| Real Estate Broker Threatens To Sue LovelandPolitics' Publisher |
Loveland - November 30, 2011
In a LovelandPolitics story last June regarding a lease with option to buy scheme operated in Loveland by a known felon, Marty
Hutcheson, LovelandPolitics reported on a Ft. Collins real estate broker who, according the tenants of one deal coordinated by
Hutcheson; signed their lease for a property on Hazel Court in Loveland.
That Ft. Collins Real Estate broker, Clayton Roberts, sent a threatening email to DORA (Department of Regulatory Agencies) Real
Estate Division that he also forwarded to the email info@LovelandPolitics.com. Roberts concluded the letter to an investigator by
threatening,
“ I am personally quite sick of this investigation but have cooperated in every way but I am about to get a lawyer
involved and I will make life miserable for everyone involved.”
Roberts, who received his broker’s license five years ago, is apparently being investigated by DORA's Real Estate Division due to a
formal complaint filed by Terrie White, the mother of one of the Loveland residents who say he signed their lease for a property
they thought they were buying on Hazel Court in Loveland.
White and her daughter and son-in-law, the Pepplers, say they were present when the lease was signed. In fact, all three have said
they witnessed Roberts signing the lease at the same time White paid the deposit. Roberts denies signing the lease and challenged
the state Financial Examiner investigating the matter to compare his signature with what is written on the lease in question.
Apparently, this is difficult to do as someone only scribbled initials that are illegible on the lease.
LovelandPolitics has learned that Roberts reported to the State of Colorado he is personal friends with the true owner of the
property on Hazel Ct., Richard Strick, and therefore assisted in leasing the property informally but without any renumeration. While
not a serious offense, Roberts could face disciplinary action by the state Real Estate licensing board if he was showing property to
tenants and facilitating a real estate transaction without formally disclosing his role in the transaction as a professional real estate
broker. Mr. Peppler was later hired by Roberts to work on the property he owns on Cleveland Ave. in Lovleand (mentioned in his
letter) according to Peppler who said he met Roberts through his Lease With Option To Buy real estate transaction.
LovelandPolitics has reported previously on local real estate scams where desperate families looking to lease a home with little or
no credit are coaxed into a deal they believe leads to home ownership. The problem is the leases and options to later buy the
property often appear invalid since the owner of the property fails to sign the lease. In this case, even the real estate broker who the
tenants claim signed their lease denies signing the document. Imagine handing someone thousands of dollars for a non-refundable
deposit in the belief it would go towards your later purchase of the property only to discover later the lease was not enforceable?
In Colorado, only licensed real estate brokers may manage and lease real property as a business for others.
LovelandPolitics made several attempts to contact Roberts last May while preparing our story but he never responded to any phone
messages or emails. In addition, Roberts never availed himself of the opportunity to contact LovelandPolitics directly or post on the
blog his denials about signing the lease until now. The only mention of Robert in the story is a single line stating the tenants told
LovelandPolitics that Roberts signed their lease.
Many landlords and property investment groups hold properties in the name of a limited liability company often called an "LLC."
Most tenants are not surprised when the lease they sign is with an LLC and not an individual since that is the legal entity that owns
the real property. One problem in this case is the real property owners are Richard Strick and his wife Barbara according to county
records, both of whom failed to sign a lease or option to later buy the property for the tenants thus limiting the tenant's legal options
or rights to later enforce the agreement. According to the tenants who resided in the property on Hazel Ct, when Strick first
contacted them he denied any knowledge of the details of their lease. The tenants say they paid their rent to Hutcheson and the
LLC he set-up and not directly to the owner.
In two local cases researched by LovelandPolitics, the tenants appear to have a lease the owner claimed he didn't sign and isn't
obligated to honor. According to the Pepplers, they only dealt with Marty Hutcheson and real estate broker Clayton Roberts
before leasing the property and didn't even know who the true owner was until after they were already living in the property.
