Travis J Baron

The purpose for this letter is to make a complaint about a local agent named Gary Fallis.I was in the market to rent a new home in Irvine and came across a listing for 24 Fanpalm, Irvine, CA. The listing agent was Mr. Fallis. I contacted him about the home for rent and he didn't seem too enthusiastic to answer my questions or furthermore show the property. When I asked if the asking price was negotiable, he balked and told me how rich Irvine is and how I should look elsewhere if I can't afford it. He went on to say the economy wasn't affecting the rich, who are the people who can afford these homes. Just because I attempt to negotiate doesn't necessarily mean I am poor. I have lived in Irvine for years; I know exactly how much it is to live here. I felt that he was talking down to me. I also got the vibe he didn't want to show me the property, since I asked about negotiating the price. At the time, I did not have an agent and it was difficult to get in touch with Mr. Fallis. I finally was able to see the property, which I immediately loved. I tried contacting Mr. Fallis to rent the home, but was unable to on numerous attempts. I feel that he only cares about sales and not leases, since sales are where the commission is really at. I had to acquire my own agent just to deal with Mr. Fallis, since my attempts to contact him were unsuccessful. He would later inform us that it'd been rented out already. I was very angry because I felt if Mr. Fallis had done his job to begin with and returned my calls without me having to find an agent, I would've been in possession of the home. As an alternative plan, I had my agent submit an email to Mr. Fallis telling him how much I loved the home and that I was willing to compensate the people who signed the lease to take an identical floor plan on the next block that Mr. Fallis was also listing. It was an unorthodox approach but since they hadn’t moved in yet, I thought it was worth a try. Mr. Fallis never replied to the emails, the same way he doesn't return phone calls. I was very upset at this. Had he done his job to begin with, I wouldn't have to make these kind of offers. I tried calling Mr. Fallis, yet again, and he surprisingly picked up. He took an angry tone with me and said "You are NOT getting Fanpalm!!" He went on to say he is "too busy for me" and I am "wasting his time". I contacted the office he works out of, ReMax Premier Realty in Irvine, and asked to speak to his supervisor. They instructed me that he had two, Travis Baron and Eldon Olave. I spoke with both of them. Both assured me they would look into it and call me back, neither did. I waited and waited, no one called back for weeks. I called again and asked to speak to the owner, Thomas Baron (Travis Baron's father). I left several messages for him. None were returned. Even though I wasn't a fan of the other property Mr. Fallis was listing, I decided to put an offer on it--since I needed a place. It said in the listing that pets were not accepted and I have a small dog. However, I had a different agent call Mr. Fallis and he told that agent to submit an offer and that it was not a definite “no”. I made sure the other agent did not mention my name when making these inquiries. I then had my agent that I used in the Fanpalm transaction submit an offer and was denied. Mr. Fallis' reason was that no pets are allowed. However, what Mr. Fallis didn’t know was that I had a different agent call and he told him it's not a definite no and to submit an offer. If there were really no pets allowed, Mr. Fallis wouldn't have said to submit an offer. I feel this is discrimination and that Mr. Fallis should be reprimanded for his unethical work behavior. I feel this is in retaliation for me telling him I am going to report him to the proper agencies for what happened with the previous transaction at Fanpalm. He will continue to deny my offers to any of his listings. I contacted his supervisor yet again, Travis Baron, and told him about my recent complaints. He said he would call Mr. Fallis and get back to me. He contacted me back and said that Mr. Fallis admitted to telling the agent (he did not know was affiliated with me) that pets are not a definite no and to submit an offer. He further went on to say that if Mr. Fallis is the listing agent for other properties that I am interested in, in the future, that he would advise his clients to not accept my offer. I was shocked he said that to me. It confirmed my suspicions. I told him that's not fair, that's discrimination and further defamation of character. I have never met Mr. Fallis. I feel he has no right to deny my offers based on personal feelings. He said that Mr. Fallis has that right to tell his clients what he thinks of prospective buyers. He further went on to say that he finds no fault in the way Mr. Fallis conducts things. He informed me, in a roundabout way, they thought I was crazy for offering thousands of dollars to the people who signed the lease at the previous place in order to get them to reconsider. In my defense, I really loved that home and was willing to negotiate in order to obtain it. That doesn't make me crazy and is not a basis to deny my bids. He went on to say I have too much time on my hands and scoffed at the fact I was going to report them for this. I feel there is little to no oversight of Mr. Fallis. His supervisor is more of a friend than someone who finds fault in unethical behavior. Mr. Baron, in my opinion, is not being an adequate supervisor. I feel he abuses the fact his father owns the company. Thus being the reason for writing this letter, so some oversight can be had in an agent who has no supervision and makes recommendations based on personal feelings. We have a credit score of 773 and my husband owns a chain of furniture stores. Not only that, but is a USC graduate and holds a juris doctorate degree. We pay all our bills in full, on time, each month. We are more than qualified on paper. There is no logical reason why I should continue to be denied, as he claimed. The only thing holding me between homes in this area is Mr. Fallis. I would greatly appreciate someone looking into this matter. Thank you.

Several weeks after signing a lease for a house, my wife and I separated. This was still one month before the lease would take effect. We explained the situation to the realtors, (Maxine Larson, and Ed Czisny), and when they refused to help us, we met with the broker, Travis Baron. Travis was completely unsympathetic and unprofessional. Not one of them showed any sympathy whatsoever, and all of them refused to help find a new tenant. Maxine and Ed both threatened us with legal action if we did not move in, and told us we were responsible for the entire one year lease, and Travis, the owner of the brokerage, did nothing to intervene. They were all completely unreasonable- we understand realtors don't work for free, but life happens, and they should have been willing to work with us to find replacement tenants, instead of threatening us during a time of great personal stress. Maxine made statements re: our security deposit being non-refundable (in California, it is illegal to have a non-refundable security deposit). They did not even contact the owner of the property to inform him that we would not be moving in- we did this ourselves. This brokerage was completely unprofessional and I would not recommend them to anyone.