I responded to an advertistment on Craigslist posted by Carlos Aponte, who was advertising several properties for sale which he stated he could get financing for. I initially thought that Carlos owner these properties. He introduced me to a local realtor who was to assist me with finding my dream home.
After I found my dream home, I notified Carlos who advised that before the process could officially get started, I needed to wire $5000 to a bank account owned by CIG Realty. After I wired the $5000 I received a contract and other documents from CIG Realty, one of which included a letter on CIG letterhead which explained their 15 day refund policy. Shortly thereafter, I got a call from the realtor congratulating me and telling me that I had won the bid for the house of my dreams.
While the paperwork was being processed and in order to avoid having to sign a new lease, which the lessor was insisting that I sign or vacate the premises, I moved my family in with my mom for what I thought would be a short two to three week period. Two weeks later I got another call from the realtor and Carlos telling me that I did not get the house. So I struck out again searching for my dream home. I found four or five others; however, I didn't get them either.
Thinking it was due to the incompetence of the realtor, I struck out on my own. I found the perfect house, for the perfect price, and in the perfect neighborhood. I started negotiating with the seller to purchase the house and once again CIG Realty failed to come through with the required earnest money and failed to return the signed contract/offer in a timely manner. At that point I decided that CIG Realty was either a scam or had no intentions of financing a house for me. I requested the return of my $5000 downpayment, at least until I was successful in locating a house in which they were willing to expedite the paperwork and follow through with purchasing like they kept promising they would.
That was in May. I have been stressing with them since trying to get my downpayment back. I have called and called; however, to date no refund has been issued and none of the employees in the office could provide accurate updates relative to when the refund would be issued. I was given two dates of expectancy, July 18, and September 23. Both were before Superstorm Sandy; and both went without an update or a call from CIG. I was told by the local realtor who was assisting me with locating a house that there were several other individuals in the area who wired money to CIG Realty and were unable to get a refund after they were unsuccessful with their attempts to purchase a home. According to the Realtor, one individual lost $11,000.
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