housevalues.com is a scam

[Ioman]

I was watching CNN today and saw a commercial for this company. They claimed they would give you a free house estimate on the website after filling in some simple information.

I went to their site and filled out their form. Apparently they will have someone contact me with my home evalution. I wanted it on the web and I do not want my information sold to realtors or anyone else for that matter. Watch out for this company, I don't trust them.

http://www.housevalues.com

[Ioman]

Here is the response I received by e-mail:

Thank you for visiting the HouseValues Web site to request your home's current
market value and/or suggested listing price.

Your request has been forwarded to a local real estate agent who specializes in
your neighborhood and will be happy to provide this information to you by email.
You can expect to receive a response from this agent within three business days.

If we do not currently have a specialist in your area, we will notify you by
email. Thank you again for using the HouseValues.com service! Please feel free
to encourage any friends and relatives who are planning to sell a home this year
to visit www.housevalues.com to request a free current market report of their
own.


Sincerely,

The HouseValues.com team

So not only did I not receive a value for my home, but now I have to deal with a local realtor who will be buggying me about selling my home. I am willing to bet that I would have to pay for an actual appraisal. I see an article coming.

[rivendale101]

lol Ioman. this probs aint the place to ask this but are you one of the moderators?

[Ioman]

lol Ioman. this probs aint the place to ask this but are you one of the moderators?


Something like that...

[ECA]

something like that..

[RealtorScott]

Hello... I was recently posting my own scam alert on my website and googled after I was complete and found your post... I think it is funny that an end user would think this crap company is a scam...

I am a realtor in the San Francisco Bay Area, and have been scammed by this company to a tune of nearly $800.00... you see, as realtors, we have to pay for our online leads... many companies offer legitimately proven leads, such as Reply!.com... however, this company makes up their leads so we are made to think that we are buying legitimate leads... unfortunately, they make us sign a year contract for the service, with no way to back out... I subscribed to this crap for 6 months before finally stop payment by my credit card company... they then sent me to collections for the balance...

From your point of view, realistically, there is no way anyone BUT a realtor could estimate your homes sales value... however they did not make that clear to you apparently... I am in process of filing a complaint with the FTC, BBB of WA and CA, and the attorney general of CA and WA as well...

If you would like for me to find an approximate value of your home, I can do that with no worries about me harrassing you... I am not licensed in OR, I can give you a title companies sales reports for area home sales in your area... that would give you an approximate value...

If you feel up to it, please complain to the FTC and BBB of your state and WA (where Housevalues is located) more complaints the better... they truly are a scam company...

Thanks

[Ioman]

Hi Scott,

I don't need an appraisal anymore but thanks. This company does seem very shady, and their advertisements are missleading. I know several people that went to their site because they thought they would get an appraisal over the web as well. If you are going to contact the BBB, FTC, make sure you throw in the Attorney General as well.

Let us know how it goes, I would be interested in hearing.

[ECA]

SENCe this is 'THE WEB'
I consider ANY company that makes promises without 'at least' giving a working sample, is PHONEY...
Its the same with ANY site...Even netflix FINALLY posted there search listing BEFORE you join.
AND I see no reason NOT to be able to ASK a comapny to PROVE there worth, by doing the same.
This would be like Selling door to door and NOT getting to see, what you are selling.

[mancamping]

I am a Realtor in the SF Bay area, and I too feel I am being scammed by housevalues.com. I cancelled my subscription with them, and turned off my credit card, and today I got an e-mail from them asking for another credit card number. I have read other realtors and consumers complaints, and this company seems REALLY shady. Anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with these guys or how to put them out of business?

[ECA]

Ummm,
You MUST know, being a realtor, that it is a regulated business in many states.. You must be listed with a few agencies, as well as with the State.
Why not send your complaints to them.. As well as the BBB..
In the end, they will dumpo there name, and disappear, and come up as ANOTHER company..

[Bang1]

Hi guys, I know Scott above. I did the same search and found this and thought it funny to find this on a tech site. I am a realtor too. A lot of us around, huh? But housevaues is a scam to both the end user and the agents they use. Misleading bait and switch advertising and sales.

