International did Not Stand By The Promises Made Detroit Michigan

I purchased a house in Detroit in 2012 through International. Prior to purhcase, I had come across some articles advising people that problems had arisen with this company and others who were advertising property in the Detroit area. Most notably, an article had been written in the Financial Times concerning very unhappy investors who had been left out of pocket by the management company that had been appointed by International and others.

I raised all these concerns with the sales person and representative of prior to purchase and she gave me guarantees that all issues regarding management companies had been ironed out and that she could assure me absolutely that that there would be no further problems in this regards and that would be there in case any issues arose. She further assured me that if I decided at any time that I wanted to exit the investment, would also be there for me. That was prior to the sale. Post sale has been another matter. (Note also that their chief executive in response to FT enquiries also seemed to indicate in the article that issues in relation to the management company had been resolved).

were using a company that goes by the name of funding. Two weeks after purchasing the property, I received a fine notice from the city of Detroit for illegal dumping for $5,000. Detroit did go to court over this and got the fine reduced to $200, but not cleared. All preoerties were to have been vetted before closing to ensure that there were no problems.

I did then receive rent payments. In February Detroit sent out a notice to its customers to advise that it's rent collector had been shot and killed while out collecting rent. I couldn't believe that anyone was out collecting cash in this day and age. I assumed like most people that rent would be paid by check or direct debit into the management company's bank account. Detroit then assigned many properties over to another property management company. Given that International had said that they had resolved all issues regarding the management company, they still allowed them to insert a clause that allowed them to assign the management over to anyone they chose at any time they chose. Even though I was included on the correspondence which advised of property management company changes, I was then told that my particular property was remaining with Detroit Advantage. (It does appear however from later correspondence, that many investors had an extremely unhappy time with the newly assigned property management company).

In March, my rent did not arrive in time. I inquired and then received a personal check which I thought extremely unusual. Previous payments had been on a company check by Detroit. In April, my rent again did not arrive. I again inquired, to which I was told that an employee was out sick and she was the only person that could tell whether payment was issued. That employee remained out sick for three weeks. During that time, May rent came due. I was assured that payment for both months would be sent to me. It didn't arrive, but my inquiries about this resulted in being told that there must be a problem with the post. I can understand problems with the post one month, but not three months in a row. I provided Detroit Advantage with my bank details and they were to send a wire on the 15th of May. I kept asking if it was sent, and only when I contacted Experience to complain bitterly, does it finally appear to have been sent. I'm still waiting to confirm payment into my account.

Since then, it turns out that my property has also been assigned to another property management company. Detroit apparently did not like me inquiring as to where my rent was. I know nothing about the other business or how it will perform.

I contacted the CEO of International, who in his emails to me is totally distancing himself from any promises made by his employees.  The fact is that property was advertised on the International web site. I was dealing with a representative of his company. That same representative offered me assurances to close the deal, but now they don't want to know anything about it. They further offered me assurances that would be there if I decided that I wanted to exit the investment. That's what I want to do, given the amount of time and trouble that I have encountered so far. I don't know what the future holds now that I have been fobbed off to a management company that I have no idea how they will perform.

International advertises property. Their sales team deals with all aspects of the selling of that advertised property. They arrange the paperwork and yet, they say it has nothing to do with them. There appears to be many very unhappy people that have gotten themselves involved in the Detroit market through this company. I've also been told now that they have since exited the Detroit market. I wonder why????

International does not stand by the promises, assurances and guarantees that it makes when they are trying to close the sale. According to their CEO - Steve Warboy's they cannot make any guarantees. That's what he is saying now, but his sales staff were saying something totally different prior to purchase.

If you are an international investor, do your self a favour and stay the heck away from dealing with these companies. Stay away from international property investement. You will only end up with a major headache and have to constantly chase up every single issue. Further, when you go back to International to ask them to do something about it, you will only end up getting a corporate CYA email from Steve Warboys that tell you it has nothing to do with his company.

Does anyone know of a class action lawsuit pending on any of this?