I signed up with BuyOwner over two years ago and can not believe I did so. I finally got my first phone call on the property last month after dropping my price months before anyone else in my area (Got several calls from an ad I placed on craig's list for free!). Finally listed with realtor last week and got an offer at the end of the week. I guess that when you are desperate you may have a tendency to rush to judgment with out doing proper research. Two years later I am looking at some of the papers I signed and can't believe I did so! The only advertising mentioned in the contract is their worthless magazine for one year (I wish I knew how this magazine is circulated. I have asked a lot of people and no one knows it exists!). The smooth talking salesman told us the magazine is widely distributed and that there would be regular showings on a TV show on the weekends. He also said not to worry about financing or the mortgage deed they make you sign if you finance ( you can not stop paying once you realize you have been screwed because they will put a lien on your property!)since the house will probably sell by the time we make our last payment. He was definitely well trained on telling people what they wanted to hear! $4300 should get you more than an add on the internet, a one page add on a magazine no one knows about or a 30 second spot on a TV show hardly no one watches. I have been told that they do pay their salespeople 20 to 25 percent commission and hefty bonuses if they reach certain quotas. BE WARE! Stay away from BuyOwner! In these days when you can negotiate a lower rate with an RE, the savings are negligible when you consider an RE includes things that BuyOwner charges extra for. An RE will not collect any money until the property is sold and will in most cases provide a better service and has a better change of selling the property.

When buy owner sent there representative to our home she was trained to tell you everything you wanted to hear about your home even gave us what we should sell our house for. Then she had a way of conning you into thinking you were her best friend, by giving you her cell number. She tells you that any questions you have that you could call her any time.(HA, HA). What a joke. Try reaching any body and you will get a customer service rep. only to be told that someone will call you back. (well don't hold your breath on that one). I would like to know where they find the people that represent them on t.v. aids? They must pay them a lot of money to do it. It's from the money they take from you. Don't be fooled by these people like we were, they will take you money and laugh all the way to the bank. I'm sure we are not the only ones that were taking advantage of. Let's stop them !!!

I get a little tired of these false complaints, which is the only thing I can assume they are. That or other consumers had wildly different experiences than I did.

I listed my mobile home with Buy Owner and it sold in 3 weeks. However, I don't even credit/blame Buy Owner for my home selling, since they're the advertising I purchased. I sold my home--I did it on my own, and that's why I saved the money.

From what I can tell online, people are complaining because they think Buy Owner is a realtor for a cheaper rate or something. They're not. Buy Owner just provides you with advertising and connects you with mortgages (guaranteed rate), titles, and so on. They're very helpful, but you still sell your home. That's why it's called For Sale by Owner.

I am a Buy Owner seller. We listed our house in February 2005 at $435,000, which at the time seemed to be a fair price. Our house was displayed aggressively with over fifty pictures and virtual tours, which generated many buyer calls but none of these buyers seemed to want an appointment. About four months after we signed up, we had a verbal offer for $370,000 and turned it down immediately. We wanted to net around $390,000 to $400,000. This was, in our mind, a great deal since we could have gotten $450,000 had we listed when the market was so “hot” in late 2004! During the first year, we stayed firm on our asking price, waiting for the right offer. In the last two months, we have dropped our price drastically to $319,000. More than one person told us to do this, but we refused to listen. Had we made this decision a year and half ago, there is no doubt in our minds that this house would have been sold already… and would have left us with a profit, which is out of the question now. We are now looking to break even at best, or to limit our loss…

After months of frustration, we look back and couldn’t be more upset with ourselves for being greedy. We had a great vehicle for buyers in Buy Owner but did not use it wisely. Thankfully, the program is until sold, so we are now trying to take full advantage of the exposure and are still hoping to get the right buyer for our house.

After reading some of these letters, I have to wonder how many unhappy sellers made this same mistake.

Buy Owner is such a huge scam on so many levels, that it is truly difficult to know where to begin. From their insanely false advertising, their entirely deceptive sales practices, their ridiculous contracts, with their no refund policies, and let's not forget their absurdly rude and disdainful customer service department, Buy Owner "takes the cake" when it comes to unscrupulous. I should know, because I was a victim. Please heed my warning, and do not use this company.

If you believe their ads, you're supposed to be saving thousands of dollars by using their services. In reality, you're essentially throwing thousands of dollars away. A Buy Owner salesperson came to my home in late Feb. 2007, and proceeded to lie to me to get me to sign a contract. I asked her about various packages, and she literally said they started at $10,000 and went up to $30,000. This was a total lie. They omitt prices to steer you towards certain packages. I now know, after some investigation, that the prices start much lower. She led me to believe that $10,000 was the lowest, and that I'd be saving so much money when my house sold. I have since learned, that they size up the prospective client, and try to sell them the most expensive package they can, without disclosing any lower prices, even when asked. For some people it's $2000, for some it's $4,000, for me it was $10,000. This is illegal. I cancelled my contract on the 3rd business day after signing up, but they refused to give me even a partial refund. After I complained to various agencies, they agreed to change my package to a lessor one that I had originally inquired about. It turned out that it was actually $5,000, so they were to credit me the difference of $5,000. They promised they would, in a taped phone conversation, in the interest of an amicable resolution. I agreed, but then I never heard from them again. No refund, no nothing.

Not only that, but they do practically nothing to find all of those buyers that the spokesman in the commercial claims they do. He even says,"We find you the buyers." It's simply not true. The South Florida customer service manager I spoke with even told me that they didn't have to find any buyers, because it's implicit in the name. Thus they spend all of their advertising dollars soliciting you, the seller. Why? Because they get your money up front, and could care less if your house ever sells. Well, they will start to care when their business plummets. Twenty four years ago, when there was a different company owner, and no internet, things may have been done differently. I don't really doubt that. Now, however, greed and corruption have gotten the best of them.