Real Estate Consultant · Fort Myers, FL · Member since 2008 · 2 posts · 1 vote
Harbor Funding Group is being investigated for fraud....beware!!!!!!
DO NOT DO BUSINESS IN MISSISSIPPI WITH GLOBAL FUNDING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, LLC.....based in Florida building under Go Zone in Mississippi....beware....they approximately 5 companies setup that funnel money into Global Development.....flips are involved.....Dream Developers, LLC, Land Solutions, LLC, The Squad, LLC, among others.....someone buys the lots under Land Solutions employed by them....get the picture now
Real Estate Investor · the villages, FL · Member since 2008 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
17y
I can add some actual info to this thread. There are several boiler room operations out of Ft. Myers FL and Gulfport MS that ran ads on the internet for the go zone. They put on seminars and took you to see properties in MS that they would build for you. Most were in Bayside Park, an old downtrodden development in Bay St. Louis, MS. It all looked good and you'd be told by a lender, Harbor Funding by way of C & W funding they'd get you a loan for x amount. This would cover the const, points and when it closed, you'd receive a rent guarantee and decor allowance of 10% back in your pocket, basically 90% loan.
Example-$240K duplex . You place $24K with the developer, Blue OAK CONST (had other names before) who then placed funds into escrow with JPO Title . This is where it gets wierd.
Harbor Funding then requested the funds to go to their escrow agent, Michael D. Garber, a NY and NJ attorney from JPO. The wizard pulling the strings behind the curtain of Harbor Funding is Bill Lange, and supposedly,he requested the funds from Garber. It appears he received them and used them to leverage with a hedge fund overseas by putting up millions to get hundreds of millions to lend.
The developer continued selling pre builds based on the info and potential loans from Lange. I "purchased" 2 duplexes from Blue Oak-Gulf Stream Dev and sent them $48,000. I've been trying to get money back for 6 months. Garber has had his accounts frozen by the Bar in NJ. Lange has now disappeared from Seattle but keeps promising a return of my funds.
I don't know if I'll ever see my $ and I don't know a sINGLE investor that has had a closing on property through these guys. There are still some of those involved above ground in Ft. Myers, and still doing seminars, now selling foreclosures in SW FL.
Be very careful. These folks are in over their heads, or crooks, or slick or all of the above. I have lots of info on all this and would love to join any action or furnish my info to the investigators or FBI. It is a can of worms.
As to any assets of Harbor Funding. Lange pledged a LOT of funds and the ruse was a goldmine or gold stocks he had plus the cash. He closed his office last week and did give me the new phone # for him, but I haven't tried it yet.
Scott- the investigation needs to start right where you are with Garber. He is the key to knowing where the money went. There is an attorney /lender in MN that is out 800K and thinks he'll see his funds returned from the court. He doesn't return calls now. He quoted me 3K to file my request with the court, but I'm not sure he's received anything nor whether Garber or Lange has the funds!!
JPO title is no longer where they were in Ft Myers. I think everyone is scrambling for under ground.
Hows' that for more info on this mess? Rich.
Real Estate Consultant · Fort Myers, FL · Member since 2008 · 2 posts · 1 vote
18y
They buy lots for a low price from current owners and put them into one of their shell companies who in turn flips or sells to the potential new investor for an inflated price without affiliated business disclosures, multiple assignments in multiple names, lender does not see addendum to contract for inflated price for kickback monies done outside of closing.....just a synopsis of procedure
Real Estate Investor · Fort Myers, FL · Member since 2008 · 115 posts · 27 votes
17y
I do not get the picture you are painting here Jane Doe. But...I have a few deals going with Harbour Funding. I also know a builder who is a friend of mine that has 50 contracts wth them. They have not closed one deal for me yet, but we are still in contract. I have been told that we are closing by Feb. 15, pushed back from Jan.15. I will let everyone know what the turnout is. I hope they are legit. It's either going to turn out really good or really bad. Stay tuned. I still have faith in them since they officially are still moving forward. We'll see.
Jane Doe, Have you entered into a contract and gone forward with Harbour to write these statements? I'm curious to know if you did, have you received your 10% back from the attorney BASED out of New Jersey? If you entered into agreement and the loan went to processing you would have had to send 10% into escrow. Just curious on where you get your info.
Developer · Gulfport, MS · Member since 2009 · 1 post · 0 votes
17y
Jane Doe has no idea what she is talking about and has never done business with any of the named parties, interesting that people can write whatever they want, whether it is true or not.
Attorney · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2008 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
17y
Jane Doe / L Y,
Anonymous posts for or against any company hardly garner any credibility. Why doesn't either one of you tell us who you are and give us a reason to believe you.
