Orange County realtor lied to clients, stole their money, and admitted to massive Ponzi scheme

Twenty-four year member of the Orange County Association of realtors, David R. Sparks, has admitted to lying to clients to cover up his fraud and theft in a $4,300,000 Ponzi scheme.

Irvine Home Address … 4651 LOCKHAVEN Cir Irvine, CA 92604

Resale Home Price …… $575,000

I will burn their souls

In the flames of hell

Brutal display of force

To slaughter the bastards

Brutal display of power

That will condemn them forever

Beheading false prophets

I will go around the world

Beheading false prophets

Undercroft — False Prophets

In every profession or organization there are a few bad apples. The behavior of a few does not necessarily reflect the values and actions of the many. Today we have the story of one really bad apple in an organization already rotting from within.

Irvine real estate broker admits $4.3 million Ponzi scam

By BRIAN MARTINEZ — THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Published: June 8, 2011 — Updated: 2:47 p.m.

IRVINE – Beware of false profits.

As I have stated on many occasions, chasing appreciation is a fool's errand. Unlike realtors who will tell anyone who will listen that prices only go up, I have been telling people to pay attention to the cashflow. That's where the real value is.

Chasing appreciation is part of today's story. The twenty-four year member of the Orange County Association of realtors made a massive bet on appreciation in rural Utah at the peak of the housing bubble in 2005. Given that he is a realtor, his poor judgment on the housing market is understandable, but the deception and fraud that followed is truly remarkable.

Do you think OCAr will bring him up on ethics charges? He is still a member, apparently in good standing. Also, His MLS access is still working.

Ordinarily, I don't write about individuals, but like Michael Pines, he has achieved infamy without my help, and there is no way to tell the story without mentioning who he is.

David R. Sparks – a veteran real estate broker, former Irvine Planning Commissioner and active church-member – defrauded 34 friends, relatives and clients of $4,265,091 with an elaborate Ponzi-style investing scheme starting in 2007.

The 50-year-old Irvine family man cooperated with the FBI, confessed his crimes and agreed to plea guilty to felony interstate wire fraud, according to documents filed this week in Federal court in Santa Ana by the local U.S. Attorney’s Office.

At least one realtor is taking responsibility for his false representations about real estate appreciation.

Details from his signed plea agreement, two uncontested civil lawsuits and victim statements to The Register paint a picture of Sparks as a charming man and talented liar who claimed to be buying, rehabbing and selling foreclosed or pre-foreclosure homes that he never actually purchased.

Mr. Martinez, the reporter for the OC Register, should be careful when calling a realtor a liar.

  1. He forged bank documents,
  2. used non-existent escrow companies,
  3. provided bogus status updates and
  4. falsely reported significant profits, victims said.

If they did not want to reinvest their money with him, Sparks made up excuses for why he could not give it back.

As an upstanding member of the Orange County Association of realtors since 1987, Mr. Sparks embodies the character and ethics many have come to expect from realtors. The following is from his Active Rain profile:

I have been a full-time, professional REALTOR® since 1987 specializing in the sales and marketing of homes in Orange County, Long Beach and Coastal San Diego County. As a licensed broker, I am the owner of Sparks Realty, Inc.

Honest and full of integrity, I work to achieve a win/win situation in my transactions. While always keeping my clients' best interests in the forefront, I know that a truly successful transaction is one in which everyone feels as though they were treated fairly. As an excellent and open communicator, I owe much of my success to the fact that my clients always know exactly what is happening with their sale or purchase. By keeping everyone fully informed at every step, I makes the real estate process easy and stress-free. My constant accessibility as well as my knowledge of the industry and its affiliated services makes me the perfect choice for the real estate consumer interested in total service.

If you are seeking an honest real estate professional who is committed to your satisfaction and peace of mind, call Dave Sparks today.

The bold text is not added by me for emphasis. That was from Mr. Sparks. His honesty and integrity are beyond reproach since he is a realtor.

“We look forward to serving screwing you, your friends and your family for many years to come.”

Back to the OC Register article:

“I am glad he admitted to it but I am sorry I was a part of this,” said victim Aggie Kobrin of Irvine. “I am still very angry and very disappointed and that will stay with me a long time.”

The defendant started speculative real estate investing in the late 1980s, according to the plea agreement. In 2005, he believed that real property in Utah’s Cedar City was likely to see a dramatic increase in value, so he used his own funds and investor cash to buy 35 properties for approximately $7 million in Utah and California, the document says.

i give the guy credit for the courage to act on his analysis. Of course, he was as wrong as wrong gets, and he lost everything, and took his investor's money down the drain with him.

