tia l Fax

Taxes

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i bought my house in feb 17 and everything went fine at the time. Now im being told my house is going up for taxes for 2016.

i was unaware they didnt pay 2016 taxes and now im in a bind. they owned the house all of 2016 shouldnt they have paid the taxes or at least made me aware of unpaid taxes.

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2 comments
Lawrence B Emq

I also bought a house from them, and they were totally upfront with me that I would need to pay the taxes. If your real estate attorney was any good, he would have told you as well.

I am quite happy with the way they operate; they will not spend anything on properties, and they tell you that. The low prices reflect this, so you save more than enough to make up for it.

CastleRockREO

Upon closing with our company, we have you run a title search to confirm if title is clear and your attorney/title company should have confirmed title and taxes. Per your terms of sale, noted in all selling terms/offer terms and especially in your sales agreement that you signed; Seller does not prorate taxes or pay delinquent taxes.

This is why we have the closing process as buyer to run and confirm clear title before you close. Seems your taxes are late, as long as you pay the taxes you will not risk loosing your property.

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Jermell Ejh

Run away fast.

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Do not do business with these people unless you are totally willing to accept 100% of their terms, which totally favor the seller. After we made an offer they sent a purchase agreement contract that included many previously undisclosed costs and responsibilities for the buyer, such as: the buyer is responsible for proving that the seller owns the property for which they are about to buy, and all costs that are associated with that title search.

The buyer agrees to inherit any and all previous rental contracts, although no information about rental history was offered. All costs of due and delinquent taxes are passed on to the buyer. All utility assessments are not disclosed. They do not even have someone in the state to show you the property, they give you an access code and then the property is left unsecured.

Despite many attempts to engage them from both ourselves and our attorney, their agent responded in one or two sentence remarks like "The signed contract? I need that today." instead of addressing any of our concerns. The "asset manager" did not answer our questions, yelled at us, and did not seem to listen to anything we were saying. All she could do was REPEATEDLY DEMAND we "sign the contract immediately".

This went on for over 17 days, with no answers to our questions. At the end of this they would not compromise at all and we were so distrustful of them and frustrated there was no way we would ever complete a purchase with them.

Having been involved in many successful real estate transactions in the past, my first instinct when dealing with CastleRock was to RUN, and I should have. I hope you can learn from my mistake of investing time and money into this folly.

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Reason of review:
Poor customer service
7 comments
Guest

Thanks pissed customer. I appreciate you sharing your honest experiencee with me.im a new investor and I won't deal with Castle Rock for my investments...have a wonderful day.. thanks!

CastleRockREO

Sorry you don't understand that we did a price drop on the property and it sparked multiple offers. We give every buyer the chance to submit a final offer when we set a deadline to accept highest and best offer.

You were given that chance as were others, and the highest offer was accepted.

The property is cash pending and our other offers were valid. Not fair to assume and accuse, and the fact that the property has an accepted offer and in closing confirms that we did in fact have multiple offers.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of CastleRockREO

This comment is not relevant to my situation or the property I was working with. You are welcome to contact my attorney who was present for the entire debacle.

Lamar Blg
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1453508

KEEP it up

Guest

Its Quit claim not Quick !!!!!!!!!!!

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1415529

Really!!!!!!!!

Guest

Question? How much were your fees?

And what money did you give Castle Rock? In the Contract did it Offer Quick deed, with options of Title Insurance (even buying a regular home through a lender, you are advised to get Title Insurance out of Pocket.) also most foreclosed homes are at buyers beware to begin with and it costs a few hundred to get an Inspection. I'm just curious to what Castle Rocks Fee's are in their Contracts. All the negative Reviews I have seen of them have only been from people that did not get the Homes they wanted.

Maybe 3-4 Online.

One isn't even about buying a house, it's about easement into a property.. from someone else blocking the Driveway that Castle Rock took legal actions with.

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Anonymous

Terrible

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They lied about winterizing the property which is costing a fortune to repair. The water main was broken and never reported to us .

but water hadnt been on in the house since before the reported winterizing . upon putting inna new furnace countless broken pipes were found by repair man. As well as water still in lines . he laughed at the winterized stickers.

