Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/15/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I purchased land in Cooperstown NY. The realtor was Ms. Natasha S****** of the Stack-Page Properties in Cooperstown NY.
  
  There were several issues which I outline in detail and provide documentation attached to this complaint. Specifically, the land had significant portion of Federal Wetlands. This was not listed on the MLS nor divulged to me at or my realtor. I then asked (via email) if there were specific environmental concerns with the land. Ms. S****** replied (in a email) that there were none. I subsequently spent many hours of my time and much money on finding out the exact status of this land, the extent of the wetlands, and the limitations and restrictions for building on this land due to the wetlands.
  
  Another issue was that there was a significant title/deed issue. Again, I asked her (via email) if there were any issues. She replied (via email) that there were not. My lawyer found that a house on this land would NOT be insurable due to title/ deed issues. My lawyer had to find this out and--spend many billable hours to resolve. This delayed my having the land and also cost me many hundreds of dollars to pay my lawyer for his work.
  
  I had reached out to Ms. S******'s bosses and initially did hear back from Ms. P********** however I do not feel this was adequately addressed and there was no resolution on reimbursing me for the extra monies spent and for the many, many hours I had to spend to resolve. I sent her a letter on Aug 8, 2024 (via email) and have had no response. I am therefore reaching out to the Better Business Bureau.
  
  I seek:
  1. notifying BBB for their records
  2. to have them reach out to Stack-Page Properties to ask for a response to my letter

  Business Response

  Date: 08/27/2024

  August 27, 2024
  
  Dr. *******,
  

  This is our response to your BBB complaint. Please know that we take this complaint and our response very seriously. We are very sorry that you felt compelled to file a complaint. We have always prided ourselves in being truthful, fair and transparent in all our dealings. Our reputation means a lot to us, which is one of the reasons why we have chosen to remain a small company. We want to know what’s going on with our agents and each of the transactions and listings they are working on. That being said, even if we work in good faith, and to the best of our ability, there will always be things that come up. After a combined 38 years working in real estate, we have yet to see a purchase or sale happen without some type of issue arising, that is the nature of real estate.
  In your complaint to the BBB, you highlight three different things that seem to be your main focus of discontent: the issue of the wetlands; the time and money you expended doing your due diligence during the transaction; and the delay in closing and additional attorney fees arising from the title issue. We will address each complaint separately below.
  1. Wetlands. After reviewing the string of emails beginning on 5/7/24 between you and your buyer’s agent from *** **** ******* ***** *******, as well as emails with the DEC and Town of Middlefield zoning officer, it is evident that you knew about the wetlands a number of weeks before you made your offer on the parcel. You felt comfortable enough with the information you gathered from the different sources to move forward with a contract which you signed on 5/24/24. In the contract you did include a contingency requesting that the Army Corp of Engineers or an environmental consultant provide you with the official delineation of the wetlands. Your investigation and inquiries regarding the wetlands and the suitability/location for building is exactly what we would have recommended if we represented you as your buyer’s agent.
  2. Due diligence. The time you spent doing your due diligence was smart of you. Anyone buying land with the intention of building a house, should do this. You do not want any surprises down the road and only you know what your building plans and wishes are. In most real estate transactions, the buyer is responsible for paying for the inspection or other test that they wish to perform during the contingency period.
  3. Title issue. This is a legal issue, it is out of the scope of our expertise. New York State is not a title state, that is why NY requires both parties in a real estate contract to hire attorneys. It is also why we have an attorney review period immediately after a contract is signed, and Paragraph 5 in your purchase contract states that it is the seller’s duty to provide clear title to the buyer. It is our understanding that once the attorneys discovered the title issue, it was the seller’s attorney who expended the time and resources to resolve the issue. You also expressed that the closing was delayed because of these issues, however, Paragraph 11 of your contract states that the proposed closing date is an “on or about” date. Some transactions close earlier than expected, most however, close a week or more after the contract date. Your closing fell well within the “normal” length of time for a transaction and was only delayed for 2-3 days in order to get the necessary signatures on the seller side to clear up the title issue.
  Regarding our agent, Natasha S******, who was the seller’s agent in your transaction, we want you to know that we have spoken to her about the issues you raised about her. We stressed that in the future it’s important to refer clients or customers to the experts when there are questions that are out of her scope of expertise. In your case, she should have pointed you back to your buyer’s agent and/or attorney when you had questions. 
  
  Below is a separate letter from Denise addressing why we did not respond to your August 8, 2024 email. 
  

  
  Sincerely,
  Amy S**** and Denise P**********
  
  
  Dr. *******,
  
  I did not respond to your last email on August 8, 2024, because in the email you sent me on July 18, 2024, you stated that you were looking forward to closing and moving forward; therefore, I thought you were satisfied. That was the last time I heard from you. On July 29, 2024, I sent you an email to congratulate you on the closing.
  Ten days later, on August 8, 2024, you sent me your email. I was unsure why you sent it or how to respond, so I contacted *** **** ******, the brokerage you were working with, and spoke with the Broker/Owner ******** ******, as well as ***** *******, your buyer's agent. I forwarded the email to them to seek their advice, as I was perplexed about why you sent the email. They both told me “NOT” to respond and wanted to call you because they both felt it had been a successful closing.
  After reading all the emails, it is clear that everyone was doing their best to answer your
  questions. There is so much involved in building a home that we will often put the purchaser in direct contact with the necessary parties to get their questions answered directly from the source. So it was good that you too did your due diligence.
  
  Sincerely,
  Denise P**********