Charles County Realty » Fredericksburg

Metro Dream Homes- How Many People are Involved? and Auction Re-Cap

Admin — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:40:46 +0000

The Real Estate Market in Southern Maryland has been incredibly busy so far this year, so I have been unable to post updates to this blog about Metro Dream Homes.

I have heard quite a bit recently, however, so I’d like to briefly catch everyone up on what I can. First off, there was a big article in the Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star regarding MDH where Raymond Peroutka, the man in charge of the court ordered investigation spoke in detail about the current status of the case and the receivership.

What struck me about the article was that he estimated that the number of homes involved was closer to 2,000, not 1,000, which is a HUGE difference. I have not spoken with anyone from Invotex directly, so I don’t have any first hand knowledge of what they have discovered thus far. What I do know is that more than a few banks have taken heavy losses due to short sales and foreclosures, and I expect the losses to continue to mount.

On a related front, the asset liquidation auction for Metro Dream Homes happened on the 23rd of January, and apparently the confiscated vehicles had already been auctioned off in the weeks prior. There were rumors about a Ferrari and a Porsche being auctioned off among the assets, but I have no way to confirm that. Did anyone out there reading this happen to attend the car auction?

I was stunned by the amount of equipment being auctioned off! Cases of water bottles, branded with the Metropolitan Grapevine Logo, along with branded M&M’s, Notepads, car-shaped stress balls, and tons of equipment! There were dozens of computers auctioned off, lots of plasma TV’s (I think a 52" plasma went for around $1,400) and office furniture.

I ended up buying a drill press for less than $20, as well as a stainless steel mini-fridge ($45) and a set of 10 office desks for $20. There were a lot of deals to be had, and the auctioneers sold everything in the warehouse! Anyone else who attended care to share their experience with the auction?

That estimate of 2,000 homes involved in the program really bothers me. I’m starting to wonder if there has ever been a mortgage scandal in the United States as large as this one? I’m going to have to do a little more research to find out, I’ll post whatever I discover!

~Jonathan Benya
Century 21 New Millennium
9405-A Chesapeake St
La Plata, MD 20646
301-609-9000
301-653-8116
Waldorf and Southern Maryland Real Estate
Southern Maryland Real Estate Blog

METRO DREAM HOMES- A little more information has trickled in

Admin — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:34:33 +0000

It’s frightening to think of just how deep the bottom line has been buried in regards to Andy Williams and Metropolitan Dream Homes.

Here’s the latest info- 18 companies have been determined as subsidiaries of Metro-Grapevine, the parent company of Metro Dream Homes ( aka MDH ). over 1,000 people are financially involved. Company assets that have been recovered include:

$150,000 in cash

50 cars- including S-Class Mercedes, Corvettes, Escalades, etc.

14 local properties- located in Laurel, Virginia, D.C.

The company liabilities are between $200-$300 Million, they are unable to pay the mortgages as promised, and are behind by several months at this point.

There was a recent article in the Laurel Leader, link is included here:

The attorney general’s office is asking anyone with knowledge about the assets of POS or any of its affiliated companies, including bank accounts, property or cash, to call the office at 410-576-6360.

Anyone who would like to share their experience about MDH or Andy Williams, please email or call me directly and I will include your story to my next update.

j.benya@c21nm.com
301-653-8116

Yes, We DO Have Foreclosure and Pre-Foreclosure Lists! (and no, we don't charge any fees for the information!)

Admin — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 13:31:47 +0000

There seems to have been some confusion regarding foreclosure and pre-foreclosure lists in the region. Yes, I do have them, Yes, they are free, and Yes, I update them daily!

If you are looking for foreclosure or pre-foreclosure lists or information, please give me a call (301-653-8116) and I can send that info out to you. I have been inundated with email requests for the lists and often times the email-based requests are too broad to send accurate information to.

So here it is, a partial list of regions that I can send this information out to!

Anne Arundel County

Calvert County

Charles County

PG County

Prince George’s County

St. Mary’s County

Saint Mary’s County

Southern Maryland

Northern Virginia

King George County

Arlington County

Alexandria City

Update on Metro Dream Homes….. it's not looking pretty…..

Admin — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 15:40:31 +0000

There’s a front page article
in today’s Fredericksburg, VA
Free Lance-Star. It seems that the Attorney General has established that the company is in debt by at least $300,000,000! Their assets have been frozen and they’re trying to find the money trail, but so far only $150,000 has been found so far. They did jail the company president, Andy Williams, but it is not clear if he is still in jail at this time. It turns out that Mr. Williams had another ponzi scheme shut down back in 2001, had been barred from selling securities, AND had not properly registered his current Metro Dream Homes investment scheme.

For now, the assets of the company are frozen and will remain that way until more information comes to light, but participants in the program are not looking at a terribly bright situation.

Link to Free Lance-Star Article

Link to Washington Post article regarding 2001 investment scheme