William Valput, Valput Properites, Rare Properties Valput is a predatory lender Beware Bellaire, Ohio

I was buying a house from valput properties in Bellaire and had to put 4000 dollars down it was my first house I ever bought and that would be the last house ever bought from them because the house was a money pit it was trashy it was out of code the furnace was so old that it needed a new 1 I had to put 400 dollars in parts into the furnace to get it to run because I didn't have 1,400. For a new one. all the floors upstairs were the original flooring off the house like there was no carpeting no hardwood floors it was just bare floor that was it and they try to say that I did all that and they painted the floors brown all my windows had plexiglass except for the big window in my living room my basement leaked the floors had weak spots. so I decided that I wanted to move because after it started raining and the whole back wall started cavining in and it was a retaining wall to hold the whole the. Back hill from sliding in the house i decided it was time to move.so Mr low life decided he was going to try and tell me that when u do a land contract ur always a mouth behind on ur mortgage.so I had a private investigator call and record the conversation between them and valput and they asked them how much down for that same house and they said 4000 and the investigator said does that include ur first months mortgage they said yes. SO HELLO RIP OFFS YOU LIED AND TRIED TO GET ME FOR MONEY I DON'T OWE YOU. So I guess as it goes they tried to take me to court and try to lie on me and try to sue me for money I don't owe them trying to say I did all these damages to the house when the house was like that when I moved in. so I moved out of state as far away as I could from the valley that possibly could to get away from them because I'm telling you they will track you down and they will dock your pay they will harass you they will put warrants up for you and if someone else goes half with you on that house our there on that loan and. If they can find you beforethey find another person they're gonna make you accountable for that and then you have to sue the other person trust me I've been there done that do not go to valput

Sorry I just had to throw my two cents in.. I met Bill a month after my father died, he visited my old house alot and I couldnt stand to be in that house anymore so my husband and I decided it was time to buy a house.  I found a nice lil house and went to Bill with a proposition.  Yes my husband and I knew exactly what we were getting into when we signed with Bill, a contract which expected us to grow up, act like adults, assume resposnibility for our HOME. The exact same requirements a regular commerical bank would require. As mature adults it was our own responsability to assume the task of repairing our credit to be able to fufill our end of the land contract . It looked a bit scary there for awhile and when I talked to Mr. Bill he was even willing to work with us.  I believe you get what you give. I have NEVER had a single problem with Bill , his company , nor his employees.  I am happy to say our loan was approved today and it was a pleasure working with Valput Properties.  To all those who have a beef, well again you get what you give.

You say you are currently in one of our houses and you are a good client who pays on time but obviously you are unhappy with the property and feel as if you were somehow taken advantage of.   It is very sad to see you use a forum such as this to express your dissatisfaction rather than to come to our office and discuss your concerns with us face to face.   If in fact you are current on your land contract obligations and you have properly maintained the property since the date of your occupancy then we would be happy to allow you to terminate your land contract with us without penalty at any time as long as you simply pay for the days you are in the house, and return it to us in the condition it was when you moved in.

While no company can make every client happy we strive to do our best to give full disclosure before the purchase, to assist our clients when problems arise, and to make doing business with us a satisfying experience for each and every one of our clients.   We never want a customer to be in a property they are not satisfied with and we are willing to terminate the contract if ever a client feels as if they are not getting what they expected out of the program.

In closing, if you really feel that somehow you were taken advantage of, then we urge you to call our office today, come in and sit down with us, and let us provide a solution for your concerns.

We are here everyday awaiting your call.