And said clearly never was .

castlerock wouldnt allow for the water to ve turned on hence it wasnt discovered. Dont ever work with them and save your self the trouble

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2 comments
Lawrence B Emq

I also bought a house that has been vacant for several years. I fully expect to repair the plumbing, as well as several easily visible issues.

There is no "free lunch" that I know of, but if you have the skill and ability to fix things, you can get a very affordable house through Castle Rock. Check it out first; they will let you.

That is one of the reasons that I bought from them. Many sellers of foreclosed properties will not even let you in to determine what you will need to fix.

CastleRockREO

Sorry for your misunderstanding but in terms of your sale, and each and every sale we confirm :Property is sold as-is and seller has no knowledge. Sale is based on buyers due diligence and we urge all buyers to complete inspections, research, and due diligence prior to any offer.

We never confirmed property was winterized, nor did we or any company we know place stickers. A foreclosure property goes through years of ownership changes and is expected to need work and repairs. We do not turn on water or utilities, as most mechanics need to be replaced/updated in a foreclosure that is sitting vacant for years. Experienced buyers know there is work to be done, hence, the great discount you are purchasing the property for.

Most buyers not comfortable with these types of homes hire a local broker and purchase a move in ready property where you go through inspections and pay an incredible amount more for the home.

Perhaps this should have been a better option for you. We are sorry for your struggles and hope this clarifies your misunderstanding.

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Lawrence B Emq
map-marker Elizabeth City, North Carolina

Very good experience. Affordable house, good to work with.

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I read some of the negative reviews before proceeding, and was apprehensive. There was an issue to resolve with the title, which they did properly. I can only speak for myself, but they were very good to work with. It did take a little longer than projected, but Angie Middleton was in contact regularly, and the deed is now recorded in the courthouse in my name. I highly recommend Castle Rock REO. I have also spoken with others who have had dealings with Castle Rock REO, and they have been satisfied with them. I do not know where these people get their bad experiences, but I would be happy to compare stories with them.
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Pros:
  • Quick responses
  • Customer service
Reason of review:
Good customer service
1 comment
CastleRockREO

Thank you so much for your positive review! We are thrilled to hear that your experience working with Angie was a great one! We look forward to doing more business with you in the future!

Anonymous

Shady

I had been emailing on and off with an asset manager Michael Salem on a Michigan property they had for sale. I made a cash offer only to be told he had offers over list price and to come back with my highest and best offer.

I watch the property on their website for the next week or two and then email to see if its still available and it is. I then am told the same story line about another offer on the table and the lowest they will take is an amount higher than the asking price.

I then watch over the next week and it never goes under contract so I emailed someone on their website only to be told its still available. As a full time investor and licensed realtor in the state of Michigan I won't be looking at any homes they have for sale or be recommending them to anyone.

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Reason of review:
Order processing issue
7 comments
Lawrence B Emq

If you are really a realtor and investor as you say, you certainly should know better than this. I read their response to you, and they were a lot more polite than I would have wanted to be.

They were fair to me when I dealt with them. Had you gone back after the previous contract fell through, you might have gotten the bargain you had hoped for.

CastleRockREO

Sorry for your issue. Since we wholesale and list properties under market value, we often have multiple offers.We spoke with Micheal and he confirmed he received multiple offers and accepted a highest and best that went into contract and did not close.

After this Michael called/emailed all buyers, put back on the market and again received multiple offers. Again, every buyer had a chance to make a final offer and then the highest and best was accepted. From your reply, we can see Michael gave you the opportunity to submit a highest and best offer but you chose not to.

However, other buyers did submit a highest and best offer and it is now confirmed the saleclosed and property sold well over asking price.Our apologies of your misunderstanding. Our customer service and manager of sales are always available to speak to you, answer any questions, or to further explain our process.

Guest

Shady. Never return my Realtors calls.

Takes a lot of digging to find out who owns the home for real, after a month of chasing in circles calling many different numbers and leaving messages never returned, faxing offers, being told they have better offers. Months later the property is still on the market. They want the highest above list price, trying to convince you there are multiple offers. Most of the houses are in extremely ill repair, They list on their sight if you read it you may get a condemned house.

Questionable.

They are a very unprofessional business. If they in fact even are anything more than a scam.

