. We still requested to “sleep on it,” especially because it was only 5 hours after the close of the last open house. She urged us to make the decision that evening, threatening that the buyers could rescind the offers if we didn’t act quickly.

We did decide to accept an offer that had an escalation clause. Kathryn advised this was the “risky” offer because it was home sale contingent (the Broker later told us it was the best offer at the time). The issue with this, is that the terms of the contract were not explained in full to us. We did not realize that once we received the ratified (we did not know what this meant) contract, that the escalation clause would be null and void. We would have never made the decision at 8pm on a Sunday night, after being gone all weekend, at bedtime, with small children.

When another offer came in at 7am Monday morning, escalating the price $15,000, we had little time to act, unbeknownst to us. When Kathryn explained that we missed the opportunity to utilize the escalation and simply said, “sorry” we contacted the Broker, Courtenay Ross Mason. We requested that Kathryn be removed from the sale of our home, and that we were fine staying with Howard Hanna, but did not want Kathryn working on our sale any longer. We actually even requested the realtor, Vanessa, who worked our open house and was very helpful.

Courtenay agreed to remove Kathryn (or we thought), and take over the sale herself. A couple days later we received paperwork from Kathryn. When we reached out to Courtenay about this discrepancy, she stated she had only become the point of contact, but was not the listing agent. We expressed our frustration and asked again that Kathryn be removed from the sale of our home. Courtenay agreed. Courtenay remained professional and polite, but at this point we were extremely disappointed with the way Howard Hanna had conducted the sale of our home.

We started telling our story to friends. We actually had 3 people who worked with Kathryn before tell us similar stories regarding her behavior. We wholeheartedly agreed that Courtenay should be paid her portion of the Broker fee, because she did almost all of the work, but we were struggling with Kathryn being paid, since she neglected to explain the full terms of the offer/contract we were entering into and ultimately cost us $15,000. Courtenay had also told us when she took over the sale that she would attempt to help us recoup our lost funds.

We respectfully requested that Courtenay consider returning us the realtor portion of the commission, less any expenses that Kathryn incurred. Courtenay denied our request explaining the timeline of events after our open house. What is frustrating is that we are not disputing the timeline. In fact, besides the Monday morning after the open house (when we were very emotional), Courtenay has not one time asked to have a serious conversation about the whole event.

We are not calling into judgment Kathryn’s character, nor do we think she lied about expecting other offers. The fact of the matter is we were paying for her expertise, her guidance, her experience in the field, which she neglected to provide us. We were paying for someone to be open, ethical, and present; ultimately we did not receive any of these things from Kathryn Sharpe, which were assured to us at the beginning.

I could go on, however I believe this paints a fairly accurate picture. I think this also highlights why the real estate business and agents have such a negative reputation. Please, tell me where in any other field, you can provide horrible service, neglect/dismiss clients, be removed from your position and duties, and still receive full payment?

I will never recommend Howard Hanna to anyone again and unless this is made monetarily right, I will work to ensue anyone I come in contact with does not either.

I emailed and agent for appointment that day to see 5395 Horseshoe Rd. in Batavia. and never heard back from him. I did this to save then and possibly the seller money by going to the listing agent. I emailed again in the evening and said should I go through Zillow or can you schedule. didn't hear back from the agent. The next day still didn't hear anything so I called him and was told he just got off the phone with the seller and went over the offers and it's sold. By not allowing me the opportunity to view and make an offer you definitely were not looking out in the sellers best interest. I'm currently in the process of trying to get in touch with the owners to see how they would appreciate the fact the listing agent did follow up on potential buyers but would rather have I guess other people bring the buyers in? When I mentioned the fact that coming to them directly could potentially save the seller money he said some people do that I don't? Unethical to say the least. I then called the customer service line and the line disconnected several times before an agent answered. Great customer service I tell ya

Called October 4, 2021 forservice request ; leak underneath a sink.
Called October 6th since I heard nothing fron HSA. Customer Rep. states unable to fins a Plummer. will get back to me that day. Never did !
October 12th a Rep named Leo stated technician will get back to me.
October 19...I called a plummer to fix the leak.
October 20...8:05 in AM.. received call fr HSA...unable to find plummer; they want the plummer to call them to get authorization to fix leak. After two weeks with a leaking sink ; I said I will not delay the fix any longer; besides, the plummer I got works by himself AND doesn't have the time for paper nonsence . Cost me $220 along with $100 service fee for no service.

Had similiar problem with HSA concerning a HOT wATER Tank leaking.
Request for service dated February 9th; had to get my own Contractor who would follow their rules; since HSA said they could not find anyone to stop the leak. The new tank was installed February 18th; after some minor damage to the finished basement.