I am not posting my real name due to the likelihood of backlash from Valput since my business dealings with them aren't completely through, yet. As a company, they are absolutely predatory. They "sell" substandard houses to people who don't know any better, and make a huge profit off of them. It's a pretty ingenious set-up for Mr Valput, when you think about it. Someone comes in and signs a land contract, and they put down around $4,000. They pay rent every month of about $600. The house has multiple code violations and needs repairs, and the "buyer" is expected to fix everything. Valput has crews of people go into every house as soon as its vacated to clean it up a little, throw some paint on the walls, and maybe a little drywall, plus maybe some new fixtures in the kitchen and bathroom, essentially just covering up any real damage. Does it have a leaky roof? Stucco and fresh paint covers it nicely. But then he goes further and tells you the house has had a new roof within the last three years (of course, he would never put that on paper) and that you are welcome to bring in an inspector if you'd like, at your own (high) expense, naturally. He will tell any lie he can to make the deal seem sweeter, and he is definitely a smooth talker, and it makes you want to believe him. He's the professional...he's been in business for so long, surely he hasn't been doing crooked business all along....
The problem is...he lies to your face and makes you sign a contract that makes it ok. He doesn't want you to bring an inspector in. It is your choice and he makes you think it isn't necessary.
Does this make him a predator? Absolutely. But legally, he will always come up smelling like roses.
The bottom line us this....if you go into his office expecting to get scammed,and you play the game, you might be ok.
How often do legitimate business owners monitor sites like this so they can respond to comments? Not very often...it means he was expecting something to show up. What does that tell you?

I've never been late on any payments, even. I am currently still living in the house. You've had no complaints with me. Feel free to assume whatever you like, but if you read my original post clearly, you'll see that I'm not complaining about you breaking contracts or anything, merely pointing out the obvious. You market to people who don't know better and then use that to your full advantage. Illegal? Probably not. Immoral? Pretty much.

Since the above letter is from a client who is afraid to post their name it is impossible for us to comment on what their particular situation was and why they may be unsatisfied with their dealings with us so we can only offer a general response to the above.   The way our land contract program works is that we offer single family homes for sale to the general public.   When a client calls we set up a showing and they come to inspect the house the same way as if they were buying a home through a realtor.   The are permitted to view the house as many times as they like, they can do any type of inspection they wish, they can have a home inspection company look at the property, and they can take as long as they need to make the decision as to if they wish to purchase the property from us.   Once a client decides he is ready to purchase a house our program allows him to buy the property with a very low down payment which is usually about 1/3 the amount they would have needed if they went through a commercial lender.   In this type of transaction we are not the clients landlord, we are their lender.     We serve the same function as a bank in that we are lending them the money to buy the house and they are paying us each month by paying on their mortgage.  We are not their landlord and once the sale is completed we are not responsible for continued maintenance or upkeep on the property.  We are only the bank - not their landlord.

Since all house sales are "as is"  we do offer them the option of purchasing a home warranty policy  through a 3rd party carrier in order for them to have more peace of mind.   Our contract is for a period of 3 years to allow the client time to build equity in the property and to build their credit so that by the end of the 3rd year we can assist them in moving their mortgage on to a commercial lender and end their association with us.

Anytime throughout this 3 year period the client has the option of listing their house for sale with a realtor and they have the option of canceling their contract with us at anytime without penalty.  The only condition is that the house must be returned to us in the condition it was when they moved in.

The only time we have ever had a client who was unhappy with the program was when they failed to maintain the property and then decided that somehow we should have been responsible for their lack of maintenance or when they have failed to make payments on the property and we were then forced to take legal action to make them pay and to take the property back.
Since the above responder said he is close to ending a deal with us we can only assume that he has not paid and is therefore being asked to return the property to us and he has not maintained the property and may be liable for fixing it up to the condition is was when he moved in. 

We have been in business for over 30 years and have sold hundreds of homes on this program and it is only a very few who damage the property and who who do not with to pay for the property.

The sad fact is that we always hold up our end of the contract even when that client is trying to push their responsibilities on to us.