For realtors they are white collar con artists who use fast talking telemarketers to candy coat a sale with promises of a skyrocketing career. Once the rushed through ironclad contract is signed they do not provide the service described and skirt the law to force payment for a lie. omg:

For buyers and sellers they market nationally that they provide a free estimate of your home's worth or show you listings of homes in an area. They cannot in fact do this. They are not licensed realtors. As soon as you sign into their site your info is then sold to realtors. :eww You are unaware of this sale and only told the information will be sent to you in your email leading you to believe just the answer will come. You will in fact have a realtor contact you. Once they have your info there is no way to retract it, your info is sold to a realtor without your consent or any compensation. :dunno

They've been reported to the FTC, BBB and the State Attorney General's office in Wa and CA. I have documented evidence of the deception and tricks used on me. I have recovered most of my money so far. :thumb

If anybody wants to know more please email me.

Craig G
Concord CA

[GooseMaverick]

I know what you mean about those jerks. I filled out a form and I was being bugged constantly from some :censored idiot.

I found a site that gives you an excellent home value report for just $29.95...well worth the money for piece of mind. :cheers

This site won't even ask for your phone number.

homeappraisalsusa.com (http://www.homeappraisalsusa.com)

Laterz

[Bang1]

Why pay for a report? Most realtors in your area will gladly do this and will even give you a colorful printed CMA free of charge without obligation. If you don't know a realtor ask a freind or relative. Let the realtor know up front you don't want to be contacted. :cheers

Most people already know what their home is worth by the sales in the area. :thumb

Craig G
Concord CA

[MorganMK]

Well I have another site you might want to give a try. It's cheaper and you won't get unwanted visits from realtors. Simple and only $24.95. www.homesmartreports.com

House Values is a known scammer. People have had so many problems with their contact with realtors. How do you think they are a multi-million dollar corporation with "free" reports? Realtors pay them.

Just a rant.

-MorganMK.

[ECA]

thanks..

[blucas]

Listen up everybody....if you feel strongly that you have been scammed by housevalues....REPORT THEM!!!!! Report them to The Better Business Bureau and DEMAND a FULL REFUND! Here is their website:
http://www.thebbb.org/complaintsearch.html

[blucas]

Here are a list of HouseValues phone numbers and the Better Business Bureau and Attorney General websites. They may help you resolve your problems with HouseValues.

HouseValues Phone Numbers
Mark Powell Chairman & Founder 1-866-224-9425
Ian Morris Chief Executive Officer 1-866-224-9425
Clayton Lewis President and Chief Operating Officer 1-866-224-9425
John Zdanowski Chief Financial Officer 1-866-224-9425
Tom Romary Chief Marketing Officer 1-866-224-9425
Jacqueline L. Davidson Vice President of Finance 1-866-224-9425
Ken Hansen Vice President of Sales 1-866-224-9425
Scott Smith Vice President of Customer Success 1-866-224-9425


Washington Attorney General is Rob McKenna [www.atg.wa.gov]
Better Business Bureau website is http://www.thebbb.org

[blucas]

I will say right away I am no expert on stock. What I do know about is great companies that have a great relationship with their clients and allow refunds and go out of their way to help satisfy a dissatisfied client. Great companies have clients for life.

If you Google 'Scam Housevalues' there are horror stories from real estate agents that feel strongly that they have been scammed and deceived by HouseValues. Companies like HouseValues do not have clients for life - in fact StockLemon seems to believe there is a 98% churn rate...does that mean HouseValues can only retain 2% of their customers? There are unscrupulous companies that believe they can make a quick buck on an unsuspecting real estate agent.

That rings true in my case. HouseValues has deceived me verbally by promising quality leads. They deceived me and countless others with this tricky little 'E SIGNATURE CONTRACT' for a year that HouseValues blatantly boasts is iron clad.

They send shoddy leads, give shoddy service and really truly are a deceptive company who is substandard. Why would a real estate agent continue to pay over $300 a month to receive substandard leads?

I canceled my service with them. They threatened to charge me 50% for the rest of the year, send me to collections and ruin my credit. They again blatantly boasted about their 'Iron Clad Contract'. They are proud of their tricky little E Signature contract which supposedly does not give you an out?

My other lead sources worked. But not HouseValues. Their only defense is it takes years for someone to be ready to sell a house. That didn't happen with my good lead source companies who brought me business. By the way ALL - I mean all of my other lead source companies will allow cancellations without this 'penalties - r - us' business model. A manager at HouseValues was quick to add 'you can't refund a car when you buy it'. WHAT ABOUT LEMON LAWS?

How can HouseValues dream of growth when they are biting the very hand that feeds them? Do they not realize that real estate agents communicate to each other? Do they not realize that people get fed up with deceptive practice and companies that seem to try to make money on muscling their clients into submission? They are quick to say their little memorized piece of 'I am sorry Mr. or Ms. Realty that you were not successful with HouseValues and that you chose to cancel and pay us 50% penalties for the rest of the year'.