I paid a $100 service fee when in fact I received no decent or timely servicpe in both cases. I have no confidence in HSA if I should need them. If they have no referrals or providers in my region; then they should not sell themselves as such. Howard Hanna reputation in not enhanced by this outfit.

Tried to sell me house with Howard Hanna. Was lied to several times by the Agent, never kept her word, and she was down right rude at every meeting. Took house off the market and they are holding me hostage for 5 more months. Office Manage Michelle is so rude, unethical, and downright mean. She laughed at my situation when I ask to please take it out of withdrawn status. Wish I would have done my homework prior to choosing this branch and this company. The worst I've ever dealt with in my 25 years of property ownership. Oh yes, and I'm a veteran and still serving my country over seaes and they preyed upon that weakness of me being 8k miles away. I have no idea how this company or branch is still in buinss and or hasn't been sued in a class action. I read all over the internet that this company has a track record for this style of serve or lack thereof.

Well I guess your website is set up to delete complaints as you're typing them so I will have to make this short and sweet. I had the complete situation typed up and then it was gone?
I was a buyer and seller with Howard Hanna. I needed to sell my house to purchase a house that was right behind my daughter on Fernhill Ave in Pittsburgh.
I took my children to see the house on June 20, 2018, The owner stated that there would be no inspection. He followed us around real closely even though his wife was showing us the house. It was creepy. As we left the house it was raining hard.

The next day my agent called to say the Fernhill house lower level flooded. I live alone and had flooding in my previous house by the water company. I do not nor cannot handle this again. I had to back out of the deal. We were supposed to close July 6, 2018. Who would want to pay a lot of money for a house that is flooded? It was not in the same condition as when I originally made the offer.

There was $2000 hand money, which I thought was ridiculous, that has not been returned as of yet. Most people I've spoken to for advice do not understand this either. The house floods, of course you are not longer going to purchase it. You may have to deal with rot, insects, mold, etc.

If this is the way Howard Hanna treats clients, buyer and seller, I don't know how they have any customers. Should I go to magistrate, attorney, social media or who?
Sincerely,
Kathleen Barrett
Agent: Leann Monz

I am in the process of buying the house in binghamton ny. Shannon yeskowsky who works with your office is unaware of selling this house. She wants a cash buyer which I am. She wants 1500 dollars to be placed in her bank account. She agreed to sell the house for 100000 dollars. Me and my agent negotiated the price with her and we sighed the neassacery documents with 500 good faith money. Now she refuses to proceed., untill I follow her demands. The seller is a friend of a friend of mine and he is not aware of what Shannon is doing. The house is 85 beethoven binghamton ny 13905. Please resolve this as I am anxous to buy this house.

OMG do not do business with these people! My so called friend just got hired in and I talked my boyfriend into letting her sell our house and after some convincing he agreed. Well I and my boyfriend got into an argument about our new mortgage for a home we planned to purchase. I was telling my realtor friend about my feelings and she told me that she could not get involved because it was unprofessional because he was letting her sell his house. I said ok then I won't contact you anymore and I'll block your number until the house sells. Well this friend proceeded to go on Facebook and keep messaging me over and over the same message that she couldn't get involved. I finally had to unfriend her and block her from Facebook also. Then my realtor friend started having conversations with my boyfriend about me. Since we were arguing about the mortgage I was talking to neither of them but overheard a phone conversation between them. So my boyfriend and I made up and came to agreement. Well when he was asleep I looked in his phone and he had messages from her that went on for days! Trying to have me committed to a hospital for a nervous breakdown! I was floored! I can't have a disagreement with him without me being crazy? Seriously? The realtor friend called a crisis hotline on me! This was all in his text messages. He told her not to but she did it anyway and they did nothing when she called lol. She was not a friend! She affirmed an opinion of my boyfriends that I am crazy and friends don't do that. People who want you out of the way so they can charge you over $10, 000 to sell a house do those things. She was unprofessional for getting involved in an argument between her clients. Her name is Danielle Cox and if I were you I would stay far away from this company because they let thier agents get away with things like that. Very unprofessional! I asked her to remove herself as an agent due to conflict of interest but her name is still listed as his agent. Be careful people! Never do business with friends or a company that lets thier employees act so unprofessional.

In late January 2015, my Howard Hanna realtor held an open house.

In early February 2015, I was awoken by a phone call: something awful had happened to my property.

I had moved out of my home in July 2014, painted it, and put it on the market. While it was on the market, I made some improvements – a new hot water heater and a new back door – to try and increase its appeal. Nothing seemed to help get the house sold, so when my realtor scheduled not one, but TWO open houses at the end of January… I was cautiously optimistic.

When I arrived at my property after the phone call, I found my kitchen door wide open and four inches of water on the floor. The basement below the kitchen was also flooded. Water was pouring out of my house into my back yard. What had happened was clear – whoever had been inside my house last had failed to secure my kitchen door. It had blown open, and the record-setting cold of that February had frozen my pipes.

