Fraud in Real Estate, Are You Being Victimized? - Part II
The phone range and Peter was on the other end of the line. "Willard, I have a friend of mine that has a real estate problem." I said, "Send him over." Two hours later, Jerry sat in front of me terribly upset. Three years earlier, he had been talked into buying a 4 unit building in partnership with Smooth Talker, a knowledgeable, smooth talking real estate salesman. Smooth Talker offered to find the property, arrange the financing, manage the building and even put up the down payment. Jerry was told that all he had to do was use his perfect credit to qualify for the loan and then sit back, wait seven years and the money would come rolling in. Smooth Talker also promised that the two of them would do more deals and Jerry would make over $100,000. What Jerry did not know and he would not figure out until 3 years later was that Smooth Talker had no intention of splitting anything and Jerry could kiss his perfect credit goodbye. 3 years ago, Smooth Talker had Jerry and two other buyers, buy three buildings, located on one street. The buildings cost $150,000 each. Smooth Talker put up $1,500 down payment for each property, while at the same time, telling the buyers that he was putting in $12,000.00 for each. There was an unexplained difference of $10,500 each. Smooth Talker also collected a $9,000 Real Estate commission on each. Smooth Talker also agreed to take the building in as-is condition, with no inspections and without requiring the seller to make any repairs. There were, unknown to Jerry $10,000 worth of air-conditioning as well as other work. Smooth Talker had those other two buyers borrow from the Federal Government a remodeling loan of $48,000 to make the needed repairs. When those other two buyers each got their loans, Smooth Talker took all the money and said he spent it on Jerry's building. Let me clarify that. Smooth Talker stole the money from the other two investors, telling them he used it on Jerry's building. That is still stealing. My research later showed that he did almost no repairs to any of the buildings, and what little repairs he did have done, were not even paid for. Smooth Talker cheated the poor workers out of their pay. No one could ever understand what he was doing. He even collected rent, pocketing any cash. When the buyers wanted an accounting. Smooth Talker wouldn't even supply it. When I came on the scene and demanded, as a matter of law, an accounting of what was received and spent. Smooth Talker didn't have any proof of what happen to all the money. Jerry wanted out of the partnership but Smooth Talker didn't want the building sold; but he did want to make sure he got his due, if it was. He gave me a statement showing that he had put in $34,000 (which was not true) into the building and wanted that before any split of profits. This would of left Jerry receiving $5,000 and Smooth Talker making $46,400 on the whole deal. To avoid being in this kind of a situation, I advice the following, before doing any sort of real estate deal; a) Evaluate your risk. What is your downside? Have a real estate expert study the deal. b) Set up operating and reporting guidelines with your partners. Put everything in clear English. c) Have everything reviewed by an attorney or an accountant. d) Choose your people partners with care. About The Author Willard Michlin is an Investor, Business Broker, California Real Estate Broker, Accountant, Financial Distress Consultant, Well known Public speaker and Administrative/Business Consultant. He can be contacted at his Ventura, California office by calling 805-529-9854 or by e-mail at kismetrei@earthlink.net See other article by Willard at http://www.kismetgroup.com kismetrei@earthlink.net
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Questions Investors Should Ask When Buying and Selling Investment Property
If you're a real estate investor, here are several questions to consider when looking at investment properties. Providing sound answers to these questions will greatly increase your profits:Why do homeowners sell for bargain prices?There are many factors that can prevent owners from being able to maintain their homes.
Utah Real Estate
Looking to buy real estate in Utah? The market has changed over the past few years and is going to continue to change over the next few (drastically) and here are a few things you should consider before buying any Utah real estate.First, the Olympics didn't affect the state as much as people thought it would.
Can I Sell My Private Mortgage Notes?
In this country millions of homes are sold every year. In most cases buyers go to a bank or finance company to seek mortgage financing.
Buying Your First Investment Property
"Begin With The End In Mind"I first heard the phrase "Begin with the end in mind" in a Steven Covey book called "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People". This expression makes a lot of sense because the fact is, you can't get where you're going, unless you know where you want to go.
Buying Overseas Property
Fourteen Top Tips for Overseas Property Investment:1. Buy what you want to buy.
Selling Your Home: The Power of a Great Sales Flyer
Even though its importance is often overlooked, a great sales flyer is one of the most effective tools for selling your house. Whether your home is listed with an agent or not, make sure that you have a dazzling flyer.
How Come No One Told Us About This When We Were Buying a Home?
Development, it's bound to happen.Simply because there is a large open field, or the property you're looking at borders woods, doesn't mean it will or can stay that way in the future.
How to Price Your Property?
A house properly priced is half sold. But there are plenty of ways to price it improperly.
Should Sellers Order a Pre-sale Home Inspection?
One of the main reasons home sale transactions fall apart is inspections. This happens when something unanticipated is discovered during the buyers' inspections of the property, and the buyers and sellers can't agree on a remedy.
New or Old House?
A lot of buyers think that a new house is the way to go but it's important to have some knowledge of quality and of the builder. New paint, carpet, doors, windows and cabinets are a quick and easy sell.
6 REASONS for Investing in Florida Real Estate Investment Property NOW
I invite you to take the next few minutes to learn the truth about the real estate market, how it compares to other methods of building assets and why it is such a lucrative form of investing. Many potential investors will say, 'I need to get into the Florida Investment Property market', especially taking into account current stock market fluctuations and the HOT market for investment properties, but simply don't know the facts about Orlando property investing and how to use sale and leaseback method of property management.
Is 100% Annual Return On Investments Possible With Low Risk Land Investments?
In last week's article, we discussed how substantial profits could be made by investing where baby boomers may want to relocate or buy a second home. This seemed to confuse readers since they were thinking that our web site is about preconstruction and preconstruction to them means buying condos?? In this article, I hope to broaden your horizons considerably.
What To Expect From Your House Appraisal
Having your house appraised can be a scary step in the moving process, especially if you don't know what to expect. Will your house pass muster or will they find some hidden defects and problems lurking in the basement and attic? Should you scrub the house clean?Don't worry - this isn't a test of how clean you keep your house or even if your house has problems (that will be for the home inspector to find out).
Property Investment: Spoiled for Choice in Europes Emerging Markets
You could be forgiven for thinking that property is the new dot.com.
Coming to Las Vegas - the Las Vegas Real Estate Boom
Nobody seems to be 'Leaving Las Vegas' anymore - in fact just the opposite is true. Just as in the time of the rush Las Vegas real estate has been drawing the attention of investors and new citizens alike.
Achieving Positive Cash Flow from Your Real Estate Investments
Even if you're counting on rising property values to eventually make a profit on an investment property, it's far more desirable to have a positive cash flow each month. If you're losing money on a property every month, it may not take long until your future profits will have been lost.
Relocation Humor: Why I Bought A House
The Rental Experience in South FloridaReaders: This is based on a true experience -- only slightly exaggerated -- part of my life of adventure.If I had read my own book, Making the Big Move, and followed my own advice, none of this would have happened! A word to the wise .
Notify Them When Youre Moving
One of your first steps, when you're getting ready to move, is to pick up a stack of change-of-address cards from the post office. Yes, old-fashioned go-by-snail post cards! You'll want to notify everyone in your address book and also.
Houses For Sale By Owner - Negotiating Tips
Houses for sale by owner, also known as "FSBOs," are a unique case in real estate investment. Buying from an uninformed seller who thought he knew enough to handle everything by himself can be frustrating.
Home Staging Strategies
Who are you preparing your home to sell to?You, as a home seller, have two initial choices.1.
|