Well, for starters, Online advertisers should not engage in deceptive or misleading trade practices with regard to any aspect of electronic commerce, including advertising, marketing, or in their use of technology.The manner in which the unsuspecting real estate agent is to hit 'enter' in order to get into training to get a lead to HouseValues signifies an electronic signature. THIS IS MANIPULATIVE, DECEPTIVE AND MISLEADING USE OF TECHNOLOGY. The real estate agent has not signed a contract. HouseValues considers this an electronic signature.

HouseValues has a NO REFUND policy. HouseValues seems proud of their tricky little 'Iron Clad Contract with their even trickier little supposed Electronic Signature'. They sure don't have anything else to be proud of. HouseValues will then have their 'hole-in-the-wall' collections agents hound you for penalties. PENALTIES! PENALTIES TO FIRE A SHODDY SERVICE??

Do your own due diligence and make up your own opinions and do not be swayed by one person. Your search engine should tell you plenty when you type in 'scam housevalues'. Let the masses teach you. Someone needs to teach HouseValues a thing or two about real customer service and customer retention.

In my opinion, HouseValues is a loser.

[Bang1]

Hi Realtors and victims of lead buying scams,

I briefly want to explain how I reclaimed a payment to Housevalues. First of all an electronically signed contract is a legal document. You need to fight them, don’t sit back and take it. It’s a fine line that as Realtors we are still consumers, but we are and we bought a product. As consumers we are entitled to exactly what we purchased and not a variation or an altered similar version of. If you were sold this by a telemarketer and you were told something, it must be exactly as you are told and that does not have to be in writing.

This is only my knowledge as a consumer and I am not a lawyer. I cannot give you legal advice. This is just options available to consumers to get money back for a product not as described.

In the whole battle HV and all the other companies stand on the fact that they sold and delivered a service. Period.

If you take this to a lawyer you might win, but they have big lawyers with more money than you. Fight them as a consumer. Read the contract and look at it very closely. Call and question them on every detail and RECORD your conversations. Go over everything in detail and be prepared. Check the consumer laws in your state. In California a consumer must receive exactly what was sold by any telemarketer sale. And ANY sale by a telemarketer is fully refundable within 30 days with the return of the product. I was sold by a telemarketer. HV was very tricky in finding a loophole in this and sending a lead instantly. Once the lead is followed up you cannot return the “product” they call a service.

Here’s where it pays to take action. File a complaint with the Attorney generals of both states, the BBB and the FTC first. Call HV and demand a full refund. If these fail file what’s called a civil suit for the amount you paid HV. Check again in your state for the amount. Ca is up to $7500. The suit is filed in the city where you signed the contract or bought the “service”. You do not need an attorney, the filing fee is small and HV must appear if they wish to fight you. Get advised by an attorney if you can. You local court for civil suits is in favor of the consumer no matter if they bring in big guns.

Don’t take a partial refund from HV. They will try this. You must fight them to succeed in any recovery.

But you must take action and follow up. DO NOT give up or they win you lose.

[martin4life]

I am sorry for those of you who have not had a great experience with HouseValues. omg: Some friends of mine are RE agents and they are doing quite well by HouseValues. Their service is not a be all end all solution to get business. Just another stream of income. Look here and see what others are saying:
HouseValues Blog (http://athousevalues.blogspot.com/) or research here: Just for RE Agents (www.agentsuccessnetwork.com)

Go to the HouseValues Corporate (http://www.housevaluesinc.com) website.

On the consumer websites HouseValues and JustListed, it states very clearly that the information will be forwarded to one licensed RE agent. I emplore evryone here that has a bad opinion to do your due diligence. For those of you who said the leads are junk....you can have any lead replaced for any reason. You can also return any lead that does not have working contact information if you should receive a bad one. Most leads are just fine, and when you work hard like anything else in life, you will see the results. :thumb

[Bang1]

martin4life says: "you can have any lead replaced for any reason" and "information will be forwarded to one licensed RE agent"

The first is purely false and a lie. Leads are NOT replaced for any reason. Where did you come up with this? In fact replacement is refused.

Secondly leads are recycled and the same info goes out to hundreds of other agents. Ask anyone who works for ZipRealty.

I am not arguing the "validity" of such or any leads. You failed to mention the deception used to sell you a lead system and the tricks used to keep you in a contract. If this is as rock solid and reputable as you say then don’t you think it would come with a FULL money back guarantee if not satisfied?