CastleRockREO
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1470867

Sorry for your confusion, prior the property was owned by the bank that had many contacts/agents. Castlerock purchases from the bank, acquires then owns the property.

At this time we place signs with our website and phone number on the property. Then the property listed with a local real estate agent on Realtor.com and local MLS. In addition to this, the property is syndicated through Zillow, Craiglist, Facebook and other advertising venues. So in fact, when we own the property it should be very easy to find who's owns it and and how to contact.Many of our homes are distressed assets, as they are noted in every listing and description.

They are always priced to sell below market values, as we’re able to purchase our properties at a large discount, passing massive savings on to our buyers. Due to this, we almost always receive multiple offers. Our asset managers give the property fair time on the market and then typically set a highest and best deadline.

Every buyer has a chance to make a final offer and then the highest and best will be accepted.You are welcome to view our website, or contact an asset manger to hear how it works. I think you will see from our better business standing, google reviews, website testimonials and positive feedback that we are in fact professional, fair, honest and ethical.Please let us know if you have further questions, we are happy to clarify any assumptions or confusion.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of CastleRockREO

I am having the same problem with the same guy (Michael) its been 2 weeks i havent been able to talk to him over the phone. I even offered the asking price that its posted all over the house just for him to tell me that he cant sell it (by email) i have called several times because i want to be able to understand more about the process but i havent been able to.

Guest

We had the same experience. We made a cash offer only to be told they had higher offers.

We then counter offered and were told that we would have to over over rhe asking price. We did that as well and were then told our iffer was rejected because they had higher offers. How do you list a price and then aske for prices over the listed price.

Shady deals. Sounds like a scam to me.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1461122

Exactly! I am having the same problem right now!

I been calling this same guy and not once has he answer my calls, i even offered the asking price!

They got a sign all over the property with the cash price and the phone number! Its been 2 weeks and still haven’t been able to talk go Michael.

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Anonymous
map-marker White Plains, New York

Scam/thieves/trash

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I invest in real estate on a regular basis and can tell you to run away from these used car salesmen. All these negative reviews are spot on with the positive responses obviously from there employees.

First they lie to you and want a hasty closing, my title company said they officially don’t own the property they are selling because they didnt follow the proper channels and the estate of the previous owner could take it back. My attorney says what they are doing is illegal, the list goes on and on. Jamey Thomas is not only rude and ignorant, but lies continuously.

Should sue them and make an example of these crooks. Would love to hear your stories, we should all work on shutting this “Un-American” company down that preys on the weak and ill informed.

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Reason of review:
Not as described/ advertised
5 comments
Guest

After doing extensive research on the legalities of how to proceed it is clear that this company needs to be investigated by the the feds. There are way to many complaints and just about all of these complaints state basically the same issue.

Guest

I willing to go for a class action lawsuit.

Guest

I've never dealt with a more deplorable company than this one. Our situation is a little different, but in the end it shows just how shady and greedy these people are!

So to try to make a long story short...We have been living in our home since October of 2016. We have never been late on our rent, in fact we are paid through the end of June, with receipts to prove everything.Turns out the guy who we were renting from (who ironically was trying to get us to enter into a rent to own agreement at one point) was actually in a land contract agreement with Castlerock and some company they are affiliated with called CR Properties. He quit making his payments, but kept accepting our rent. Imagine my surprise when some guy shows up at my house a few weeks before Christmas with a 3 day eviction notice.

I, of course, called the landlord and after a few days he called me and said everything was fine. We didn't hear anything again for almost 3 months when we get a summons to go to court for an eviction hearing. Apparently, Castlerock is wanting to evict us. So we go to court and the judge gives us a continuance so we could have enough time to gather all of our paperwork (he was shocked at how Castle Rock does things and I think felt bad for us).

After court, the attorney for castle rock tells me that maybe we could work something out to take over payments so we could stay. They required us to send in all of our rent receipts and our leases. Only after doing so did they allow me to fill out an application. I had to pretty much beg them for the purchase price information for the house.