By 2007, the rents Sparks was collecting from the properties were no longer sufficient to cover the debt service.

Let's be real; the rents never covered the debt service. Cashflow positive properties were practically non-existent in 2005. By 2007, he ran out of whatever cash he had, and rather than admit defeat, he opted to commit fraud.

There must have been a moment only Mr. Sparks will understand when he realized he made a huge mistake. At that point, probably when the cash ran out and the market was plummeting, he had to make a choice. He could either admit his failure, tell his investors he lost their money, and give them back whatever he still had, or he could start a Ponzi scheme, delay the Day of Reckoning, and pray for a miracle. He chose the latter.

This was a choice. The twenty-four year member of Orange County Association of realtors had other options, and he chose to lie, cheat, and steal.

Sparks began soliciting cash from investors to cover the debts – deliberately lying to them by telling them the funds would be used to buy new properties. To back up his lies to investors, Sparks created false paperwork.

Sparks took in about $4.8 million under the false pretenses. He spent about $500,000 on “lulling payments” to the investors and about $4.3 million on his debt, the plea agreement states.

Lulling payments are money given to investors to placate their worries and buy time.

One thing that isn't clear to me is where the $4.3 million went. The debt service on $7 million in real estate over a few years wouldn't be more than $1.5 million at hard-money rates. Where is the rest of the money?

Sparks has agreed to pay the $4.3 million as restitution. That figure does not include any taxes the victims paid on the false profits, the costs incurred in the ordeal or interest payments and late fees promised in the investment agreements. Victims will have to seek reimbursement for that money via civil lawsuits.

Some assets are to be transferred to the United States government to liquidate. If his current assets and cash can’t cover the restitution, he will presumably have to pay the rest of it back from his earnings once he gets out of prison, if he goes to prison.

Since he is a member of the Orange County Association of realtors, he shouldn't have any problem finding clients willing to work with him when he gets out.

There is no minimum sentence for the Sparks’ crime and the maximum prison time he could get is 20 years. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the plea deal agreed to recommend the lower end of that range, but that is ultimately up to the judge.

“Mr. Sparks’ agreement to plead guilty is an important step in his accepting responsibility for his fraudulent conduct,” Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Stolper said.

The guilty plea will also help his victims win their civil lawsuits against this member of the Orange County Association of realtors since 1987.

Two lawsuits were already filed in January – one by a 22-year friend of Sparks from Santa Ana and one by a married couple from Wisconsin. Sparks never responded to the courts, which handed the plaintiffs default judgments.

The FBI’s investigation did not find any evidence that Sparks is in possession of a large sum of money. But some victims say they still believe Sparks has money stashed away somewhere because he was “cheap” and didn’t like to spend money.

The fact that so much money is unaccounted for does raise suspicion.

The FBI began investigating Sparks in late January. Sparks resigned from the Irvine Planning Commission on Feb. 8.

Irvine City Councilman Steven Choi appointed Sparks to Irvine’s Planning Commission in December 2008. Sparks’ resignation letter to the city said the decision came “after careful consideration” and “discussions” with Choi but it did not give a reason for resigning.

Choi said Sparks told him he could not serve any longer because of personal business matters.

While running a Ponzi scheme, he served on the Irvine planning commission. Nice.

“This is a shock, because he appeared to me to be an honest man, and sincere,” Choi said. “I never expected he was involved in anything like this. It is very unfortunate.”

Choi said he first met Sparks when Sparks’ children – who are now adults – were coming to the Choi family’s tutoring center and the two became friends. He appointed the real estate broker to the Irvine Planning Commission because Sparks communicated that he had experience in real estate development out of state and because he had political experience as president of Irvine Republican Council.

“I haven’t analyzed his voting record, but as far as I know he did a good job as a commissioner and did not do anything wrong involving the city,” Choi said.

Fortunately, planning commission decisions do not manage budgets or expenditures.

The ordeal has caused financial hardship to several Orange County residents who say they personally trusted Sparks.

Gary Schultz of Huntington Beach and his father gave Sparks a combined $52,500 toward the purchase of three homes in the San Francisco area. Schultz knew Sparks from attending Westminster High School together.

He’s “a face-to-face guy” who is so cheery and nice that “you let your guard down around him,” Schultz said. He comes across like “Mr. Rogers,” but he is the “worst of the worst,” Schultz said.

