I am an investor and on Oct. 27th I met with Michael Smith of Michael T. SMith and Associates to see several properties. I should have known something was up because on a phone conversation before we met he stated to bring your $2K just in case you see a property you want. He was very eager for me to bring the deposit. He took me out and showed me several properties. I saw one that I was interested in but it was a rehad property. I assured me that he had gotten an estimate from a contractor. He did not provide the contracotr's estimate that day. I told him that I liked the property but I have never done a rehab of course he said no problem. I need to add, that he was so friendly and charming that I automaticly felt comfortable with him. I told him I did not have money for the deposit at the time. He stated that I should post date the check. I did not sign a contract that day. He told me that he would send me the contract to sign and the contractor's estimate. That Monday at work he sent me the estimate and the contract. I was still working with my loan officer. Once I looked over the contractor's estimate, I immediately got uneasy the price was so inflated. When I called Michael about the contractor's estimate, he stated that there was another estimate and this one was the lowest. His attitude immediately changed, he starting getting defensive and uptight. He told me that it would not be my money anyway, meaning it would be the money of the hard money lender. I told him it would be my money because I would have to get a loan to repay the hard money lender. A few hours later, a colleague of Michael's by the name of Gail singing the contractor praises. All the while, I had never submitted the contract. I phoned Michael and told him I was no longer interested in the property in Baltimore. He stated, what do you propose I do with your deposit. He never had a signed contract, therefore he SHOULD have refunded my deposit. Afraid that he would cash my deposit, I told him we could find another property to apply it to. He never waited until I found another property and signed a contract and then cash the deposit. He cashed the deposit and I have no property or contract for any properties with Michael T. Smith and Associates. I found out that he list his prices differently on his websites. When I asked him about the significant difference in prices (sometimes $10K) he stated that he has a student working for him. I can understand one typo but there were dozens. Not only did the sales prices differ but the rents listed changed as well. When I asked him, how I could confirm rents he never responded. He claims to work with so many investors but he cashed a deposit without a contract. Please beware of this shady "businessman". He works in Baltimore and he acts like houses are moving like crazy and you have to move quickly. When the reality is I goggled the address of the house that I put the contract on and I had been sitting for at least 30 days maybe even longer. He shows you all these comps of deals but when you check the MD Real Property site you will see that comps are all over the place so you really can't bank on having equity in these houses.instead of losing my deposit, I was trying to find a property with him but of course he is only interested in showing homes valued at $100K and up. When I ask about lower priced homes, he says they are gone. $2K is a lot of money to lose to someone who claims they have a thriving business but resorts to running after peoples deposits. He went from being very reponsive to just letting my calls go to voicemail.
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