Real Estate Investor · Fort Myers, FL · Member since 2008 · 115 posts · 27 votes
17y
If anyone has any questions or wants to discuss Harbour Funding Group, please PM me or contact me directly. I have requested a criminal investigation into Harbor Funding and have the U.S Justice Department and FBI involved.
Real Estate Investor · Fort Myers, FL · Member since 2008 · 115 posts · 27 votes
17y
MikeOh,
To say the least I am not happy. The updates I am getting leads me to believe that Harbour Funding now comprehends in their stupid minds that there is heat on them and this may be the last time they do something like this.
The DOJ and FBI love cases like this and can happily say they are utilizing all resources to take them down. I want to be there to spit at them as they are walking into the federal court
Attorney · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2008 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
17y
Originally posted by nationwidepi:
These anonymous posts by anonymous profiles do not work here on BP Nation.
Very true - even if you happen to be correct. Be a real person learn the proper way to "not say" exactly what needs to be "not said" and we'll follow you.
Real Estate Investor · ten mile, TN · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 374 votes
17y
I believe in order to find any assets for any company you can go to the county that they pay their business license in and request the documents which list their assets. Should be public information records, but I would retain an attorney to do so for possible legal issues.
Also see if their local and or State returns might be availble under public records. There you will see any assets that are being depreciated.
Real Estate Investor · the villages, FL · Member since 2008 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
17y
I can add some actual info to this thread. There are several boiler room operations out of Ft. Myers FL and Gulfport MS that ran ads on the internet for the go zone. They put on seminars and took you to see properties in MS that they would build for you. Most were in Bayside Park, an old downtrodden development in Bay St. Louis, MS. It all looked good and you'd be told by a lender, Harbor Funding by way of C & W funding they'd get you a loan for x amount. This would cover the const, points and when it closed, you'd receive a rent guarantee and decor allowance of 10% back in your pocket, basically 90% loan.
Example-$240K duplex . You place $24K with the developer, Blue OAK CONST (had other names before) who then placed funds into escrow with JPO Title . This is where it gets wierd.
Harbor Funding then requested the funds to go to their escrow agent, Michael D. Garber, a NY and NJ attorney from JPO. The wizard pulling the strings behind the curtain of Harbor Funding is Bill Lange, and supposedly,he requested the funds from Garber. It appears he received them and used them to leverage with a hedge fund overseas by putting up millions to get hundreds of millions to lend.
The developer continued selling pre builds based on the info and potential loans from Lange. I "purchased" 2 duplexes from Blue Oak-Gulf Stream Dev and sent them $48,000. I've been trying to get money back for 6 months. Garber has had his accounts frozen by the Bar in NJ. Lange has now disappeared from Seattle but keeps promising a return of my funds.
I don't know if I'll ever see my $ and I don't know a sINGLE investor that has had a closing on property through these guys. There are still some of those involved above ground in Ft. Myers, and still doing seminars, now selling foreclosures in SW FL.
Be very careful. These folks are in over their heads, or crooks, or slick or all of the above. I have lots of info on all this and would love to join any action or furnish my info to the investigators or FBI. It is a can of worms.
As to any assets of Harbor Funding. Lange pledged a LOT of funds and the ruse was a goldmine or gold stocks he had plus the cash. He closed his office last week and did give me the new phone # for him, but I haven't tried it yet.
Scott- the investigation needs to start right where you are with Garber. He is the key to knowing where the money went. There is an attorney /lender in MN that is out 800K and thinks he'll see his funds returned from the court. He doesn't return calls now. He quoted me 3K to file my request with the court, but I'm not sure he's received anything nor whether Garber or Lange has the funds!!
JPO title is no longer where they were in Ft Myers. I think everyone is scrambling for under ground.
Hows' that for more info on this mess? Rich.
Real Estate Investor · Fort Myers, FL · Member since 2008 · 115 posts · 27 votes
17y
Hi Rich,
Yes, you are certainly a victim here. I am not sure what you can provide to me that I don't already have. I've got all (5) different escrow agreements, wire transfer receipts to and from JPO to Garber, etc. I also personally know every single one of the guys in Ft. Myers with C & W. I reported them as well.
I've got e-mail exchanges, letters, etc that immediately contradict and incriminate. I am also working with Blue Oak as they gave me all of their communications with Bill Lange, so I am sure I have your file somewhere with the US Attorney's Office.
I have made it clear to Lange and Garber that making sure they go to jail will be a fulltime job for me for a while. Not a single investor was funded, you are right and not a single investor got their money back UNLESS JPO Title hasn't transferred the money already. Slim to none on that anyway.
Personally I have lost a lot of money on land deposits and unfortunately so will my investors. I have not heard of anyone down here selling foreclosures through Bill Lange though and I have not heard of any new seminars locally. As you said, Lange shut his offices down last week and C & W fired everyone on Friday of last week as well.