Again your only argument in defense is an effort to undermine agents who have bought into the system by lecturing about how to work leads and hinting we are too lazy to produce results.

Any reputable company will offer a money back guarantee and a trial period shorter than the year the telemarketers are trained to sell you. Sold with a guarantee of the same statement you just made. Leads will be replaced. Bull.

You give us the only few links to support housevalues. I won’t post the links that disclaim your support as there are too many, but do a Google or Yahoo search on housevalues, justlisted, homegain or any other lead purchasing company accompanied by complaint or ripoff. Check on the amount of complaints filed with the FTC, BBB and State Attorney General’s office. And I have yet to find an office or agent who has been pleased with the purchase or who has been able to recover from the iron clad contract designed to keep their money. I’ve been contacted by countless numbers of fellow agents from all over the country that feel they have been ripped. I have agents that were in my own office with the same complaint. Not about the leads, but about the same lies and deception used to get them to sign a years contract.

Let’s just look at 1 of the deceptions that was used. I was sold at a premium price a town of choice, much higher than the surrounding areas. If I pay a premium for that town then I better damn well get what I pay for. Not what I was given in the surrounding areas.

Now let’s look at how those “leads” are generated. First of all there are not enough valid leads to supply each subscribing agent with the “exclusive” lead as you say go to each agent even in a hot market. The term “exclusive” itself can be interpreted with a variety of meanings. Take a look at the ads on television. Do those ads ever mention even with a disclaimer that personal info will be not only given but sold to a Realtor? Viewers are enticed by offering a value of their home or to view listings in an area in the privacy of their own home. Those that do request info DO NOT want to be contacted by a Realtor.

Yes those leads can produce eventually like any other lead. That is not the argument. The deception used to entice agents and leads is.

So get off the exclusive lead crap too. Prove leads are given to only one agent, not recycled and are not distributed to other agents. I worked for a company who bought leads. We were told as agents to respond within the first few hours of receiving those leads as they are also sold to others.

I got my money back. How do you think that was possible? I didn’t have my lead replaced. It was refused.

[martin4life]

HouseValues is a huge company. Publicly traded. I too stumbled upon these postings by accident, and because of the positive results from my friends who are agents, I was compelled to comment sharing the good that is not the exception or a rarity from using the service.

Testimonials (http://athousevalues.blogspot.com/)

We all have had a bad burger at one of the big fast food companies. We may even have had a bad experience with a RE Agent. This does not mean all is bad, or we will never try again, or it's not good for others.

There is actually no help for some agents. No lead service company or any marketing to get new business will ever work for them. They should get out and get into a business that better suits them.

I wish everyone a successful career!

[Bang1]

I'll pass that advice on to our top producers who were takin in by lead selling scams. I am sure they need to get out of the business.

Martha Sterwart and Enron were publicly traded too.

Burgers are a lot cheaper and gauranteed. Um ....they will be replaced.

[Bang1]

A false opening comment and accusations do not lend credibility to your defense. Within your comments lie accusations of laziness and stupidity towards agents that had no success with your lead system. As your posts and comments have a familiarity about them and a signature to which I have seen before I am inclined to believe you are not an agent at all, but a shill or representative of the lead selling companies.

Martin4life you say your friends are Realtors? By what authority or professional expertise to you possess to give suggestions to other Realtors? You post 2 links that are actually connected to housevalues.

Would you care to identify the company you work for with verifiable credentials in order to assure others you are a Realtor? Would you care to elaborate on the amount of leads you purchase yearly and how many of those leads within the past 6 months have led to a sale? You must have some information to back up your claim other than 2 housevalues connected sites and knowing a few freinds.

I have documented proof of a deception to sell me into a system and bind me to a contract. Nothing else. Accusations? If you want to go there I have emails and sites that offer accusations of recycled leads, employee generated leads and more. If you want to throw accusations around I will be more than happy to throw some around too. Get off the accusations and provide facts. Degrading and attacking others as lazy, stupid and needing to get out of the business is appalling and cowardly. I doubt you have the authority to provide such a comment. Defense by humiliation.

Again it is not the “bad burger” that myself and others have had problems with. It is the process in which that “bad burger” was sold to us. Leads are just that, bought or otherwise. We know how to work leads and there can be hundreds before one is turned to client. The guarantee on the sale and tactics used to sell those leads is less than honorable and source of the complaints. It is not my concern how those leads are acquired and sold and is between you and those that leave the information. It is however my concern when I and others fall victim to bait and switch sales tactics and trickery to bind contracts.

