WYDLER BROTHERS, Affiliated w/ Long & Foster

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I first contacted Hans Wydler based on his website and his book, which I liked. I liked the fact that they directly approached and discussed some of the conflict of interest issues that some realtors tend not to discuss. We then met with Hans and one of his team members, Lauren Heyman. After the initial meeting, we worked closely with Lauren; although Hans was available, Lauren's knowledge of areas we were looking at was top notch (because she also lived in an area nearby). We found Lauren Heyman to be an incredible agent. Lauren spent a LOT of time preparing for our meetings and making sure that our time was not wasted and also that we got to see best options. I was constantly amazed by her patience. We were out of town buyers, and we bought a house during one 3 day trip. We saw a lot of houses, but she and I did a lot of homework ahead of time so that we were extremely efficient. For example, not only would Lauren just look at the interesting listings but she would also go visit them on her own so we could discuss over the phone the pros and cons. I could email her at any time about a new listing, and she'd always respond with thoughtful comments. Doing this kind of back and forth many times ahead of time helped us to get to know her approach and for her to know what we were looking for. t was pretty amazing how Lauren made us feel like we were her only clients--she exuded that kind of personal, attentive and hard working attitude--even though she was busy. In addition, she was amazingly meticulous about details--I must say, having worked with 6 realtors in the past, I have never run into an agent who is so thorough. She clearly stands above the rest as an agent. I can honestly say that I am not the most easygoing guy when it comes to working with realtors but Lauren's patient, responsive, and informative approach won me over. We are very happy with the house. I think we could have been happy with other houses, but this house has more features that we wanted, is in a great location, and was the least expensive of the houses we saw. Can't beat that. But it took a LOT of work, and Lauren's meticulous preparation, responsiveness, and knowledge made this work, even for out of town buyers like us. Finally, I want to add that Lauren's integrity and honesty really impressed us. Makes things a lot easier when you work with people like that.

MIy husband and I were deciding on whether to stay and update our home of 30 years, or make a move. I was attracted to the clever advertising of Wydler Brothers of Mclean, Va. I contacted Steve Wydler who assigned Jane Philips the RESPONSIBILITY of finding us another home. Jane Philips very patiently showed us many homes. We were attracted to a home with "great" bones in a highly desirable location. The house needed "work", but we were clueless as to how much it would cost. I thought that is where the expertise of the professional realtor comes into play. I asked the realtor many times how much she estimated it would cost to improve this home. I think an experienced realtor would have foreseen considerable expense ahead for the client. If not, when the question is raised, a reasonable and extremely helpful suggestion would be to bring in a contractor to get an answer to this question BEFORE a contract is written. This was not done. Furthermore, there were serious drainage issues and more that the inspector failed to recognize fully. Neither Steve or Jane made an appearance when the inspector was called to the home a second time. The home in question, although located in a commuters dream location had sat on the market for 555 days. Even in a down market that was considerable. This could have been an opportunity to drive a hard bargain when it came to contract time, or at least to try. Let's just say our neighbors are thrilled at the price we paid. Meanwhile, our former home, in a very convenient location, on a beautiful piece of property surrounded by protected park land and in a top school district was wrapped up in a silver bow for the very fortunate purchasers and their hard bargaining realtor. We made many expensive concessions on top of a house that was very fairly priced. Unfortunately, we made the decisions to sell our home to these people, and to buy this money pit. The expenses and We consider ourselves to be the big losers on both transactions. There were almost no guidance or helpful discussion as to the pros/cons of new versus old, or last but not least, esteemed client, how do you feel about being directly in the landing path of National Airport? Sincerely, Landis Bieke

Hans Wydler met with us several times to help us "de-clutter" and to establish a realistic sales price. Patti Millar hosted several open houses, and provided us valuable feedback after each one. And Lauren Heyman took us on many visits to Leisure World to check out condos. When an especially intensive home inspection revealed major issues with our home, Hans ran interference for us and helped us find contractors to remedy the issues. Patti provided valuable information on a number of topics, including radon mitigation, and Lauren led us through three separate bids on condos, the last of which was successful. We sold our house in five weeks for what we feel was a fair price and we got a really good deal on the condo. Hans, Patti, and Lauren were indefatiguable in their efforts and the office staff were always available to help as well. These folks are real pros, but, more important, they really care. It is now three months after we sold our house and moved into our condo and we couldn't be happier. We also have kept in touch with Hans, Patti, and Lauren and have referred several friends to them with the greatest enthusiasm.

Hans Wydler and Elysia Brown at Wydler Brothers are fantastic to work with. I started working with them in 2005 on my search for a condo, and they more than stuck with me through a long search that culminated in me buying a house this year. Along the way the Wydler team also helped my parents and a few of my friends buy/sell their places. Rave reviews from everyone (and we all enjoy the traditional Wydler Brothers free pie at Thanksgiving). Hans and Elysia have a really intimate knowledge of the DC metro area real estate market and this meant that they were able to provide guidance on where to look, what to look for, and how much to pay. They also brought a highly professional approach to the process, and supplied me with the tools and information sources to help me in my search. On top of that they are super friendly, and have a great customer service attitude that extends beyond the purchase process.

Mr. Wydler appeared professional and knowledgeable in our initial interactions and interviews. He and his staff were prompt to respond which alone warranted an A in Responsiveness, but was downgraded to a B based on Mr. Wydler's subsequent inaction. He limited his services to showing us homes that we could not see at open houses. We were moving from the west coast, so this necessitated our repeated transcontinental travel to view homes advertised as open for viewing. He took us to view homes on 4 - 5 occasions during which we viewed anywhere from 2 to 5 homes. He seemed knowledgeable and on more than one occasion pointed out defects with a given property. We appreciated his experience and honesty on these matters. However during our home purchase, Mr. Wydler attended the Home Inspection but did not attend any other inspections or Settlement signing. Despite our requests for assistance, Mr. Wydler informed us that attendance at inspections was not part of his contract. Mr. Wydler and I watched as the Home Inspector, whom he recommended and arranged, performed what I was lead to believe were chimney inspections through the fireplaces and subsequently stated there was no damage except for some mortar deterioration at the top. We later learned there was significant damage costing $10,000 and it was physically impossible for the inspector to see the chimney interior from the fireplaces. Mr. Wydler and his manager Paul Gale refused to assist us with the Home Inspector dispute. Mr. Gale monitored our communications in response to our complaints against Mr. Wydler. Mr. Wydler wrote our contract with our specification that licensed contractors be used for repairs. However, when the seller did not comply with the stipulation, Mr. Wydler argued that licensed contractors were not required in Virginia (this claim is not true) and he argued that his interpretation was that our contract did not require licensed contractors for certain repairs--this contradicted his earlier assurances when he wrote our contract. We had multiple arguments where we felt Mr. Wydler was siding with the sellers and not protecting our interests. Mr. Wydler did not help with finding or scheduling licensed contractors to make the necessary repairs for escrow to close, despite our requests for assistance. He insisted [such service] was not part of his contract. His brother, Hans Wydler, attended the pre-settlement walk through and Settlement signing. We felt Hans was inattentive and prone to inaction despite our insistence that he protect our interests. Mr. Wydler refused our requests to obtain contractor estimates for repairs not completed to determine funds to be held in escrow. A third agent, Heather Thomas, assisted us in limited capacity. We felt her actions and advice were in 180 degree contrast to Mr. Wydler's. She recommended we insist on the terms of our contract.