N.C. real estate firm closed after money vanishes
The Virginian-Pilot
©
A Nags Head real estate firm has been shut down after $460,000 in vacation home rental revenue vanished.
Dozens of jilted Outer Banks homeowners are looking for ways to get their money, and many of next season’s reservations may be in jeopardy.
The North Carolina Real Estate Commission agreed Wednesday to revoke the licenses of Nags Head Realty and its owner, Cheryl Wilkins, said Charlie Moody, assistant director of regulatory affairs for the commission.
In recent weeks, property owners reported not receiving rental income checks from Nags Head Realty. Wilkins acknowledged to the commission last month that she could not account for $460,000 in a trust fund for rental properties, according to an email from the commission’s legal counsel, Janet Thoren, to Dalton and Carol Williford, clients of Wilkins’.
“It will be necessary for you to manage your property yourself or to engage another licensed broker to assist you,” Thoren said in the email.
The couple lost $4,800 in rental income, Carol Williford said.
“There are a lot of people who have paid deposits for next year’s rental,” she said. “They’re not going to see that at all. She’s nowhere to be found.”
Wilkins may have managed more than 100 vacation homes, according to Williford, who said she and her husband had not had serious issues with her before.
The commission is trying to contact Wilkins’ clients. Stan White Realty had planned to buy the firm before the money disappeared, Thoren said in the email. She said Wilkins gave keys to the properties she managed to Stan White Realty, where homeowners can pick them up.
Thoren recommended that property owners change the locks on their homes. Maintenance and cleaning crews also might have keys, she said.
Commission staff are assisting District Attorney Andrew Womble with the investigation.
“We follow the evidence,” Womble said. “If it leads to criminal wrongdoing, then we step in and get the justice we can for the victims.”
The investigation could be finished by early January, he said.
Wilkins did not return a call to her cellphone.
Jeff Hampton, 252-338-0159 or jeff.hampton@pilotonline.com
No comments:
Post a Comment