Robert Edwin Anslow of Santa Ana, who was friends with Sparks for 22 years, provided $200,000 in 2007 for him to use toward the purchase, rehab and sale of a home in Simi Valley. Sparks reported that he purchased the property for $700,000 in 2007 and sold it for $910,000 in 2008. After allocating $64,000 in profit to Anslow, he talked him into reinvesting all of the money as an unsecured loan to Sparks for future investing. The problem: Sparks never bought or sold the Simi Valley home.

Later, when Anslow sought his money in accordance with the written agreement, he encountered resistance. After pressuring Sparks, he finally got back $100,000. Sparks defaulted on the other $100,000, as well as the interest and profit.

“He has put me in an extremely precarious financial situation,” Anslow said.

Sparks is president of several business entities, including Irvine-based Sparks Realty & Investment Inc. and the Nevada-based Wellington Grant Ltd. that he used in the fraud.

Sparks is also a twenty-four year member of the Orange County Association of realtors. Be careful who you trust these days.

Mortgage debt nearly three times the purchase price

The owners of today's featured property paid $199,000 on 9/13/1988, and now they have a $555,000 first mortgage. Hmmm… I think that qualifies as HELOC abuse.

  • My records don't go back all the way to their original purchase-money mortgage, but on 6/3/1998 they had increased their first mortgage to $221,250 which is $22,250 more than they paid.
  • On 8/4/1998 they obtained a $37,600 HELOC.
  • On 10/20/1999 they opened a $100,000 HELOC.
  • On 6/30/2000 they got a $90,000 HELOC.
  • On 11/5/2002 they refinanced the first mortgage for $318,000 and obtained a $62,000 HELOC.
  • On 9/9/2003 they refinanced with a $312,000 first mortgage and on 9/20/2004 they got a $250,000 HELOC.
  • On 6/30/2005 they refinanced with a $550,000 first mortgage.
  • Total mortgage equity withdrawal is at least $351,000, and if they put 20% down, the number is closer to $390,000.

Here they are selling twenty-three years after buying the property — only one year less than Ponzi scheme operator David R. Sparks was a member of the Orange County Association of realtors — and they are going to be a short sale.

Irvine House Address … 4651 LOCKHAVEN Cir Irvine, CA 92604

Resale House Price …… $575,000

House Purchase Price … $199,000

House Purchase Date …. 9/13/1988

Net Gain (Loss) ………. $341,500

Percent Change ………. 171.6%

Annual Appreciation … 4.7%

Cost of House Ownership

————————————————-

$575,000 ………. Asking Price

$115,000 ………. 20% Down Conventional

4.49% …………… Mortgage Interest Rate

$460,000 ………. 30-Year Mortgage

$99,772 ………. Income Requirement

$2,328 ………. Monthly Mortgage Payment

$498 ………. Property Tax (@1.04%)

$0 ………. Special Taxes and Levies (Mello Roos)

$120 ………. Homeowners Insurance (@ 0.25%)

$0 ………. Private Mortgage Insurance

$0 ………. Homeowners Association Fees

============================================

$2,946 ………. Monthly Cash Outlays

-$388 ………. Tax Savings (% of Interest and Property Tax)

-$607 ………. Equity Hidden in Payment (Amortization)

$191 ………. Lost Income to Down Payment (net of taxes)

$164 ………. Maintenance and Replacement Reserves

============================================

$2,306 ………. Monthly Cost of Ownership

Cash Acquisition Demands

——————————————————————————

$5,750 ………. Furnishing and Move In @1%

$5,750 ………. Closing Costs @1%

$4,600 ………… Interest Points @1% of Loan

$115,000 ………. Down Payment

============================================

$131,100 ………. Total Cash Costs

$35,300 ………… Emergency Cash Reserves

============================================

$166,400 ………. Total Savings Needed

Property Details for 4651 LOCKHAVEN Cir Irvine, CA 92604

——————————————————————————

Beds: 4

Baths: 3

Sq. Ft.: 2000

$288/SF

Property Type: Residential, Single Family

Style: Two Level, Mediterranean

View: Fields

Year Built: 1972

Community: El Camino Real

County: Orange

MLS#: S659969

Source: SoCalMLS

Status: Active

——————————————————————————

Mediteranian style interior, corner lot . 2 story w/ 2nd floor. Hardwood floor upstairs master suite , cranit counter top. Jacuzzi tub custom built, double pain windows throughout the home, upstairs patio and much more. could also be a bonus room-inlaw, another master bedroom with full bath, downstais with 3 additional rooms and 2 full bath, itilian tile floor downstairs, Firplace, carpet in rooms. 2 separate airconditon unit, for up/down lots of mature fruits trees, large back yard. Close to shops parks, Schools. Library, Fwy 5/405. Property sold as-is This is a HAFA SHORT SALE worth the waite

Mediteranian? cranit? downstais? itilian? waite? Firplace? double pain windows?

