Date last updated: 12/21/2009 4:31:01 AM | Associated Images  |
DENVER - More than a dozen homeowners claim they are out thousands of dollars after their property management company did not pay them rent on time or did not pay it at all.
A multi-agency investigation is under way into Mile High Management, which also goes by the name Move in Colorado.
The Colorado Division of Real Estate and the Arapahoe County District Attorney's office confirm ongoing investigations into the company's practices.
Three lawsuits filed against Mile High Management or company owner Kevin Allen claim he owes homeowners $21,991, according to court records obtained by 9Wants to Know. Two of the lawsuits are closed, one of the lawsuits is still pending.
The Division of Real Estate provided 9Wants to Know with copies of 10 complaints against Mile High Management or Allen. The Arapahoe County District Attorney's office confirmed it also received complaints.
9Wants to Know went undercover making appointments to view a house Allen's company listed for rent on Craigslist. Allen and Mile High Management Operations Director David Gladu showed our producer around a three-bedroom house in Centennial.
"We don't do any credit check," Gladu said. "We won't even call your references."
When asked how rent payments are set up, Gladu told us renters pay the company and it pays the homeowners.
"You'd be sending us the money and we'd be forwarding it on," he said.
But the homeowners and renters who filed complaints say that is not what happened.
"I will tell you, he is one smooth talker," flight attendant Debra Black said. She is in a legal battle trying to get back some of the money she says Allen owes her.
When it came time to get paid, Black says Mile High's checks often arrived late and eventually not at all.
She hired him to manage her Aurora condo after she decided to transfer with United Airlines from Denver to Washington, D.C.
"I'm worse off today than I was a year ago," she said. "The reason I went to Washington, D.C. and rented my home with all of my belongings in it, everything I own, was to get financially stable."
In court paperwork from a claim filed in Arapahoe County, Black says Mile High Management paid her from February through July 2009 but claims she wanted to terminate her agreement with the company for cause "to include not having timely paid over the rent."
She asked her tenant, Jessie Carter, to pay her directly.
Carter told 9Wants to Know he worried he would be liable for breaking his agreement with Mile High Management, but did not want to pay the company if Black was not getting her money, so he sued them both.
"It's been a nightmare that I cannot even believe," Black said.
9Wants to Know called Allen to ask him about homeowners' and renters' claims of not being paid on time or fully. Allen agreed to meet with us, but never showed at the scheduled time.
Allen's attorney, Dion Persson, called to say his client had decided not to talk to 9NEWS so 9Wants to Know went to Allen's house.
"These people are getting their money," Allen told 9Wants to Know. He said all funds are forwarded on to the owners.
After 9NEWS spoke with Allen, his attorney sent a letter calling the number of lawsuits "small."
He said Allen and Mile High Management "are working hard to resolve these disputes," and said some of them arose from a business policy where Mile High Management guaranteed the homeowner would receive the rents from the tenant.
"In these cases, the tenants stopped paying and the company was unable to honor the guarantees. The company is working with these homeowners to address these claims. Of course, the company no longer provides that type of guarantee," Persson wrote in the letter to 9Wants to Know.
Persson said his client is a good businessman.
"Regretfully, the company has had a few unfortunate disputes in connection with its business," Persson wrote. "Due to the lessons learned from these disputes, the company has improved its systems to provide security to the homeowners and ensure compliance with all applicable laws."
If you have information about Mile High Management or a tip for 9Wants to Know Investigator Jace Larson, e-mail him at jace.larson@9news.com or call 303-871-1432.
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