Century 21 Alton Clark

This company is amazing! I first tried to sell our home "by owner". I had the best of intentions, but not any real knowledge of how things worked. It was basically a disaster trying to do it all myself and the stress level was through the roof. Right off the bat, I knew I made a good decision with Alton Clark realty. The photography and marketing they did on my home was first class! They were even able to do a three-dimensional view so people could realistically see the house without actually being there. James and Christine were on top of every little detail and answered my questions quickly. Within 4 days we had multiple full price offers. Not to mention, one offer was even over asking price! Not even to mention we were able to close within about 15 days. Trust me, if you're seeking an agent to do the best for your interests, call James and Christine. And by the way, the people who ended up buying my home never even looked at the house in person, as they were from out of state. That is how good their pictures were for the listing!

We signed with an agent at this realty to sell our house. We have a copy of the original septic permit when the previous owners reinstalled a new system in 1995. This official county paperwork is signed by a Sumter County official affirming that the septic drain field is more than the required 75 feet away from the well, according to regulation. The bank required the buyer to have a new survey and the surveyors asked to flag the drain field. We are out of town, so we gave our realtor a copy of this official county paperwork showing where the drain field was, and asked her to give it to the surveyor. Susan took it upon herself to go and flag it--except she marked it in the wrong place. She called us to inform us that she did this and my husband told her to remove those flags because she didn't know where to put them. The signed county paperwork says it was approved, so just send the surveyors that. He said unless it was dug up, or the installers themselves flagged it, it's hidden underground. Instead of following my husband, her client's wishes, she took it upon herself to hire a septic company to go out and mark the tank without even consulting us! This septic company was not the ones who installed it and he did know where it was without digging it up. So the surveyor marked the field too close according to the FHA Loan rules. When I found out about this, I called this septic company and they sent me an email, so I have their response in writing, that Susan requested them to mark both the tank and the drain field. The surveyor didn't know any different. They saw the flags and marked the field too close. Therefore, the FHA loan was not approved and the buyer requested us to move this legally installed system. Plus, now, an incorrect survey is floating around out there-even though we have a signed official county document. The Sumter County official inspected that sewer when it was installed and not buried in the ground! Susan should have reiterated that with the surveyor and told him that was sufficient. If the Sumter County Official's signature is not good enough, then something is very wrong with this whole process!! Because we cannot trust them anymore, we have asked to cancel our contract with Alton Clark Century 21, and they sent us a bill for $656 in marketing expenses to be wired to Fairwinds Credit Union. This is an insult because the deal fell through because this realty company did not follow our instructions. We cannot trust them any more.

If you're trying to sell your home For Sale By Owner, James Clark will harass you. If you tell him that you have no interest in his services he will still harass you. If you tell him you have met with one of his competitors he will insinuate they're inept capabilities. If you block his number he will call you from another phone. I believe this guy was a member of the police force earlier in his career. Probably released for questionable dealings. I'm saving all of his emails and texts for my complaint to the real estate board and Century 21.

While I have not hired this agency to sell my home or as a buyers agent, I recently tried to purchase one of their listings. I am fully aware this is a seller’s market and was prepared to make asking price or above asking offers. I have purchased two homes in the past. After my realtor presented fair and above asking offers with all required documents, my realtor and I were ignored. Texts and phone calls were left unanswered or with one word or sentence responses. Worse yet, an open house was conducted following offer and the gate coded was negligently posted on the key pad, a safety risk for that entire gated community. I genuinely questioned if the offers were timely presented to the seller, or at all. If I ever see this company listed on a property I will not make an offer. I would not be comfortable with them listing my home. Beware.

We just closed on our new house last week and the experience provided by Dave Abbott was phenomenal! Not only did he take time to show us any house we wanted to see but he was very responsive getting us in the same day when showings were available. We also were selling our current home at the same time and everything from photos to showings were handled perfectly especially considering we have a baby and labrador at home. I highly recommend Dave and his associates for all your real estate needs. Hands down the best experience in this crazy market.