I am not posting my real name due to the likelihood of backlash from Valput since my business dealings with them aren't completely through, yet. As a company, they are absolutely predatory. They "sell" substandard houses to people who don't know any better, and make a huge profit off of them. It's a pretty ingenious set-up for Mr Valput, when you think about it. Someone comes in and signs a land contract, and they put down around $4,000. They pay rent every month of about $600. The house has multiple code violations and needs repairs, and the "buyer" is expected to fix everything. Valput has crews of people go into every house as soon as its vacated to clean it up a little, throw some paint on the walls, and maybe a little drywall, plus maybe some new fixtures in the kitchen and bathroom, essentially just covering up any real damage. Does it have a leaky roof? Stucco and fresh paint covers it nicely. But then he goes further and tells you the house has had a new roof within the last three years (of course, he would never put that on paper) and that you are welcome to bring in an inspector if you'd like, at your own (high) expense, naturally. He will tell any lie he can to make the deal seem sweeter, and he is definitely a smooth talker, and it makes you want to believe him. He's the professional...he's been in business for so long, surely he hasn't been doing crooked business all along.... The problem is...he lies to your face and makes you sign a contract that makes it ok. He doesn't want you to bring an inspector in. It is your choice and he makes you think it isn't necessary. Does this make him a predator? Absolutely. But legally, he will always come up smelling like roses. The bottom line us this....if you go into his office expecting to get scammed,and you play the game, you might be ok. How often do legitimate business owners monitor sites like this so they can respond to comments? Not very often...it means he was expecting something to show up. What does that tell you?

After reading this post, I thought I would comment.  I'm not too sure about if/how the price of the property and the monthly payment changed upon signing the contract, but as for being taken to court, I would have filed a law suit too.  Obviously, it costs money to pay the workers to clean up the mess, dispose of it, and for materials that are needed to redo the home.  Besides, the inside of that house looks worse than my garage, and trash being in the yard is just dirty, lazy, careless, and attracts rodents and insects.  I've been in homes in that disgusting condition before, and I can imagine how the rest of it looked, and I can understand the work/money costs that it took to fix.  Public housing is always an option if you're looking for a home to destroy, they'll even pay YOU to live there...

The clients making this report did in fact enter into our Land Contract program to purchase a house in October of 2006.  They inspected the property, met with us, agreed on a purchase price and terms, and subsequently entered into a Land Contract Agreement for the purchase of this property.  

From October of 2006 until July of 2008 they had made most of their payments in accordance with their contract and had been very happy with the house and the Land Contract program as a whole.

When medical problems arose and the family started to get behind on their payments in 2008 they met with us and asked if they could terminate their Land Contract Agreement.  

Although they had the right, and opportunity, to sell this property at any time throughout the term of the Land Contract they chose instead to simply pay for the time they were in the house and terminate the Land Contract on an agreed upon date.

In September of 2008 they met with us, worked out the terms of the Termination Agreement, and signed the Termination Agreement to end their Land Contract.  

This agreement stipulated that they pay their house payment up to the date of termination, pay for utilities used during their occupancy, and leave the property clean and undamaged and in the same as it was upon their occupancy.

After vacating the property an inspection was performed and the property was found to be trashed.   Rooms half painted, trash everywhere, floors needing refinished, holes in walls, doors busted, etc.   In addition, they left utility bills unpaid and they did not pay for their final two months of occupancy.

Although we had attempted to resolve these issues with this client on numerous occasions after they vacated the premises, they continued to fail to make payments on their account and to honor the terms of the Termination Agreement which they signed. 

 With no other options available to us we were forced to file a law suit and seek judgment against this client for the damages and the balance due on their account.

At the court hearing we presented the court with pictures, invoices, time sheets, and copies of our contract and termination agreement.   The total amount of damages and delinquency on their account as of the date of the hearing was $6,383.01.  

After testimony, we received a judgment against the clients for the total amount of $6,383.01 but due to the limit of the small claims court our judgment was reduced to the limit of the court which was $3,000.00.

Since receiving this judgment the clients have made numerous payment plans and have failed to keep any of the agreed upon payment plans.  This necessitated us taking them back to court under the threat of being arrested to explain to the court why they have not paid on the judgment awarded against them.

As of October 2010 they have paid a total of $120.00 towards the judgment received against them.  Additional legal action against this client is still pending.

It is very unfortunate that the clients failed to pay their account and left the house filthy, damaged, and full of trash;  and it is equally unfortunate that they would then post a negative report about our company on this site. 

Our company has been in business for over 30 years and we have sold hundreds of houses on the Land Contract program and as of this date we have never had an unsatisfied customer who had fulfilled their obligations in accordance with their contract.

It is only when a client breaks their agreement and fails to pay their bills that they decide to lash out at the one who helped them rather than to own up to their own responsibilities and fulfill the agreements which they had agreed on.

Copies of court documents and pictures are on file at our office and anyone who wishes to have access to them may contact us directly.