Sunday, May 06, 2007

Crisp and Cole is no more


This blogger has learned that the once high flying local real estate firm Crisp and Cole is no more. Several items in the form of emails and readers comments have come to this blogger to confirm this story.


Brokers and Agents

These items include the broker of record Jack Doremus moving to a new company, RE/Max Magic on California Avenue. However, per DRE records Mr. Doremus is still the the broker of record. I am assuming the paperwork has yet to be filed?

DRE records also show that Crisp and Cole only has two agents listed, David Marshall Crisp and Lindsay Allyn Roberts. This is significantly less than the number listed on their website.

Several of the agents listed on their website are actually with other brokers. For example, Scott Reynolds is now a member of RE/Max Magic (Banducci and Associates). Mike Munoz is now also a member of RE/Max Magic. Maybe the Magic at their new location will be a little longer lasting?

This blogger has also learned that several other non-commissioned staff were also recently let go.

All listings in the local MLS have been transferred to a new entity Crisp Real Estate


New Corporation

On October 25, 2006, a new corporate entity was filed with the California Secretary of State, Crisp Real Estate, Inc.

Also, a new license was filed with the Department of Real Estate effective on April 19, 2007. The licensee name is Crisp Real Estate, Inc. The new Broker of record for this entity is Ty Stewart. The list of agents includes most of the former members of the Crisp and Cole Team.


What happened?

What happened to the once high flying firm. Did the overhead get too high while real estate transactions have fallen by 70% from their peaks. Did a local real estate firm need several Jets, $500,000 cars, Armani Suits, "meetings" in Las Vegas and body guards and $50,000 watches.


Will the allegations which include "negligence, fraud or dishonest dealing, substantial misrepresentation"against the pair's Tower Lending Company turn out to be true?


Why is the "moguls" headquarters empty and for sale?


Will the Twin Towers at CSUB be built? Can public land be turned over to two individuals who could not continue their real estate firm for more than two years? I hope the trustees at the CSU system take a good hard look at their proposal and finances before they turn this land over to these guys.


It now appears that the boom Crisp claimed would to continue, "Bakersfield has another two or three years before it "levels out", has gone bust! Foreclosures are up dramatically, sales are down significantly and the local MLS has been flooded with a tsunami of listing.

14 comments:

CrashbabyCrash said...

Let me be the first to commend you on a fantastic piece of reporting. This story brings together all the nuances of what really happened at CC RE.
I echo your sentiments on the CSU project. Most of us can admit that con artists are good at what they do and can easily deceive, but now they have been outed for what they are. It is time for the CSU board to sever ties with Crisp and Cole and move on to more legitimate business partners.

Keep up the good work.

Anonymous said...

Next!

Living below your means and thinking long-term is the only way to go.

xs10shell said...

Someone had to go and sell this project to the CSU statewide Board to get it approved. How do you think the local campus will save face while getting out of this project. Their president is still in the process of establishing his reputation & credibility and certainly won't want any of this sticking to his shoes. Even a plea of "being duped" looks bad for a person at that level. BTW, BB, great job on scooping the local press.

Anonymous said...

You forgot to mention the notices of default (NOD) filed against them and their agents properties.

Realestateslasher said...

When the going gets Tuff,
The Tuff live below thier means and think long-term
cool

Rob Dawg said...

What's up with Young Daid's $5m mansion?

Anonymous said...

crispy,

The next shoe to drop...Alt-A and A lenders...

http://tinyurl.com/32jy9q

"I am with Alliance and we ARE still accepting loans. Locking/docs/funding is not happening right now because there are investor issues. Our Branch Manager is telling what she knows, but nobody knows for sure what is happening yet. We wouldnt have
underwriters in here underwriting files if the "higher ups" werent
doing everything in their power to get things running back on track
again. We are strictly an ALT/A and A paper lender so our loans are
not junk like most subprime banks' are. The last two days have been
rough, but I dont see us closing the doors."

In other words, it sounds like investors are now balking at at least some segments of A and alt-A.

Another post:

"I completely understand the frustration of the last 2 days not being able to fund, believe me i do. I come from a retail background and i would be furious if i was in the same situation. Please keep in mind that this is the worst market most brokers have ever dealt with since everyone jumped on the bandwagon when rates were golden and there were
no worries. investor guidelines are changing everywhere as the market deteriorates, and dont be so naive as to think Alliance is the only company that will encounter issues in this time."

Parts of the thread sound suspiciously like the fall of New Century - AEs saying "if we are closing our doors, why would we put up a new rate sheet?", "we are not funding now, but management is burning the midnight oil to turn things around", "this is just a temporary glitch", etc.

Time will tell, but I think that those that predicted that A and alt-A would be insulated from the woes of sub-prime will proved wrong, and in relatively short order.

- arroyogrande

Anonymous said...

(the above are eexcerpts from Broker's Outpost)

rrastronomo said...

We visited dr horton near old river rd this passed wk end. $65K off of the price. Just the beginning imho.

Anna Nonymous said...

New blog resumes the First NLC saga:
http://lastnlc.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

I saw a Jennifer A. Crisp who lists her address as the old Tower Lending address is in default on a $1.2 million house in 93311. This is on a recent NOD list for Kern Co. It's also interesting that another property in 93311 with another person's name using the old Crisp and Cole Real Estate address is in default for $795k. Is the "Dark Star" imploding??? If the 50-60 houses David claims in a 2006 article in The Bakersfield Californian go into default (then God forbid--FORECLOSURE)those in the 93311, 93312 and 93313 zip codes are in for a rough ride along with the rest of Southwest Bakersfield. If I a mere citizen can find this, why does The Californian continue to print "fluff-puff", seemingly PR pieces on the former C&C empire?? Find and Print the Truth it's all out there on the web.

Anonymous said...

All in the wifes name? Next thing you'll be turnng up NODS in the name of the kids.

Bakersfield Bubble said...

They each have one this week. One under his name and another one under her name.

ProblemWithCaring said...

The Best thing about that "Bakersfield Californian" article about the $500,000 cars and Meetings in Las vegas, was this genius bit of prose, describing what was then (Oct. 2005) seen as the winds of progress in the sleepy town:

"There are new restaurants like California Pizza Kitchen and Elephant Bar. The county is building a new terminal at Meadows Field Airport, which just added nonstop flights to Las Vegas and Salt Lake City."

AhahaAhahahahahahahahahahHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHhahahahah!!!

Not CPK!

AAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHahahahahahahaha...

LMAO!

{wipes away tear}

I heart Bakersfield....