When you target an audience of primarily new and struggling agents with prospects of riches by supplying what they need the most, then be prepared to take the flak when the system fails for most and the target audience is the loser. When you sell a service, any service with a verbal or written guarantee, the service had better damn well be provided as described without an alteration.

A reputable company offers a full money back guarantee of any service if not completely satisfied at least within 30 to 90 days. Lead selling is a great idea and may work for some as it does. I never denied that. What I condemn is the less than honorable tactics used to sell those leads. Just as in your false statement of ANY lead is replaced. There would be a lot fewer complaints filed if there was more honesty from these companies. Pointing out, again another broken record, that some of these companies are publicly traded proves nothing about honesty.
:eww

[martin4life]

You sound like of of the many whiney agents out there. LOL. You are very ignorant and need to research the facts. You need to educate yourself on how to research today's consumer. Do you really think they respond to your classified ads? lol your going down.......

[martin4life]

Here is the response I received by e-mail:



So not only did I not receive a value for my home, but now I have to deal with a local realtor who will be buggying me about selling my home. I am willing to bet that I would have to pay for an actual appraisal. I see an article coming.

The Real Estate agent would have pulled comps from your area. (If you even do own a home) They would have delivered the comps to you for free in a non - obtrusive manner. The agent would be there to help you if you wanted assistance. Relax. Here's an idea for you...

Just click unsubscribe and be done with it. Better yet, never go to HV website again. How about that. They (RE Agents) don't need your business with your sour attitude.

[Ioman]

The Real Estate agent would have pulled comps from your area. (If you even do own a home) They would have delivered the comps to you for free in a non - obtrusive manner. The agent would be there to help you if you wanted assistance. Relax. Here's an idea for you...

Just click unsubscribe and be done with it. Better yet, never go to HV website again. How about that. They (RE Agents) don't need your business with your sour attitude.


haha I love it. You are obviously trolling on here trying to get people fired up! But I appreciate the effort.

HouseValues.com is a scam, they have been reported to the BBB and of course I don't use them anymore.

www.zillow.com is a MUCH better site and its free and accurate.

But I appreciate the effort ;)

Thanks! Good game. Buh bye.

[martin4life]

alrighty then,you got me. I dont care one way or the other. I have no vested interest with HV. I think it interesting how the written word can have such a effect on people. I did have fun here,thanks for playing my game. Now on to the next forum.

peace :thumb

[Ioman]

LOL

I love it.

Later! :Cheers

[martin4life]

Hello everyone, I was talking to my RE Agent friend again. I was directed to youtube. Most of the agents with HV have been there for more than a year. 17000+ agents can't be wrong if they choose to stay with HV year after year. HV has an affect on their bottom line. Check this out: YOUTUBE#1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4ISiS6xRB8 ) and: YOUTUBE#2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnAlWGLD2hU ) The agents interviewed at an HV seminar [free for all agents subscribing] are VERY objective. So many are having success as opposed to the few that are not doing so well. I got all excited for my agent friend cause she is doing so well with her RE career...been an agent for eight years now. HV has helped the business in many ways. :thumb

Bang1, please do not send any more nasty personal emails to me. If you need to comment, do it here so we all can enjoy the discussion. I do not mind if you disagree. If you ever need to talk, let me know. You seem to be upset from more than just this forum. Take care.... :cheers

[Ioman]

Wow, those videos are like paid placements.

Here is a counter: http://www.ripoffreport.com/results.asp?q1=ALL&q4=&q6=&q3=&q2=&q7=&searchtype=0&submit2=Search!&q5=HouseValues

http://www.stocklemon.com/11_18_05.html

If the leads Housevalues generated were valuable, there is no way 3 out of 4 subscribers would cancel. In fact, this number is so high it indicates that a substantial component of the company's total revenue is the collection of cancellation fees.


http://www.realtychat.com/forum/read.php?10,1502,page=2


http://www.raincityguide.com/2006/06/26/housevalues-knows-the-hard-sell/

Amazon reviews (not good): http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00006ELCV?v=glance

Motley Fool : http://www.fool.com/news/commentary/2006/commentary06052510.htm?ref=foolwatch

My experience isn't necessarily indicative of the HouseValues process, but I wound up with an estimate eventually, along with a string of emails that were ultimately fed into my spam filter topped by an unsolicited photographer snapping a picture of my home.

These are just from the first page of Google results for "housevaules.com and scam" so you can imagine how many more there really are.