Surprise surprise, they are wanting me to pay $15,300 over the price they charged my ex landlord almost 3 years ago, and $15,000 over the value of the house listed on our county website. They also asked for a down payment of $3500, as opposed to the $1200 my ex landlord paid, and after further review of houses in this region it was rare to see a down payment over $2000-$2500 with most of them being between $1200 and $1500.After receiving the pricing info, I responded with a kindly worded message simply asking why there was such a price difference. Shortly after they responded saying that the documents I submitted in my application were false and my application was denied. When I told them none of my documents were false and I felt they denied me because I asked about the price hike, the woman whom I was dealing with, Mareline Sosa, flipped out.

She starting changing her story, saying that she told me over a year ago to send payments directly to them instead of our landlord and that since I didn't do so I had been living in their property rent free for over a year and the $15000 price hike was for a years worth of rent and legal fees. Did I mention, they didn't even know who we were when they filed the eviction? They listed us as "unknown occupants" and stated that they hadnt had contact with us ever, which was slightly untrue. I did contact them in December after getting the 3 day notice and was told they couldn't talk to me because I didn't have any agreements with them and then hung up on me!

she stopped responding after I told her that I already provided my rent receipts through the end of June and that they acknowledged that they were legitimate in order for me to be able to submit application. She simply said "That's false" Contact our attorney." hmmmmmm....guilty much?

Had I rolled over and agreed to pay the $15,000 above the asking price none of this would be happening, but alas I'm off to court again. AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS!

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1489838

The same person who you had difficulty communicating with has done the exact same thing to me. Her professionalism is at an all time low.

The scathing email she sent me was beyond ignorant.

To top it off money that was in escrow for taxes that were from 2017 according to her the check was returned but in order to make things current I had to pay both 2017 and 2018 taxes. There needs to be a class action lawsuit brought against this company!

CastleRockREO

We are sorry to hear of your unsatisfactory experience. We have looked into the matter and understand that you were not willing to sign a contract or leave a deposit.

We are unable to hold properties. Sale was based on clear title.

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Anonymous

RUN FAST

In 2005 I signed a contract and promissory note with this company to pay 552.71 a month they chaned my house pay 7 times and now they sent me eviction papers and expecta me to be out within 7days even though they defaulted (breached) there end of the contract. ...if you are thinking about using this company my recommendation for a buyer...is RUN as fast and as far as you can

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1 comment
CastleRockREO

Castlerock never increased payments, our notes are fixed payments with no prepayment penalties, so you can pay in full at any time. As explained in your process, taxes could always increase and that is dependent on the city/county.

Seems that may be your case and many homeowners have the same scenario of raised taxes done at the order of your city.

This was noted in your terms of sale and contracts and is nothing Castlerock can control or change. If you default and don't make payments, we try to assist but when its months without payments, in your case, then will have to proceed with evictions.

Anonymous

Shady

We made an offer $5000 over asking price. Offer was "accepted". We were then asked by their representative to initial and sign a contract via email. Like any other legal document, we told her that we would have our lawyer take a look at contract, if legit, we would then sign and email back the contract. After informing their representsitive of our choice to have our lawyer look at contract first, she responded via email saying " contract is no longer valid" How can that be when our offer was accepted? Our lawyer didnt get a good vibe from the get go..sensing it was a scam. After the response we got, we are grateful that we didnt sign a contract. We may have ended ip in a terrible situation. BEWARE!
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Reason of review:
Poor customer service
2 comments
Lawrence B Emq

This is typical of the gripes I am reading here about Castle Rock: IGNORANCE. "Accepted" only means you have a POTENTIAL contract.

It has to have the signatures of both the buyer and seller, and there has to be money put down. While you "slept on it" with the contract in your lawyer's hands, somebody else beat you to it.

Sleeping on it was not an option for me; when I bought a house from Castle Rock, I got the contract ratified (with money down) asp. They are quite fair to deal with, in my experience.

CastleRockREO

Seems you are confused and we can help clarify. The truth of the matter was that you were is contract with an accepted offer but you did not return the sales agreement that was due with deposit in 24 hours.

When we followed up, you confirmed to your asset manager that you were interested in another property.So we canceled your contract, and went with another offer.Three days later you contacted your asset manager looking to review the contract.Our policies/terms are explained in every sale and we are a reputable and honest company in business for over ten years.

