Geoff Bell Of Newberry Realty Commits Acts Of Dishonesty And Cheats People Out Of There Money. Geoff Bell of Newberry Realty ripped me off for the office and construction services I provided his office and then threatens to bodily harm Renton Washington

In December of 2001 I help Geoff Bell (Broker of Newberry Realty - Renton) set up a real estate office in Renton, Washington. Geoff Bell was introduced to me by a friend who knew I had extensive experience in setting up telecommunications equipment, computer systems, websites, and other types of valuable office and software experience. Geoff Bell offered me a partnership within his business when I first started helping him.

Geoff Bell praised my business experience and the help I provided his company to get off the ground. By April or May of 2002, Geoff Bell's business had grown so fast that he decided to move his office into up town Renton (Cascade Hill). The building that Geoff Bell bought had many problems. Geoff Bell knew that I had worked in the construction industry and he asked for my help in fixing the office he had bought. I agreed to help him. I contacted some of my friends that use to work with me in the construction field to help me fix this building.

The majority of the construction work was done by my girlfriend and me. My girlfriend and I gutted one side of the building which was set up as a beauty salon. We started removing cabinets, tables and sinks from the one side of the office in the last part of May 2002. The other side of the office was still occupied by the old rental tenant Farmer Insurance agent named Mike & Debbie Chapman. We repaired and textured walls, painted, installed a drop ceiling, installed telephone lines, installed a local area network, and capped the old plumbing off on this side of the building. A friend of mine that is an electrician helped me install new wiring and conduit. My friend and I install new florescent lighting. During our construction on the vacant side of the building, Geoff Bell told the old tenants of Farmer Insurance that they had to move.

When my girlfriend and I finished the work on the first side of the building, we began work on the other side of the building. Farmers Insurance was still in the process of moving his and her business to the other building across the walk way. Mike Chapman was angry that he had to move his business, so he decided to take it out on wall in the building. He punched big holes in the walls prior to relinquishing his custody of the building. He told Geoff Bell that he had damaged the wall while he was moving. His wife told my friend and I that her husband was drunk and angry about moving, he also had lost a bunch of his wife's money in the stock market, so he decided to take it out on the walls.

We ended up gutting the other side of the building due to mold, electrical problems with the wiring, and un-level floors. The floors were un-level because these offices use to be a swimming pool house. We removed the old drop ceiling because it was done wrong and it was stained. We found that the old wiring was melted from overloading the circuits.

My electrician friend and I removed the old wiring, removed walls, brick cinder block, sheetrock, rug, old lighting fixtures, electrical panel and electrical switches that Geoff Bell wanted removed. My electrician friend and I built and framed out new walls were Geoff Bell wanted them. We installed a conference room and a master office for Geoff. We also widen a wasted space to provide a lobby area. We installed new conduit for the electrical wiring, new electrical panels with breakers, new electrical wire, switches, and plugs. We installed new drop ceiling, sheetrock, pocket door for the conference room, a new upscale door in Geoff office, and installed new French doors in the conference room to replace the old slider that was partially covered with sheetrock, which was molding. My girlfriend and I installed new Category 5 wire for the local area network, telephone wiring, and we installed a telephone key system. My girlfriend and I also install low voltage wiring for an alarm system. My girlfriend, my friend and I then put up new sheet rock, sanded, mudded, textured, and painted Geoff Bell office, the hall and lobby area of the building were Farmers Insurance use to reside. After tear up the old 1960's carpet, we found that the concrete floor was un-level, so I grinded down the floors in Geoff's office, the lobby, and the hall. My electrician friend and I floated the floors with resurfacing cement.

My electrician friend started having some personal problems going on in his life and he took some time off. I then up hiring an ex-friend of an ex-friend who knew my girlfriend. This person helps me mud and paint the conference room and the hallway. This person also helped me stain and varnished the new trim and doors. Low and behold I found out this person that my girlfriend recommend was talking a lot of trash behind my back as I found out latter. Some friend!

After the office was complete enough to open and hire agents, Geoff Bell started acting funny. Geoff Bell started avoiding me and he had hired another agent to start doing the administration of the computers, which I was handling. More and more he started distancing himself.

The business at the office started rolling in, but Geoff Bell continued to avoid me and his new agent name Russ Hill start hanging around the office more. Russ Hill would run to the door ever time a customer would come in and he would also race to pick up the phone. I've heard of ambition, but he was getting carried away. One day I had some friends of mine come up to the office to see me about the installation of a security system. As my friends came in and sat down to talk to me, Russ Hill ran into the lobby area, were I was talking to my friends, and started trying to push himself on my security customer. My customer told him to get lost. I told Geoff about this.

Geoff Bell tells me that he can not treat me any different than the other agents. I said what? I thought that I was your business partner. I told Geoff Bell that I wanted him to sign a contract with me as his business partner since I was not paid for my labor on the building. Geoff Bell stated that he never told me that he was going to have me as a business partner. Not only did he tell me this, he had mentioned it to several people over the time that I did do work for him. I told Geoff Bell then I want to be paid for my labor. He offered me a couple of grand for the work I performed. I told him no way.

I ended up billing him for my time and then latter after he refused to pay the bill. In February of 2003 I had to file a mechanics lien against the building for the un-paid bill. I even went as far as to picket Geoff Bell's office. One of Geoff Bell's friends Broker Dave Newberry which is the owner of Newberry Realty even took a swing at my girlfriend while she was holding a camera and picketing.

I hired an attorney name Raymond Gessel in order to file a lawsuit to force Geoff Bell to pay or make him sell the building. My attorney was written to by another attorney for Geoff Bell. My attorney was told that I could not collect on a construction lien, which is not what I filed, because I did not have a construction license. My attorney who is not very experienced in liens allowed the lawsuit to be dropped, and never contacted me to let me know that he was dropping the lien in the first place. My attorney told me that he would file a contract lawsuit against Geoff Bell for him promising me that I would be a partner. Well after calling my attorney's office several dozen times to make sure that he was going to file the lawsuit, which he promised he would do, he ended up not filing the case, and my ex-attorney let the statue of limitations expire.

So, I have not been able to collect on either partnership or the money owed to me for my work by Geoff Bell at Newberry Realty. I wanted to let everyone know in the Seattle (King County) area that I lost a lot of time and money in improving Geoff Bell's building and setting his business up. I asked that anyone who is interested in buying real estate in the King County to avoid and not to patronize Newberry Realty. Boycott Newberry Realty before you get scammed like I did.

Alan
Renton, Washington
U.S.A.