Monday, January 19, 2009

Eyewitness News Blows The Whistle on Elite Property Management


By John Dabkovich, Eyewitness News
Video
A Bakersfield company has become the subject of a fraud investigation after more than a dozen people have come forward claiming they are owed thousands of dollars.Elite Property Management, which handles rental properties in Bakersfield, is owned by Kristi Smart and Michelle Gamero. The company collects rent from tenants and turn it over to the property owners. Some homeowners are now saying they haven't been paid in weeks and can't get in touch with the owners."I emailed. No response. I called. No response. Voice mails. No response," said "Sylvia," a homeowner who spoke on condition of anonymity.Sylvia said she first noticed a problem when her October rent arrived late and then bounced. She's not alone. An Eyewitness News investigation revealed more than a dozen people who said they are owed more than $50,000 combined.In December, Elite Property Management sent an e-mail to homeowners apologizing for the delay, saying that a break-in at their office was partly to blame.Bakersfield police have confirmed that someone spray painted the front door and put screws in the lock. A department spokesperson, however, said there was no mention of a break-in in the report.The California Department of Real Estate requires property managers to have a real estate broker's license. Cal DRE spokesman Tom Pool said there is no record of Elite Property Management in the department's files.Sgt. Greg Terry confirmed that BPD detectives have opened a fraud investigation into Elite Property Management.Several attempts to contact Elite Property Management co-owner Smart at the home she rents in northwest Bakersfield were unsuccessful.Monday, Smart's friends and family were seen loading a moving van in front of her house. A woman at the house said Smart was not home and added that the family was moving because their lease is about to expire, and they plan stay in Bakersfield.In a phone call Monday afternoon, Smart said, "It's my intention to take care of the people who are owed money."When asked about Elite Property Management not having a real estate license, Smart replied, "No comment."Co-owner Gamero has not returned messages left on her cell phone.
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Bakersfield.com: This and this is all I found searching for "Elite Property Management" on 1/19 at 11:00 pm:
Families in foreclosure
Who’s losing their home to foreclosure in Bakersfield?
Teachers, administrators, correctional officers and “normal, typical, picket-fence, college-educated families,” said Kristi Smart.
Smart and her partner, Michelle Gamero, run Elite Property Management, a property management company specializing in higher-end, single family homes.
And since late summer, the two women have seen a steady stream of post-foreclosure families looking for homes to rent.
“They come here really desperate and afraid,” Smart said.
Many are worried their ruined credit will make it hard to rent. Others fret over uprooting their kids in a move, she said. Almost all were first-time homebuyers. Often, the foreclosure is the only black mark on an otherwise clean credit report, Smart said.
“They’re not people to let their debts go by,” Smart said. “They’re not deadbeats at all.”
Many of her clients, Smart said, find the prospect of renting to be a grand relief after trying to scrape up the money needed to meet high monthly loan payments.
“It’s allowing them to breath and relax a little, and spend time with their families,” Smart said.
-Vanessa Gregory, staff writer
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posted by MoneyTalks on Thursday, February 28, 2008 at 10:53 AM
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Homeowners walking away from mortgages
By VANESSA GREGORY, Californian staff writer
Thursday, Mar 6 2008 11:36 AM
Last Updated: Thursday, Mar 6 2008 11:28 AM
Editor's note: There have been stories across the country of people walking away from homes they can no longer afford. Here's what's happening locally.
In Bakersfield also, there are tales of the unrepentant homeowner who breezily strolls away from mortgage obligations.
This week, a man facing higher monthly payments when his adjustable rate mortgage resets approached Matt Kennedy, the managing partner of a credit repair company, Innovative Credit Solutions, with an audacious plan.
“He doesn’t have any value in his house,” Kennedy said. “And he’s thinking his best option is just to walk away from it.”
Since his mortgage will not reset until June, the man told Kennedy, he would simply buy a less expensive house now, while his credit is still untarnished, and abandon the first.
“I told him not to do it,” Kennedy said. “I told him to talk to a loss mitigation specialist (with his lender).”
But while Kennedy has met a few others who viewed homeownership in a similar way, most would much prefer to keep their mortgages and their homes, he said.
At Elite Property Management, a Bakersfield property management company specializing in single family home rentals, owner Kristi Smart has seen a number of clients who lost homes to foreclosure.
Some, she said, did make a conscious decision to stop struggling to meet the monthly mortgage payment. But rather than glibly dismissing the concept of homeownership and financial responsibility, most were making a rational financial choice, Smart said.
“What happens when all your tangible cash each month is sucked up by paying your mortgage payment?” Smart asked.
Many worried about emergencies, or buying shoes for their kids. And even those who had bought homes with no money down had made financial investments in their home, such as furniture, landscaped backyards, decorations and other improvements, she said.
“I don’t think there’s a disinterest (in homeownership),” Smart said. “It’s a gigantic decision to walk away from something they made that commitment to.”

2 comments:

Realestateslasher said...

Elite Property Management are they any part of Elite Realty went to look for ofice was closed moved to some Basement office no one,

bakersfield bubble 2 said...

Elite Property Management is not associated with Elite Realty. Elite Realty moved across the street, I think to Crisp & Cole's old office.