No need to be aware and certainly not a scam, please understand that we can’t hold properties while you’re shopping elsewhere. Wish you the best of luck in your search and if you’re interested in any of our other properties, we’re happy to help you.

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Anonymous
map-marker White Plains, New York

Happy Home owner

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Needed an inexpense house to remodel and live in. I was tired of working for a mortgage. I found it with CastleRock! I started taking with the Agent Angela and she was helpful thoughout the whole process! Thank you so much for all the help! Can wait to share my remodel pictures.
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Reason of review:
Good customer service
Tyrique Vas

Scammed

My father is #39 in the millionaire club in ohio. You can take THIS to the bank, I will see you people in court.

The BBB has already been contacted as well as my local news station.

I’ve printed these awful reviews and copied them to several sites and emails to reporters. My advisor will be setting up a meeting with the CEO of this scam artist of a company.

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Reason of review:
Poor customer service
3 comments
Frances K Gfu

A ethical company? That is a total joke! The lawyer the hired is just as confused as I am as to their accounting and business ethics!

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Frances K Gfu

I could not agree with you more. The unprofessionalism and their accounting department have a lot to be desired. There should be a class action lawsuit brought against them for the way they conduct business.

CastleRockREO

We are a reputable company and work in honesty and ethics, there must be a misunderstanding. If can you please contact us by phone or email and explain what happened during your experience so we can better assist you. Please confirm the property address and the name of asset manager.Thank you.

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Anonymous

We make it possible the impossible

I purchased one of your properties then unfortunately City to Chicago got a list of the demolition in the property was in court I have the ability to show the judge that will be more effective we have in the building then to have an empty lot and I'm so happy that I went through and successfully got the order and it stop the the demolition process
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Reason of review:
Bad quality
Anonymous

Horrible horrible crooks

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Castle Rock has withheld the gas bill for this property for over a year and then send me an inflated bill that comes out once a month. When I responded to the email to get clarification on what happened, Mareline Sosa was extremely rude, unhelpful and unprofessional.
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Reason of review:
Problems with payment
1 comment
CastleRockREO

Thank you for your comments. CastleRock does not have water or utility service on any of our properties, bill is not ours, nor was it forwarded from us. We tried to explain this and confirmed any questions on title need to be directed to title company buyer hired to handle closing.

Anonymous

They are CROOKS!

The asset manager was Brendan Hickey. I had the house bought. They were going to send the purchase contract. Then suddenly there were multiple offers. The house had been on the market for 8 months with no offers. Nothing happening on the house at all! He kept coming back telling me what other buyers offered and asking me to bid more. Total scam! Just trying to get more money for the house. Dishonest!! Do not do business with CastleRock!! Very rude! Act like they don't care about their customers at all. Worst business and house purchase I have ever had! Run away while you can!
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Reason of review:
Poor customer service
Anonymous

Very satisfied

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It took more time then I anticipated, but everyone was very friendly and patient. Extremely happy with this expetience.
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Reason of review:
Good customer service
Resolved
Kayceon Kyx
map-marker Washington, Illinois

Resolved: Worked for sub contractor of Castle Rock Reo and didnt get paid

Updated by user Feb 09, 2018

Up on this complaint I had a call within an hour from the subcontractor. The problems were with the coordinator that no longer works for them failed to submit proper tax paperwork and no one in the subs office knew about it and slipped through the cracks.

Had a quarter of the checks arrive the next day and figures on the rest were found and being sent today. The problems are resolved and I should not have placed a complaint with castle rock but emotions took hold and I apologize, to Castle Rock REO it wasn't there issue Thanks

Original review Feb 07, 2018
Worked for a sub contractor for Castle Rock Reo and was sopposed to have direct deposit and worked for 6 months before realized no payments have been made but a weekly remitance report cam in advising of transactions We put on padlocks on each property and put signs on front of house and at nearest intersection per side of neighborhood, on over 85 properties not paid alot of money spent on fuel and our workers doing labor the furthest property was 150 miles This is corruption with in this company watch your surroundings more careful while doing business with
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Loss:
$7000
Cons:
  • Working for free on castle rock properties
  • Working for free inspecting alot of properties for free
Reason of review:
corruption within a subcontractor of Castle Rock Reo scamming Contractors

Preferred solution: Let the company propose a solution