Sorry Martin4life, I think your battle here is over...

[martin4life]

I am not responding to these posts because I have any personal interest. I am not in any battle here. I really don't care. You can think whatever you want and that is just fine with me. I wish everyone success in their business!
:thumb

[Ioman]

Same here. But everytime you will try and post a positive about this company, I will post a negative.

You can't say you are not in a "battle" with your sword drawn...

;)

[mammac21]

Look If everyone had a great experience with everything, the world would be perfect. But It's not...This is a great company I was told everything up front and not lied to at all. Don't be bitter that your not a great agent and couldn't close a door if you had to. You can return leads because i've done it. I've never had to pay for anything I didn't recieve and the service I've recieved there was first class. You bitter folks are ruining a companies reputation instead of letting people think for themselves. They would not have 18,000 agents using their service if they didn't work. When i go to the seminars and see the happy faces of agents who once didn't how they would pay for anything and are now driving a mercedes or a bmw, I know it's all worth while. Plus I know people that work there and they say it's the best company they've ever worked for. They are sales professionals not telemarketers. Telemarketers are given a script and handed a phone these people are put through a month of training and have great benefits. Get over yourself people 30,000 agents enter and leave the business every year. If this was a easy job like everyone thinks it is the turn over rate wouldn't be so high.

[G-Monster]

You sound like of of the many whiney agents out there. LOL. You are very ignorant and need to research the facts. You need to educate yourself on how to research today's consumer. Do you really think they respond to your classified ads? lol your going down.......


Those whiny agents have been taken for a huge ride. I'm one of them. I don't know how many thousands of agents are out there that are unhappy with thier experience with the housevalues system, but my understanding is that it is 98%. Stocklemon says housevalues has a 98% agent churn rate. I know I have read at least 100 horror stories that are posted on the internet.

The theme is pretty much the same. They were hustled into signing an electronic contract. The agent is excited to begin working the leads provided and to learn the system. After attempting to work the leads provided, they have no success, as most leads have bad emails, and bad phone numbers. When the agent calls to complain, the housevalues customer service transfers the call to a coach. The coach tells them to keep on keepin on.

Eventually the agent gets frustrated with the housevalues leads and decides to cancel. Housevalues informs them that they are obligated to pay one half of the remaining 1 year contract. Typically they can keep an agent under the ether from 1-6 months with that threat, and by getting them to listen to conference calls done by thier cheerleader agents.

Now comes the fun part, the agent starts looking around the internet, and realizes that there are many other agents with the same complaint. The agent then realizes that he paid good money and received no results.

The agent has wasted so much money, time and energy on housevalues he needs to get back on track with his business. Basically, goes back to the things he was doing to get business.

About 3 months later RPM starts calling to collect for HouseValues. They call for about 6 months on a regular basis.

[forbesrb]

I am not responding to these posts because I have any personal interest. I am not in any battle here. I really don't care. You can think whatever you want and that is just fine with me. I wish everyone success in their business!
:thumb


Interestingly, a quick Google search reveals another Martin4Life, who is an Account Executive with HouseValues.

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=martin4life

Coincidence, I am sure... I am not cynical enough to think that someone would hide behind anonymity to leap to the defense of their company, since no-one else seemed to be doing so...

[Ioman]

Ouch....busted Brett!

I noticed he deleted his MySpace page....

[lilamoro7]

Everything is nice at the beginning. Let`s stick around and see THE END! I`m about to file an FTC complaint myself. These people lied to me straight in the face! I was told there is nothing to lose only to gain for me! After 9 months and not even ONE VALID LEAD, I cancelled and they want me to pay them 50 % of the remaining of the contract. When I called the lady that signed me up, ( just about 10 minutes ago!) and asked her what is the fee for, she told me " I don`t know. I have no ideea. Ask the person that e-mailed you!"
So she signed me up but she doesn`t know about the cancellation fee? Therefore she couldn`t have told me about it in the first place!!!! I will do everything I can to make sure these people will not be out there to play their COSTLY GAME on onest people.
And if you are happy with them, good for you! You may be one of the rest of 2% agents that are not feeling robbed of hard earned money! I feel I could have done a lot more for my kids w/300 every month for 9 months instead of paying for nothing!

[ECA]

Im thinking that it would be good to start useing/caring and recording ALL business transactions...