This has been a bad week for the Orange County Association of realtors.

57 thoughts on “Orange County realtor lied to clients, stole their money, and admitted to massive Ponzi scheme

  1. winstongator

    I think you would agree that there are some places where appreciation from today is possible: if you can pay cash at auctions, buying distressed REOs, and more prevalent in my area for 300-700k properties are corporate re-locations that just want to get properties sold. Even then, if I was not going to live in those properties (or have a family member occupy them) I would make sure they were at least cash-flow neutral, and probably only go for them if they were cash-flow positive. The NC market I live in and my parents market in FL both have fairly strong rental markets, and potentially cash-flow positive properties.

    Why didn’t he just dump the properties in 2007? Had he heloc’d them?

    You should be very careful investing in one-man-shows. In bigger funds, there is a separate custodian of the funds and manager of the funds. You also want an external auditor. Smaller funds may not do that, so you’ll want extra documentation. It should have been easy enough to take the front page of the deed, with stamps, scanned and inserted into your reports, or MLS reports. Investors could have Zillow’d the properties to see if they had sold (I don’t know if the guy found properties that matched his buy/sell times he told his investors, but that would be even more devious).

    1. IrvineRenter

      “Why didn’t he just dump the properties in 2007? Had he heloc’d them?”

      Since he bought at the peak with lots of debt, if he would have tried to sell in the weakening market of 2007, he would have lost whatever equity he had. He probably felt he had little to lose by buying time.

    2. IrvineRenter

      BTW, anyone who wants to see what Apple Blossom Arbitrage current owns can check the Clark County Assessor’s site

      Type “apple blossom” in the last name blank.

      Seven of those properties are currently in escrow, so the list will shrink over the next three weeks or until I buy more.

      1. Walter

        Don’t worry, I trust you.
        You are not a member of the Orange County Association of realtors after all.

        1. HydroCabron

          Lately I trust people more because I know they are probably not members of the Orange County Association of Realtors.

          (I’m really loving this whole thing. The Mao Stalin cartoons two days ago were richly deserved.)

      2. winstongator

        I don’t have money with you, but I would have trusted you…trust but verify. The fact that you quickly highlighted that to an anonymous blog commenter means that you might do a little more for an actual investor.

        I like that Clark Cty has free pdfs of the documents. I’ve seen a couple counties where it is hard to get the docs.

        It’s almost unbearable to check addresses in satellite view of Vegas. The start white of the desert is extremely bright.

    1. Perspective

      It’s also not a “profession,” unless we can call auto sales people “professionals”?

    2. AZDavidPhx

      You mean 3 weeks of “r”ealtor academy and some fancy business cards with your glamour photo does not entitle you to be called a “Professional”? Tough crowd!

  2. AZDavidPhx

    IrvineRenter, I am disappointed in you. Yes, Mr. Sparks may have lied –

    BUT!

    Did he lie knowingly?

    No, he could not have. He is bound by his “r”ealtor code of honor which forbids him from knowingly telling a lie. Yes, it may have been a Ponzi scheme, but there is no proof that he knowingly lied about it being a ponzi scheme. It is called “sales” – it was likely just a case of cute well-intended Puffery.

    As usual, you are reading way too much into things and in doing so, lowering your moral and ethical standards. Mr. Sparks should slap you with an OCAR grievance where you stand for lying about his lies you lying liar you.

    1. DS

      Could this story have come at a better time for IR? I doubt it. Perhaps the ethics committee has bigger fish to fry than the writer of a truthful, fact-driven blog?

      This makes me sick. Repeat after me, “I will not trust people based on their self-stated moral integrity.” It seems, the bigger the cross, the more I need to keep a hand on my wallet.

    2. DarthFerret

      Dave,

      Clearly, Mr. Sparks had a family to support when he un-knowingly lied to his clients. What about his children?! Think about the children!!!

      -Darth

      1. AZDavidPhx

        Precisely.

