This agent has 2 reviews.
Elise started out friendly and helpful. She responded quickly to requests. Her team did as well. She seemed knowledgeable about the area as I am an out of state investor. After setting my sights on multiple properties, she helped write them up and make offers. She did not go and look at any of the properties before making the offers. She made all of them contingent upon inspections and financing approvals. After closing on the houses, her construction team (Tauber Construction) went to work rehabbing the properties. I was originally given two estimates for every house. The first one was a rental quality flip and the second was a more expensive quote that had higher end finishes for a higher return on investment. I chose the higher end estimate for every house. After receiving some pictures from her crew, I had some concerns about the quality of the work. After the bank sent their inspector out to make sure that all work was complete and the contractor could be paid, they informed me that I needed to go to Pittsburgh right away because their inspector saw signs that work was not being performed properly. I closed on all 5 houses within 5 weeks, and they had already started working on 3 of the houses at this point. When I got to Pittsburgh, Elise sent me out on a tour with 2 of her junior employees instead of coming herself. The first house we went to did not have any construction started, but it had been demo'd by the previous owner and I was unaware of this as the pictures posted on the MLS still showed a complete house. While that was a surprise, the bigger surprise were the items missed in the scope of work that they were going to start working on. We went to the next house, and we could not go inside because of a pest infestation. I also found out that Elise never sent anyone into this house, but gave me a scope of work based on MLS photos which were also out of date and didn't show the true state of the interior. We went to the third house and that was where things really started to fall apart. The work being done was below anyone's expectations. I pointed out multiple issues and the 18-20 year old foreman (that was fired shortly after my visit) had no idea what was going on. The other 3 or 4 workers were all new on their first day when we asked about the work being done. I was told at lunch that day during my initial visit with Elise that this house should be done in 2-3 days. It took almost 6 weeks to complete after my visit. At this point in the tour, my heart was broken, and I knew I had a big problem. We toured the other 2 houses only to find the exact same thing. Subpar work and no accountability. The higher end finished were nowhere to be seen. Multiple issues that should have been on the scope of work were not. One of those houses was listed as a 3 bed 2 bath. When I got there, it was a 2 bed 1 bath with a basement bedroom and bathroom that hadn't been touched or included in the scope of work! There was also a section of the basement that was supposed to be waterproofed and it was not. When I gave Elise a before and after picture of the "waterproofing" and showed her that there was no difference, she told me that was how it was supposed to look. After concluding my tour with the 2 employees, I went back to my hotel and sent Elise a long email about her company's inability to help increase my property value because of all the poor work I saw. She agreed to "clear her schedule" the next day and come with me to look at the properties. Of course, we only went to the 3 that they were currently working on. When I pointed out all of the issues, she said either, "she would get them fixed because I am a great client and she doesn't want to lose me" or, "that's just how it's supposed to look". I have a construction background myself and I know what these things are supposed to look like. When I pointed out the entire bathroom and bedroom that were untouched in the one house, she said, "these are standard Pittsburgh potty rooms and they aren't worth fixing". Then how is this a 2 bath house if it has a bathroom that doesn't function!? Which of course the bank is also asking me now and I have to spend more money fixing items that should have been addressed from the start. I also have to have someone else go out and properly waterproof the basement that her staff did not complete (but they were paid for). After our tour, she assured me that my issues would be addressed and corrected. They were not. I terminated my relationship with Elise and her companies at this point in the middle of a reno project. After a week of going back and forth with her and her project manager, I agreed to let them finish the project they were on, but it had to be done within the time frame they set, and the subpar work had to be fixed. The project manager said they could be done in 5-6 days and gave me a timeline for how the work would progress. Almost 6 weeks (and lots of excuses later) the bulk of the work was done, and I asked them to please clean the property to a broom clean and leave. They did leave, but did not clean it and left their tools for a few days until they could come and get them. They then removed the lockbox with the only key, and I no longer had access to the property. I had to pay a locksmith to change the locks and send me the keys. After Elise was paid for the project, she sent me a bill for an additional $50,000 for "changes" I made to the project. NO! I made no changes! I told her to fix the poor work that I wasn't paying for! If she had told me I was going to have to pay for a job to be done twice, I would have kicked them out of the house while I was still standing in it! But wait....there's more! The last house that I bought with her had a $45,000 reno budget, but no one went inside to actually assess the house and it's needs. After getting all the picture files from the home inspector, I know that I have a big problem on my hands. There is a trench that is running the entire length of the basement (50 feet) and we don't know why. The roof and gutters need to be replaced. The hot water heater and HVAC system are all shot and must be replaced. There is a back deck that sagging almost completely off the house. There is a foundation issue. The front porch and the awning have pulled away from the house and need to be replaced. There are remnants of an old garage in the back yard that needs to be removed because it is a hazard to anyone walking by. A tree had fallen over onto the neighbors property at some point before I bought it that needed to be removed. There were 23 tons of trash and belongings in the house from the previous owner. The kitchen was damaged beyond repair and all the windows need to be replaced. So, her $45,000 estimate is nowhere near the total of repairs that this property will need.
Elise has a habit of trying to bury reviews like this. She will respond with the standard, We let that person go and look forward to trying to improve our service. Look at most of her reviews. They all have an answer like that. They will try to blame the vendor or finally the customer when that doesnt work. She also has her employees and lenders leave reviews to try and pump up the ratings. I know that I am not the only person with a review like this because I have screen shots of other reviews that she has had removed. When I stopped in to Pittsburgh for a recent visit, I walked into their office and was quite surprised by the reaction. The lights were off, but the door was open so I walked in. The office was full of cubicles, as most offices are. The surprising part was when the heads started popping up over the little walls to see who had walked in. The look on their faces said, Who forgot to lock the door? and, How mad is this person that just walked in? One of the employees that helped me on my initial tour recognized me and helped me. I told her I wanted to pick up the tenants deposits and extra keys. We made an appointment for 1PM the next day after she talked to Elise about it. I returned the next day to find the door locked this time. I rang the bell and someone opened the door just enough to ask what I needed. Once he determined I was there to see someone, he let me in. Some of my keys were then returned. I am happy to talk to anyone about their experience with Elise or I can go more in depth with my experience if you want the entire horror story! For someone that has a fiduciary duty to their customer, Elise doesnt seem to take it seriously. Perhaps if they spent less time making social media videos, they might have time to focus on the poor work quality. My final advice for anyone looking to invest in Pittsburgh or any other market would be to RUN AWAY from Elise Bickel, EBG Properties, Bridge Home Realty or Tauber Homes!
2022