I agree with the other posting about Steve Buell of Buell Custom Homes.
As an out of state person, I sent in my $25,000.00 (What choice did I have? Kelly had worked our loans up to near default status...) 4 months later, I heard that people were firing Buell and going out 'on their own'.
I wondered what could prompt someone to leave a group after paying $25k-$50k or more?
I called several other JV's but no one really wanted to talk, or explain why. Guess this whole Mike Kelly thing has bred too many feelings of secrecy.
Finally someone gave me information. They said they had liked Steve personally, and hoped for the best but were confronted with information that several JVs got from Steve himself in July. (buell turned over his books to the group in july after repeated demands)
The books showed that buell was taking $65k advances, and paid himself $50k sign-on bonus instead of the agreed $40k signon bonus. He paid himself $20k per month instead of the agreed $16k per month. He paid most employees almost $1k MORE per month than our agreed budget...
Worst of all, buell came to all of us 90 days later and said the company was "out of money"... Just as his plan had been set up. He said he had told us all that the company would be "out of money" in 90 days... The only reason the company was out of money was paying his cronies $50k kickbacks, overpaying themselves, and mis-managing funds.
Records also showed that Buell had signed up for a WHOLE LIFE KEY MAN policy which cost the group $1,600/mo. Buell's management agreement stipulated that he buy a TERM LIFE POLICY, which would have cost less than $50/mo. Why would Buell buy whole life? Because WHOLE LIFE has a cash value which Buell would have been able to cash as another 'bonus' after all this was done... (if he didn't do this on purpose, then he was inept)
JVs also told me that there had been almost $50k paid to someone named Ronnie Raben. During the initial hotel meetings, and conference calls, our entire group had voted, and demanded of Buell that no such 'sign on bonus' would go to Raben. Steve insisted that Raben, get a 'cut'. So; the group reluctantly accepted —but only a $25k bonus was authorized to go to Raben.instead, during June, Steve told our entire group that he had decided NOT to pay Raben. Turns out Buell DID pay Raben. Buell paid Raben nearly $50k and I was told that they were paid as legal fees... Is Raben a lawyer???
Buell wouldn't start work on some homes in original Maravilla neighbordhood because he said their loans weren't active. Yet-he sent subcontractors to do hundreds of thousands of dollars on the National City Mortgage Homes in Maravilla hills? NCM had not authorized Buell to work yet. Now—I heard Steve Buell is letting all those people's homes get liened, despite the fact they paid him $25k...
I agree—either utterly incompetent, or out to raise $1.2M and drain it all out.
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