[lilamoro7]

Hello everyone!
I am sure that everyone has his/her story about how these people at House Values extort money out of us. Mine is relatively simple! I trusted them! Every word! Trust is something that has to be earned you might say, but on the other hand, there has to be some level of trust between people involved in the same branch of business, otherwise we would waste probably more than 1/3 of our productive time researching one another`s credentials! It all hapenned so fast, I did`t even had time to keep up with the leads they flooded my account with in the first few days! Of course it never crossed my mind that all of the e-mails I was sending through their servers were just bogus to keep me "drugged"! I was excited, I was waiting for great things to hapen! Only recently, reviewing some of the pages I printed off the Market Leader, I realized that I had people on different " Follow Up" campaigns for over 3 months AND, at the top of the page, right above the e-mail address is clearly printed:UNDELIVERABLE!
How could I overlooked that? Simple! Because I never needed to read or copy or do anything with the e-mail address itself! I had to click other buttons and navigate through other different pages that each had a button saying " send e-mail". It didn`t say to whom it was the e-mail supposed to be send, might as well had been to no-one ( no kidding!), I was "assuming" the e-mails were sent to the client whom page I was on! Luckily, after sending each CMA, I was printing every one of them on Print/Preview for future reference. I still have a stack that I never hand-deliver nor mailed after getting negative feed-back from the people I thought I was doing a service for! So instead of gaining a few clients, I surely lost them and I cannot blame them if they associated my name with a harrassing agent`s picture, which I realy am not! I joined the real estate industry as a very dissatisfied client of some real estate agent, prommissing myself that I will always put my client`s interests above mine. I couldn`t live with myself knowing that there are people out there that I hurt, I cheated or pursuated to do things they did not feel comfortable doing!
So, let`s face it guys! We were all cheated because we trusted them, and because they were sounding so good and re-assuring that WE FAILED TO CHECK THEM OUT!
I have an excuse! English is my second language that I am constantly trying to improve, and I have to say that there are circumstances when I have trouble understanding what people are trying to tell me especially on the phone! I have not seen the contract they say I electronically signed prior to "JOINING" or "SIGNING UP" for their services! No one even mentioned there was going to be a contract! Not to mention for 12 months and with a 50 % cancellation fee! No one in his right mind would agree to such conditions providing they know about it up front!
The way they got me is probably classic by now:a lady named BRIDGET SHRACK called and bragged about how great this company is, and how is going to grow my business and do fantastic things for me. I refused her politely as I am not in the habbit of making quick decisions. However I told her I would be interested to take a look at their website, get more information, read some reviews etc.That was at 2:15 p.m. maybe on 5/11/2006! She e-mailed me the info immediately ( at 2:24 p.m) and gave me about 5 minutes to get informed! She called back to help me navigate through different pages on their web-site and (now I realize!) to make sure I read only what she wanted me to, in order to pump up my interest! O.K! She got my attention! I asked of course about the terms of "Joining", she read me a lot of things (except the ones that were important) and re-assured me that I have absolutely nothing to loose, its all exciting news, right? If I`m not happy, they are not happy, we work together, we help each other, nothing wrong with that, right? Of course when I called her this morning to ask her what is the cancellation fee about( I cancelled the subscription on January 3rd,2007) she said that she has no ideea, and advised me to contact the person that e-mailed me! Of course she could not tell me about it if she had no ideea about such fee in the first place, or SHOULD I SAY that I now believe that she chose not to tell me about it in order to lure me in, and not scare me away! I refused to join on the spot again, and asked for more time to think about it. And she gave me about 15 more minutes, and then she called back again, saying that she is terribly sorry to bother me like that, but as we speak the subscriptions for some areas are getting sold out because they can ONLY accommodate a certain number of agents, and she can see that there is no opening for Buford, GA but there is only one left in Lawrenceville and she is afraid that it might be gone by tomorrow and she would hate for me to miss this opportunity!
So she succeded, because less than 10 minutes later, at 3:40 p.m she signed me in, and at 3:38, I had the "welcome letter" in my box ALONG WITH A COPY OF THE AGREEMENT ORDER SUMMARY!!! Nowhere in this Joke of a contract does it say "this is a binding agreement. Please read carefully! even in small letters!!!
I didn`t even seen it until AFTER she got my information and signed me in! She just walked me through the sign up process right there on the phone, to make sure she didn`t have to call back AGAIN!
I was a goose! I am not ashamed to say it! It didn`t feel right, I didn`t think that I should do it based on a moment`s impulse, I am not at all the kind of person that makes decisions like that, and it never hapenned to me before or after, yet, I did it! THEY ARE THAT GOOD! We should have laws for people like this!
They e-mailed me yesterday to let me know that the cancellation fee was $ 598 and because there were not enough money on the credit card to charge it ( isn`t it illegal to charge someone`s card AFTER the termination of any agreement?) they offered "TO SETTLE" for $ 418 or $ 416. One time offer! Until 2/26/2007!
These people know their business! But, like my father used to say everytime I was getting frustrated when my car would stop to run: " Everything works before it stops working!" I am not paying even one more cent to these people! If anyone takes any kind of action against them, I will definetely join in. The way they are doing business is wrong, they need to stop cheating people out of their money.
If I understood corectly, the law about misrepresenting yourself on the phone in order to obtain information was passed recently. How about the way these people represent themselves on the internet in order TO OBTAIN PEOPLE`S INFORMATION AND THEN SELL IT ( maybe I should write this again: SELL IT!!!) to other people! Is this still legal? We should do something about it!
lilamoro7@yahoo.com

