- Report: #602421
Complaint Review: Edina Realty - Lakeville Minnesota
Reported By:
Jerry -
Lakeville, Minnesota, United States of America
Submitted:
Updated:
-
Author Not Confirmed
Why?
Edina Realty
17271 Kenyon Avenue Lakeville, 55044 Minnesota, United States of America
Phone:
952) 892-7000
Web:
Categories:
Business Rating:
(0)
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Edina Realty Tamara Reck sold us a house that was 20% smaller than what they advertised Lakeville, Minnesota
When buying our home through Edina Realty, we were ultimately defrauded of $90,000 due to false information on the MLS. They listed the home at a sq footage that turned out be 600 sq ft over the actual value. To hide the fact that the home had been on the market far too long, they closed the first MLS and reopened a new one on the very same day with the highly exaggerated square footage.
We strongly believe the highly questionable re-listing, with a bogus sq ft value, was a deliberate attempt to inflate the perceived value of the home (we dont want to say they outright lied, as no doubt they would then unleash their highly-paid army of sleazebucket lawyers on us). An independent appraiser estimated we overpaid by $40K due to the dishonest square footage figure.
Edina promotes itself as a company of integrity, but in our sad experience with the Lakeville office, they will say and do ANYTHING, even falsifying an MLS listing, to get a sale. They have nothing to fear, as they are well able to simply crush any citizen bold enough to call them out.
Underneath their gleaming public image is a long trail of consumer abuse well-hidden by a very friendly media and a blatantly anti-consumer arbitration system. See, for example, Dismuke v. Edina Realty, Inc., No. 92-8716, 1993 WL 327771 (Dist. Ct. Minn. June 17, 1993).
I would suggest that the only difference between 1993 and now is that they have hired smarter lawyers and made sure all their deals go to binding arbitration. That solves the consumer having their day in court nonsense
Customer beware: if you have a problem with Edina, know that they have especially cozy relationships with all levels of the government and judicial system, and with their deep pockets and close ties with the very arbitration company they hire to hear a complaint, you have zero chance of obtaining justice.
Note: In arbitration, Edina uses Construction Arbitration Services (CAS). The watchdog group Public Citizen finds that in 95% of the cases brought to them - big surprise here - CAS rules in favor of the companies who hire them. The arbitration system is deeply flawed, weighted very heavily against the consumer, by signing the arbitration clause you de facto give up all your rights to have anything resembling a fair hearing.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Doug
Navarre,Minnesota,
Please contact us - Consumer Advocates in American Real Estate
#2Consumer Comment
Thu, March 13, 2014
Just read your report. We are a consumer organization and interested in your story. Could you please contact us at [email protected]? Thank you.
Doug Miller
blackwingednight
Lakeville,Minnesota,
Stick it - we own this town and can do whatever we want
#3Author of original report
Mon, February 17, 2014
Edina Realty has had more than a year to respond, and since they have not, I’ll respond for them.
Before trial, we asked them repeatedly to measure the area of the house themselves – they never did. To re-iterate what happened:
1) Edina put the house on the market at an original price of $399K and a square footage of 3300.
2) When the house did not sell for 28 days, they scrubbed the MLS of this listing – an extremely unethical practice - and re-entered it at $389K and a square footage of 3800.
3) 4 days later we looked at the house for the first time and were told “it’s only been on the market for 4 days”. Technically true, but ethically - extremely misleading.
4) We discovered 2 years after purchase that we had been lied to – the house was actually closer to 3200 sq ft
Edina made several arguments:
1) “You paid that much for the house, so it must have been worth that much”. In other words, don’t blame us if you were stupid enough to buy it at that price, just a very smart move on our part to drop the original MLS and put a wildly inflated sq footage on the new one.
2) “We simply don’t know why the original MLS listing was dropped – must have been an accident”. In other words, we’re Edina Realty and can do anything we want – we only have to buy an arbitrator who will agree with our dishonesty.
3) “We have no idea how we could have mis-measured the house.” They simply played dumb and innocent – very well-coached, were they.
The advice I would give to sellers is: Definitely use Edina Realty. They will do whatever it takes to sell your house, including falsifying information on the MLS. If it goes to arbitration, you have a 100% chance of winning, so there is no risk in using them.
Advice to buyers: If you decide you must use Edina Realty, do NOT sign the arbitration clause. They will badger you, threaten you with a lost deal, and tell you that you 'must' sign it. You don’t. Once you sign that clause, you give up all right to a fair trial – it’s a guarantee that you will lose in Edina-paid-for arbitration. And do not trust them about anything they say – their shills will mysteriously lose their memory in an any kind of hearing – whether it’s before a judge or a crooked arbitrator.
Additional advice to buyers: When Edina tells you it’s been on the market for X number of days, go to the MLS and verify they have not dropped a previous listing in order to “refresh” the days on market back to 0.
Several final notes:
1) Do not expect justice from Dept of Commerce, the Attorney General’s Office, or the newspaper. These “servants of the public” are golfing with Edina VP’s, and the Star Tribune has a very tight relationship with Edina (advertising).
2) Bob Peltier, the CEO at the time, has a self-serving reputation as a “nice guy”. All I can tell you is that he hires the biggest sleaze-bucket law firm in Minneapolis to strong-arm any opposition. Peltier had an opportunity to correct a seriously egregious wrong-doing by his company, and he chose to say “screw you”.
3) Construction Arbitration Services (CAS) has a consumer rating of near 0. Do NOT get involved with them – they are paid by Edina Realty to rule in arbitration cases such as ours – how do you think they will decide?
