Michael Hottman-RE/MAX Commonwealth

Michael Hottman helped me to buy a home a few years ago. Initially he was a good realtor. Good enough that I referred him to sell a family property. It was during the sale of the family property that I realized our relationship wasn’t as strong as I thought it was. Unfortunately, while the property was on the market my family suffered two losses that unfortunately shattered the family dynamic where we no longer communicate about the dealing of the estate. Michael would regularly offer information about the property. A few weeks ago I began calling him to get information about the insurance I purchased for my home, an issue completely separate from the family home. He didn’t answer my calls or texts. When he finally responded to my calls via text he sent me a brief message with only the name and number of my home issuance agency. This was not like him at all. I could tell that something was wrong but I had no clue why he was avoiding me. It wasn’t until I rode past the family property did I realize that he sold it and only consulted with my oldest sibling. This hurt me to the core. Michael knew my mother and knew that she consulted with the entire family when making big decisions. Although I am not the oldest of my sibling I thought that our relationship was strong enough that he would at least let me know that he was selling such an important part of my family. I didn’t get to walk through the house one last time or anything.
The reason why I am telling my story is for two reasons. One, if you like to develop strong personal relationships with your realtors Michael may not be the right choice for you. Sadly after my experiences with him it’s clear his only concern is the commission. Which it should be, but he should also be concerned with forming strong relationships where he can be referred for more properties in the future. Two, I was initially calling him for matters that concerned the property he sold to me! I needed to find if something was covered in a fast amount of time and because he assumed I was calling to discuss other issues he put my safety at risk by avoiding me for weeks. He didn’t answer any of my calls and we didn’t talk on the phone until I called him from another number that he wasn’t familiar with. I mean how old are we? I was personally hurt because he was a big part of my life for a period of time when he helped me to buy my dream home. I felt like I lost a friend. By all means if it doesn’t mean that much to you then disregard my story. Unfortunately our relationship will never be the same and it sucks because I’m stuck with having to refer to him for details that may come up for my property in the future. My advice would be to avoid but then again every encounter is different.