Re: Coldwell Banker Forcing Bankruptcy
Posted by Lisa Marchert on 4/10/08

On 8/11/07, ebees wrote:
> It's no secret that the collapse of the housing market has
> caused many builders to go into bankruptcy. I am yet
> another casualty of this new trend. Many times consumers
> don't realize the risks involved with being a builder.
> They often have this perception that we are all rich and
> can sustain ourselves indefinitely, but that is not the
> case. In the past 18 months, I have witnessed home after
> home going back to the bank; and each time I saw a
> colleague go out of business, I prayed to God for the
> strength to hold on. Even though it has become apparent
> that he has other plans for me, I suppose suppose I should
> be thankful he has allowed me to continue as long as he
> has, for as long as I continued to own the homes I've had
> sitting, I had hope.
>
> What upsets me at this point is the lack of cooperation
> I'm receiving from my agent and her broker. And since I
> have nothing to lose, I really don't have any incentive to
> remain quiet while they force me into this irreversible
> situation. So I'm choosing to go public with my recent
> letter to them in the hopes that they might change their
> minds and allow me this one pass, as I really do love the
> joy I bring to people when they purchase a new home from
> me. It's infectious really, to see them so happy, and I'd
> hate to forever lose the high I get from it.
>
>
>
> August 7, 2007
>
> Coldwell Banker Advantage
> Attn: Karen Bergin
> 7501 College Boulevard Suite 101
> Overland Park, KS. 66210
>
> Ms. Bergin,
>
> I'm writing this letter to you in the hopes that you will
> understand the hurt and misery you are causing me and my
> family. Your recent actions to try and stop the closing of
> our property at 14409 NE 147th St is a painful reminder of
> how greed and distrust is ruining the relationships
> between consumers, builders, and real estate professionals
> such as yourself.
>
> We have painfully fought through the last two years by
> paying over $150,000.00 in interest out of our own pockets
> to keep these two properties on the market for you and
> other realtors to try and profit from. We have exhausted
> all our savings, our retirement, the equity in our
> personal home, our son's college fund, and even stooped so
> low as to cash in our 12 year olds savings account
> containing Christmas, birthday, and tooth-fairy money he
> had saved since infancy. We have lost our medical
> insurance, our credit rating, and are now on the verge of
> defaulting on mortgage loans. Apparently our losses are
> not enough to satisfy your need to profit from our
> misfortune, as you now intend to destroy our business and
> the only options we have left. To say the least you have
> miserably failed at the job we hired you to do and we have
> paid for it dearly.
>
> Long ago we gave up all hope and the reality of being able
> to make any profit on either of the properties we
> constructed in Fox Run; however, we remained loyal to our
> realtors by continuing to give them a chance we would
> never have. Our last listing agreement on April 10th was
> always predicated on our ability to be able to continue to
> pay the monthly interest on the properties and delay the
> consequences arising from having to give them back to the
> bank.
>
> As early as last May, I indicated to Linda Bobski that due
> to the cancellation of two build jobs we'd had pinned our
> hopes on, we were staring down the harsh reality of
> defaulting on our construction loans and losing not only
> our profit and the interest we have paid to date, but also
> no less than $35,000 of our personal funds we used to
> finish construction on the properties, and an additional
> $6,300 we have spent assisting Ms. Bobski in marketing our
> homes with advertising that included your company name,
> Linda Bobski's logo, and contact information for her and
> your company. I also indicated to Linda that if at least
> one property was not sold by the end of June, we would be
> forced by necessity to cancel the listing agreement,
> accept defeat, and attempt to sell the properties at an
> extremely reduced price to avoid losing them altogether.
> We only hoped that whatever price we might receive would
> be enough to cover our actual material costs.
>
> During this time, we frequently disrupted our own lives;
> cancelled plans made, and relinquished time with our
> families and friends to make ourselves available at all