It appears Richard Strick was indeed a business partner of Marty Hutcheson but the entity they owned together, Hazel Court LLC,
never owned the property according to county records. One local attorney called these transactions scams because the tenants
don't really know who the true owner of the property is and their so called option to buy the property is never recorded against the
title of the property. Another ugly wrinkle is the ability of the owner to dance between Colorado laws that govern tenants and
landlords and those governing home purchases. Because the tenant must fix any deficiency in the property (like a hot water heater)
the owner claims he is not responsible (as required in landlord/tenant law) to fix those deficiencies as the "buyer" is responsible
under the lease.
Most mortgages have what is called a "Due on Sales" provision which simply translates to a right by the bank to call the note should
the owner of the property attempt to sell the property without authorization by the lien holder. Banks are unlikely to demand a loan
is paid within 30 days unless interest rates are going up and the bank sees profit in lending the same money again at the higher rates.
This means the so-called "buyer" is not protected because the very legal instrument providing them an option to buy in the future
may cause the "seller" to be in default if the bank calls the note. Once a property is foreclosed, the "buyer" would have few
recourses in remaining in the property or recovering their lost "deposit" if the owner forecloses.
We highly recommend anyone considering a lease with option to purchase first read the following website by John T. Reed.
We have published Clayton Roberts' email in an effort to present his side of the story.
Please feel welcome to post your comments on our blog.
| Below are excerpts from a long email LovelandPolitics received from Ft. Collins Real Estate Broker Clayton Roberts. ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Clay Roberts <claydog25@yahoo.com> To: "gail.shaloy@dora.state.co.us" <gail.shaloy@dora.state.co.us> Sent: Wednesday, November 16, 2011 2:28 PM Subject: 1316 Hazel I just reread this.....article On Loveland Politics The guy is obviously a liar I have never met him and never spoken to him. in his article it seems as he had some discussion with Marty Hutcheson with regards to LLC never with me. If this lying continues I will get a lawyer and sue him and the Pepplers and Terry White for slander He also says I signed a lease contract with the Pepplers another blatant lie If I signed something where is it. They all must have copies of what was signed you have documents from me with my signature on it. I have never signed any lease with anyone except for a property that My wife and I own on 1546 N Cleveland Loveland CO. It is a lease with purchase option and I have given them up to three years to be able to position themselves to be able to Buy it. The rent is $900 per month and $900 deposit only the deposit will go towards the price if they buy. The price is set at at $139,000. (LP NOTE: He bought the Cleveland property, according to county records, for $88,000 in 11/5/07 and tried to sell it for $100,000 unsuccessfully in the multiple listing service. The Larimer County Assessor currently states a value of $115,000 for taxing purposes) If I was involved in any scams it would have surfaced by now there was also a background check done on me before I could get my license. I have had my license for 5 years I had a car sales license for twenty years. I have never ever had any other complaint to any licensing division. I have a credit score of 780 and have paid every debt I ever owed as agreed and now someone who has never paid any one as agreed is filing a complaint against me how ironic. If I have to get a lawyer and sue all of these parties I will and from what I can tell my credibility is1000 times greater than any of theirs. Too bad they have never worked an honest day in their lives and don't have a dime to sue for. As I said before this is a landlord tenant dispute and in my opinion the Pepplers and Terry White are complete liars and they believe that they should be able to live for free and someone else should pay their way for them. I found out thru Rich Strick that they were late on their rent 21 out of 24 times. he should have evicted them immediately. These people is what is wrong with this country they just want a free ride because they are too lazy and have no morals. Terry White complaint also says they were being overcharged for rent another lie the house is currently rent for $1750 That is $300 more than what they were charged. Do they know how to read? Did anyone force them to sign whatever they signed? They are liars and if and when this goes to court they will be exposed as such. I am personally quite sick of this investigation but have cooperated in every way but I am about to get a lawyer involved and I will make life miserable for everyone involved. Call me if you would like to discuss this further Clay Roberts Ultimate Homes Real Estate, LLC 3215 Grand Teton Place Ft Collins, CO. 80525 claydog@yahoo.com |
