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The realtor showed houses that needed renovation. To close the deal, the realtor brought in his friend, a local contractor. The contractor offered to fix the house for a price within the buyer's budget. And the property was sold. The contractor took over the house and began to work. Without telling the homeowners, he entered into a time and materials agreement with a subcontractor with no cap on final price. The project extended past the target date and the invoices went up and up. The home was unlivable, but the contractor kept promising he was almost finished. The homeowners were desperate and kept on paying. Unknown to the homeowners, the subcontractor's invoices went up and up, too. The homeowners ran through all their assets to pay the contractor and needed to refinance. So the realtor brought in his friend, a local mortgage broker. The realtor dug through comparable sales at top prices in the neighborhood and forwarded them to the broker’s specially chosen appraiser. Even though the house was unfinished, the mortgage broker’s hand-picked appraiser closed his eyes and evaluated the property as though everything promised had been done. The mortgage loan went through for a top price. The realtor got paid, his broker got paid, the contractor got paid, the mortgage broker got paid, and the appraiser got paid. Then, surprise! The subcontractor popped out of the woodwork and revealed his subcontract to the homeowners, claiming he hadn't been paid. The subcontractor filed a lien on the property, threatening foreclosure, and then filed suit. Working together, everybody was a winner. Well, almost everybody. Now read Our Story
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