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We are relocation pros, having been through this process multiple times. My Husband's new Employer uses CARTUS for their Relocation Packages and I cannot honestly recall ever dealing with a larger group of grossly incompetent fools. We were offered what is known as the Buyers Value Option ( BVO ) package, which on paper looks decent , but in reality is worthless. BVO effectively means you sell your own home, find your own buyer, but CARTUS ties your hands forcing you to utilize their network of mediocre services and agents in exchange for advancing you the closing proceeds on your home prior to closing. Trust me, the mafia loans money cheaper!

Our first Relocation Consultant ( aka High School Drop Out ) got so much information wrong in our initial phone consultation I ended up having to have her replaced , which further delayed the process. While they give the impression they are there to assist you in your Relocation process, in fact, they exist solely to control your Employer's costs.

Here is what they will do for you :

1) Inundate you with paperwork, documents, rules, regulations, time consuming and endless requests for immediate completion of an endless stream of disclosure documents, which often must be notarized. They also give you access to their website which offers such useful tips such as: Clean your Home, Don't Overprice Your Home and try not to have your 47 cats running around during showings! Real Estate GEMS!

2) They will NEVER give you a straight answer to anything. Want to know what Buyers Value Option means? Google it, the folks at CARTUS wont tell you. Want to know what your Relocation Benefits are? Ask your H.R. Department, I assure you your "Consultant" will know as much about the benefits as they do about Quantum Mechanics.

3) You must use one of their ERA-COLDWELL BANKER -Better Homes Agents or you wont get your 1% Loan Origination Fee. ( Trust me, you don't need the money that bad!) If and when any Listing Agent calls you, prepare to be underwhelmed. These folks tend to be the Best of the Worst Agents in a given office. Skip the 1% Loan Origination Fee they entice you with and hire a Professional with a Track Record. You'll get far better service and that 1% wont look so enticing after you've sat on the market for 9 months before giving your home away.

4) Marketing Assistance-This was rich! If by marketing assistance you are seeking someone to list your home on the MLS, take a handful of lousy iPhone pictures and disappear-You'll be thrilled!!! If however, you'd like a Real Estate Professional to guide you through the process, hire one! CARTUS will send out anyone with a pulse and a Real Estate License.

5) Their online expense submission process is about as simple as rewriting your Windows Operating System Code. Oh, and if you want to know what's covered,call your H. R Department, CARTUS will either not know or go out of their way to obfuscate.

6) E-mails and phone calls are normally answered about as expeditiously as the Department of Motor Vehicles. Don't hold your breath.

PROS:

If you are willing to do 99% of the work yourself, do extensive research on your Employer's Policy Benefits, and ditch their "assistance" with Hiring an Agent, Getting a Mortgage, Title Work, etc. you can milk the best parts of the system while avoiding the majority of the other " benefits " , which may benefit CARTUS, your Employer or one of the many companies CARTUS owns under REALOGY, but I assure you, will NOT benefit you!

DO's & DON'T'S

If you understand that CARTUS exists to control your Employer' s Relocation Costs, and to funnel business into their many affiliates and NOT to assist you in your relocation, you will find the experience far less painful. Do not utilize their PHH mortgage subsidiary, as you will get no deals there. Do not hire any of their agents, hire your own agent after doing your homework. Do not be tempted to take advantage of their Direct Bill Option, you will only get hosed. Do not sign anything you have not read thoroughly and understood completely.

Do keep EVERY RECEIPT and MAX OUT ANY PER DIEM MEALS/FOOD costs your Employer Offers.

Do Take Advantage of the Temporary Housing, whether you need it or not.

Do Take Advantage of Every Reiumbursable your Employer Offers from mileage costs, airfare, parking, rental cars , return trips home, house hunting trips, etc. YOU MUST ASK AND DO YOUR HOMEWORK, THEY WILL NOT OFFER.

If at all possible, negotiate with your Employer for a Lump Sum Deal and handle it all yourself. If you opt for CARTUS, you'll still end up doing it all yourself, you'll just have all the Red Tape & Hoops to jump through.

Monetary Loss: $4700.

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This is a totally accurate representation of the experience I am now going through. They pitch it as a concierge service but in reality you have to not only manage the move yourself, but also them.

The best analogy I can come up with in my opinion is dealing with an IRS audit - that's the kind of experience you should expect. Seriously.

Their "suggested" selling agent probably cost me $50,000+ on my home sale because she didn't know what she was doing. We finally had enough justification to switch to our preferred agent who got the job done, but not until the slow season when most buyers dried up.

Their movers are OK if - and only IF - you vet it out yourself. I dealt with a great guy and was happy with that side of it.

But don't trust Cartus to handle it.

Definitely max out your reimbursable expenses. Depending on how tight you are with your HR department you may be able to swap out some costs for others if you can prove that you're saving the company money, but be prepared to be denied by Cartus and then have to escalate everything to your company's HR.

If you get a conforming loan you can realistically deal with any lender if you're qualified as it'll be insured by Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac and therefore there is zero risk. Cartus won't give you any special deals, but perhaps not having to front the reimbursable costs is a benefit.

It's up to you.

However, if you are getting a jumbo loan through PHH, be prepared for SEVERELY unrealistic underwriting requirements, documentation requests and last-minute denials or changes.

They'll be polite but tell you that their "investors" need all sorts of information that a bank never seems to require. My recommendation is to NEVER deal with PHH, but if you feel you still want to despite this warning, make sure you have a 100% fallback option when they screw something up days before closing on your new home.

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