There were almost $6, 000 in damages. I was lucky, it could have been much worse.

The insurance situation was made immediately clear to me – my policy would not cover the loss. Howard Hanna made their position clear as well – their priority was to deny responsibility and protect themselves.

“It could have been a break in.” They said.

So I had the police as well as the insurance claims adjuster investigate the situation. Nether found any evidence of a break in, and nothing was stolen.

“It could have been a contractor that you gave access to the property.” They said.

There were only two keys – one inside the Howard Hanna lock box, the other on my key chain.
“Your realtor swears she secured the door before she left after the open house.” They said.

I’d imagine she would swear that she secured the door… her job is probably on the line.

“You can’t prove it was our realtor who left the door open.” They said.

This isn’t a criminal case where twelve jurors need to convict. Before the open houses, everything was fine. After the open houses, my property was destroyed. This isn’t a case for Pittsburgh CSI.

My realtor had her corporate lawyer chasing my tail. The tone of our conversations was that the lawyer was on my side, looking out for my best interests… but the content was falling woefully short. First, she alluded to the idea that I should try to commit insurance fraud by claiming my property had been burglarized. There was no evidence of a break in. Next, she claimed that my property had been seen by potential buyers, there was NO damage at all (essentially, I was making everything up), and an offer was imminent. No offer ever came. I received almost no response to my emails, and the lawyer would only talk by phone. This, I concluded, was a way to prevent any documentation of our conversations. So I got my own lawyer.

Fast forward to the Pittsburgh magistrate hearing – six months later. Six months of being unable to sell my property because of the damage. Six months of mortgage and utility payments.

My realtor and a Howard Hanna lawyer (not the same lawyer that had “helped” me earlier, but a different one) sat outside the waiting room. My lawyer and I sat inside the waiting room. And the offers started…

Here we were, minutes from being called in front of the magistrate and Howard Hanna was finally realizing that they weren’t getting out of this one. The Howard Hanna lawyer would come over to my lawyer, they’d have a little chat, and then my lawyer would come over to me.

“Will you take $1000?”

“No.”

Then, the lawyers would reconvene for another discussion.

“Will you take $1500?”

“No.”

The tone of the discussions were revealing. Howard Hanna’s position was that I had no proof that their realtor left my door open. But the larger issue in their mind was that they couldn’t set a precedent that when their realtor causes property damage, that Howard Hanna would foot the bill. I was being denied compensation for my damages, not because I was wrong but because I was right… and Howard Hanna needed to protect themselves.

When we were finally called before the magistrate my lawyer and I were first to arrive. We stood for a few long moments until the Howard Hanna lawyer poked his head in and looked around.

“Can I talk to you?” He said to my lawyer.

“One moment, judge.” My lawyer excused himself from the magistrate chamber.

Another stretch of time passed before my lawyer returns.

“He says that the best he can do is $2, 250.”

So I thought about it. I thought for a long time. Was the difference between my damages and $2, 250 worth putting this ordeal behind me? There was no guarantee I would win… at least I would get something. I swallowed my righteous pride, and took the settlement.

Processing the check took some time, but before I received it, Howard Hanna took one final opportunity to rub dirt in my wounds. They wanted me to sign a contract that contained a non-disparagement clause. They wanted to restrict my ability to recount my experience to others – online, or through news agencies. So, I had my lawyer black out the clause, and I signed.

I got my Howard Hanna check, and I cashed it. My finances are patched up as much as I can hope for them to be, and I’m moving on with my life. But I wanted to take the time to recount my experience.

I have had a horrible experience with this company as a seller. My advise to anyone dealing with a realtor and real estate office is to get an attorney to help you from the listing process to the end of the sale. I trusted my realtor to be looking out for me and that was a BIG MISTAKE. Don't sign anything without first consulting your attorney.

We are a Mortgage Bank that provides "Approval Certificates" for qualified real estate home buyers. The approvals are FNMA eligible based. This approval is used in conjuction with making a bona fide offer for purchase of residential real estate homes. We have received no less than six calls from Howard Hanna Realtors, since March 2010, asking/demanding credit information, income, assets etc. about the potential buyer of there listed properties. Our buyers are telling us they're being pressured into using ALL OF HOWARD HANNAS SERVICES from the mortgage-to-inspection-to-remodeling companies-to-title. This on top of the real estate agent involvement as the seller agent. Steered and Pressured.

We intent to file a compliant listing all parties who has taking issue with these practices and are livid by the unprofessional and munipulitive ways of Howard Hanna. Anyone else wishing to join, please contact me at noel.[protected]@benchmark.us.

I look to help restore same sanity, if nothing else back into this industry. Howard Hanna needs to be addressed by our supporting regulatory bodies.

Your help and stituations are appreciated.