At this point I think I have the invesigation covered for everyone. The US DOJ will report them to the SEC and hopefully strip Garber of all Bar licensing. I am certain Garber sent the money to Lange...I tracked Garber down at his own house to confirm that. Garber's funds were frozen of $1.5 million when there should have been over $40 million in the account.
My question is, does Lange still have it or is it gone to stock market trading?
Developer · Santa Clarita, CA · Member since 2008 · 15k+ posts · 10k+ votes
17y
This is exactly why I have advised many clients and others over the last few years to stay away or at least be very carefull dealing with any "Go Zone" opportunities.
These are very similar to loan modification services - Almost all are frauds and scams!
They use techniques like the huge depreciation deductions you will recieve to mask the fact that the deal itself is no good without rent guarantees and depreciation deductions.
Real Estate Investor · the villages, FL · Member since 2008 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
17y
Scott,
If you don't have my files , let me know. I'm in Dallas for a couple more days, But I have the new cell # for Lange as of last friday , back at my home. You seem to have done a lot of work on this. Are you familiar with the MN attorney that is also involved somehow? He was trying to fund some of the Blue Oak deals, but I don't think that happened.
I'm receiving invitations to foreclosure seminars from the same group that originally hooked me into the go zone crap. They are out of cape coral, and you know them. I don't know what they are using for financing. Rich.
Real Estate Investor · Fort Myers, FL · Member since 2008 · 115 posts · 27 votes
17y
Nationwide: I somewhat resent your statement. Understand this: The integrity of our industry has declined over the last 5 years. Why? Because fraud is being committed all over the country. In fact, isn't CA the leading state in mortgage fraud? I'm not trying to pick an argument with you, but the fact is that there is a black eye surrounding our industry and it is up to all of us to improve that integrity.
The go zone, if done correctly, and in the right area is a very very very good investment, especially to those with passive income and heavy income tax liability over the last 5 years. Additionally, if you are in the right area, your competition is low due to the destroyed housing inventory.
I did a lot of good business in the Go Zone, but have also fallen victim to uncontrollable circumstances, such as sheister builders and so called lenders. In fact one of the builders that got me was a county manager for a certain area of Michigan! Who woulda thought?! Don't tell me that you have never been screwed over before in this industry.
Anyway, I feel ya though. If you have good stuff where you are at in CA, no need to get involved in other stuff, but don't stygmatize the Go Zone with no reason.
Let's all collectively try to make real estate a better industry.
Real Estate Investor · sydney, nsw · Member since 2009 · 74 posts · 7 votes
17y
hi all
I have been reading up on shopping centers and is this harbor funding group a group that was selling and buying shopping centers they have about 15 in a website I read on shopping center trading
not sure if its the same group
if it is will those centers come back on the market whats the view here
anyone any ideas
Developer · Santa Clarita, CA · Member since 2008 · 15k+ posts · 10k+ votes
17y
Originally posted by Scott Allan:
Nationwide: I somewhat resent your statement.
Why? Are you in charge of all Go Zone investments? Are you the official advocate for Go Zone investments? If not, my statements and analogies have nothing to do with you personally. Furthermore, I was very clear to say that not ALL go zone opportunities and those that present them are bad, but MOST. Just the same, MOST (not ALL) loan mod companies are scams.
Originally posted by Scott Allan:
The integrity of our industry has declined over the last 5 years. Why? Because fraud is being committed all over the country. In fact, isn't CA the leading state in mortgage fraud?
The integrity of many industries is tarnished by crooks and irresponsible business practices - take contractors for an example. I am not sure if your statement that CA leads the way for fraud in RE transactions and you may be correct, but what doe sthat have to do with the go zone and this topic? NOTHING. You simply want to attack CA because I reside here? That seems petty to me.
Appears to be.
Who says, you? While I agree I would love to improve the "black eye", it is NOT my responsibility as I did not create it. I operate a legit, moral, and ethical business and did nothing but better the investor image already. Placing this burden on my shoulders and that of others like me may be too much to bear.
I agree it CAN be a good if not great investment if done right and for some investors, not all. Point is, many sellers of go zone opps. promise these huge tax incentives that many buyers are not allowed or qualified to use. Unless you have enough passive income to offset, passive losses do you no good. Of course you could be a RE professional (as classified by the IRS) allowing unlimited write-offs against both passive and earned income, but less people who are investors qualify for this distinction.
Congrats on some of your successes, that is comendable! Getting burned by some builders and lenders is just one of my points for people to watch out for in the go zone area.
Bottom line, I think you took my original post on go zone investing TOO persoanlly as I was not attcking you or all go zone investments. Simply posting a warning for all the newer and less educated RE investors who may be their next victim.
BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes
17y
Guys - move on please. There's no reason this discussion needs to devolve into an argument. Please get back to the topic at hand, Harbor Funding Group. Thanks.