> hours to show the homes on your behalf. We sacrificed our
> own health and well being by delaying medical and dental
> treatment, and we jeopardized our financial security by
> acquiring personal loans and extending credit cards to
> cover our living expenses. Quite simply, we were ready to
> do whatever it took to assist you in moving these homes. I
> know you have spent some money in marketing the
> properties; but in all honesty, it pales in comparison to
> our costs, commitment, and losses.
>
> Our previous experience listing with Linda Bobski provided
> us with competent service, good marketing, and personal
> dedication with her physical presence almost every
> weekend. We came to rely on and expect this kind of
> continued service from her when we re-listed the homes
> with your company. However, we have NEVER seen any new
> marketing materials, print ads, feedback on showings, or
> her physical attendance at open houses during the time the
> homes have been listed with Coldwell Banker Advantage.
>
> When we spoke with Linda Bobski on June 30th and
> instructed her to forward us a release on the listings, we
> were told this would be done when you (her broker)
> returned from vacation. We proceeded on that basis because
> we believed in the honesty and integrity we had come to
> know in Linda, and my wife diligently began attempting to
> secure a buyer in earnest so that we might be able to move
> at least one of these homes and save ourselves from
> defaulting on business loans.
>
> My wife humiliated herself in ways I can not imagine.
> Cruising neighborhoods looking for signs indicating a home
> had sold or was under contract, then proceeding to knock
> on the doors of people she'd never met, asking them for an
> opportunity to show them what wonderful homes we had built
> and relaying to them just how desperate we were to sell.
> Now that we have secured a buyer that will relieve us of
> the massive burden we have carried for so long, you want
> to stop the sale of home we have worked two years to try
> and move; a home you and your agent failed to produce a
> buyer for.
>
> Have you no shame or conscience? Have you no sense of
> right and wrong? Or is causing your clients continued
> distress and embarrassment secondary to enforcing your
> sense of power over the people you profess to serve? In
> all honesty, I simply can't understand the logic behind
> choosing to put a client out of business rather than
> working with them so that you might secure future
> listings. That just doesn't make sense to me at all.
>
> We are tired, Ms. Bergin. We are tired of fighting a
> battle we can't possibly win. We are tired of taking risks
> that only serve to benefit the banks, mortgage companies,
> and licensed real estate brokers/agents. I have personally
> endured debilitating stress and anxiety related illnesses,
> have been hospitalized twice this past year, have endured
> IRS audits, been forced to file income tax extensions, and
> have watched as my wife battled her alcoholism under the
> mounting pressure of constant failure. Even as I write
> this, I am forced to listen to her sobbing in the next
> room, convinced in the belief that everything is hopeless
> and there's no point in even trying to reason with you. We
> put ourselves through all this for your benefit, so that
> you might be able to profit from our talents and
> misfortune, but we ran out of time. We simply could not
> give you any more time to make money off our product. I
> just don't know what else you want from us or what else we
> can do.
>
> There's nothing left for us to offer up to you; and above
> all else we are simply tired. We want to give up; and even
> though we are conceding defeat, you are not even allowing
> us to give up and give in. It is almost as if we are the
> bloody wounded dog being forced back into the pit for the
> final kill. We are merely a form of entertainment for you
> at this point, as we can not possibly meet your demands.
>
> Finally, I am asking that you please release the lien you
> have filed with the recorders office so that we can close
> on this home and begin trying to put our lives back
> together.
>
>
>

Posts on this thread, including this one

• Coldwell Banker Forcing Bankruptcy, 8/11/07, by ebees.
• Re: Coldwell Banker Forcing Bankruptcy, 8/21/07, by Jodey.
• Re: Coldwell Banker Forcing Bankruptcy, 11/10/07, by M Yates.
• Re: Coldwell Banker Forcing Bankruptcy, 4/10/08, by Lisa Marchert.
• Re: Coldwell Banker Forcing Bankruptcy, 4/10/08, by Lisa Marchert.