[30yrRealtor]

here's the thing Ioman. I have been to there websites and it clearly states that your information is going to be forwarded to a licensed real estate agent for processing. The best part is that it's in big bold red lettering next to the submit button. Next time read before you submit.

As for the other realtor's saying they tried housevalues and it didn't work. Well couple of things. First off, it's common knowledge you try a marketing plan for 12 months minimum not 6 to see if it works other wise your wasting your money. Secondly if you only spent $800 for the time you were with them then you were probably only getting a few leads and i bet it was less than 10 a month and if it was 10 they and you couldn't close one of them then maybe you should be looking for a career change.

I have been with housevalues for the last 10 months and i also work in CA as a part time agent. I have closed 6 transactions over the last 10 months with commissions of $63K. Now here is the best part of it. I have only paid them $7k. I love this company they are best out there. Don't over think their system thinking you know better than them in marketing people. Your a sales person not a marketing wiz even if you think you are. They have been doing the same thing for the last 9yrs and i'm looking forward to another year with them.

[Daivarie]

If Housevaues.com and Justlisted.com were such great assets to REALTORS and the general public, then why so many complaints. Well, they in fact are of no VALUE to anyone. They are misleading to the public as well as REALTORS alike. It's great to see the collapse of a Bulls@*t company. :) Their stock has been heading down and continues to head down today. This info is right off of NASDQ and as of today, their stock now reflects their promises to offer valid, solid leads and services to all, DOWN:

SOLD
HouseValues, Inc. NASDAQ-GS

HouseValues Announces Fourth Quarter Results
02/21/2008 4:00PM - Market Wire

HouseValues Q4 Loss Widens - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - HouseValues, Inc. (SOLD) on Thursday announced financial results for the fourth quarter, posting a net loss of $9.83 million or $0.40 per share, wider than $5.33 million or $0.22 per share in the prior year quarter.

Loss from continuing operations for the period rose to $9.87 million or $0.40 per share, wider than a loss of $0.71 million or $0.03 per share in the year-ago period.

On average, three analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial expected the company to report a loss of $0.02 per share.

Revenues for the fourth quarter decreased to $12.18 million from $19.14 million in the previous year quarter. Three Wall Street analysts expected revenues of $11.85 million.


$ 2.60
0.10 3.7%

HouseValues, Inc. | SOLD
Portfolio Tracking Ticker Alerts

Financials
Mar. 4, 2008 13:49 ET Market Open
Common Stock Market : NASDAQ-GS
Last Sale: $ 2.60 Net Change: -0.10 -3.7%
Share Volume: 22,800 Previous Close: $ 2.70
Today's High: $ 2.67 Today's Low: $ 2.57
Best Bid: $ 2.60 Best Ask: $ 2.62
52 Week High: $ 5.28 52 Week Low: $ 2.50
P/E Ratio: N/A Shares Outstanding: 24,475,000
Earnings Per Share (EPS): N/A Market Value: $ 63,635,000
NASDAQ Official Open Price: $ 2.66 Date of Open Price: Mar. 4, 2008
NASDAQ Official Close Price: $ 2.68 Date of Close Price: Mar. 3, 2008

[30yrRealtor]

What are you a real estate agent or stock broker. Yeah if you had taken a look at the economy around you, you would notice that there are a ton a real estate agents that are having issues. Their lack of production reflects directly on mortgage brokers, title companies, appraisers & and yes here it comes lead generation companies. So don't try to float the notion that because their stock has been sinking that they suck. If you are using their stock to reflect their ability then you are in the wrong industry.