        In all of IrvineRenter’s ranting and raving about “r”ealtors – his blind rage and hatred of his fellow man ( and especially children ) has not allowed him find a deeper meaning in life and see what it is that really should matter: the children of “r”ealtors.

        These lying “r”ealtors are just trying to feed their family. Yes, it may be true that they feed their children by taking food out of the mouths of your children

        BUT!!

        They are hardworking liars and the extent to which they lie just shows their level of devotion to children. I respect that and I wish that Irvine Renter could as well.

        Clearly, Mr. Sparks was just trying to run a ponzi scheme so he could have lots of money to feed children and bake cookies for the Church bake-sale to raise funds for the children of Joplin Missouri.

  3. Jack

    In the name of the virgin mother, I hope you post ten stories a day just like this one, no matter the locale. This country is rife with ponzi saleswomen and men looking to move “transactions,” no matter how awful the property.

    From the OCAR website:

    “The term REALTOR® is a registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional, who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.”

    What a laugh. The only thing these fraudsters care about is transaction volume and 6% fee income. The ONLY thing.

    1. AZDavidPhx

      Yes! The strict code of ethics that says itis OK to pull a property off the MLS, relist it a day later, and then tell unsuspecting buyers that a hot property has just hit the market! It does not get any more strictly ethical than that!

    2. DarthFerret

      In the name of the virgin mother, I hope you post ten stories a day just like this one, no matter the locale. This country is rife with ponzi saleswomen and men looking to move “transactions,” no matter how awful the property.

      I second this motion! You could be the unofficial, unsanctioned (but highly effective) Inspector General for lying [r]ealtors everywhere! Have them quaking in their Gucci loafers and leased C-class Mercedes! Ohh, that would be just too rich!

      -Darth

  4. socalappraiser

    Does this story say that a Realtor is a liar and cheat? How can that be? They religiously send me useful refrigerator magnets and pads. It seems as if quite a few of the female agents also use their high school photos on their business cards and other advertising. As a smart Kiwi once told me “thats nothing more than mutton trying to come off as lamb, mate”. That line alone sums up what I and many people think of most of the profession and what they try to do on a daily basis.

  5. Baxter

    From a Google on this featured property address, it is interesting to note that the person who lived (lives?) there is also running a retirement planning and “lifetime income streams” business with the home as the business address. Hmmmm…

  6. *

    sparks lies and steals $4M from his clients and ocar keeps his account active and probably will not pursue him.

    but if you badmouth them and back it up with evidence, that’s ground for disciplinary action.

    without disciplinary action against sparks, ocar is clearly stating
    1) they have no issue with their members stealing from their clients (what’s wrong with breaking the law to make money?)
    2) they do have problems with anyone that hinders profitability, even if the criticisms are true.

    ocar/car/nar is slimey, a group of legalized organized criminals.

    1. TO Renter

      That observation is extra astute.

      In fact, how could any observation be more astute than that one?

  7. JFW

    Irvine Renter:
    Many people are working 12-15 hours per day to make payments on the property “Suzanne Researched.” They have no time to read your posts, so I prepared a summary of today’s post for them:

    Today, Irvine Renter told the OC ASSociation of Realtards:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_OyYzqjv-Y
    Best,
    Joe

  8. Josephine

    This is beautiful. On the heels of ocar wanting to discipline you, one of their own admits to lying in a major fraud/Ponzi scheme. Thanks for the story. Amusing, but sad for all those people he scammed. Maybe we should all write letters to ocar demanding they take action against this guy. LOL. Are you allowed to have a realtor license in jail or does that get revoked?

  9. Spellin Be Champeon

    “2 story w/ 2nd floor.”

    Wow, a 2 story house with a 2nd floor??!! Rare in this market…

  10. Woodbury Renter

    “Given that he is a realtor, his poor judgment on the housing market is understandable,…”

    IR, classic, way to slip that in there…gave me a good laughing fit on a gloomy morning.

    This is not a fair fight so maybe you’ll want to show a little mercy.

    1. HydroCabron

      I thought that was actually an even-handed treatment of the man. One should not ridicule poor understanding of the housing market in a realtor, because he is predisposed by his career choice toward such ignorance.

      Why mock a Bedouin who knows nothing of igloos?

  11. just some guy

    from the listing:

    “2 story w/ 2nd floor.” ZOMG!!! I have to go look at this place today!! I can’t believe a 2 story house would have a second floor!! Irvine must truly be a special place.

    ahahahahahhahahahahahhahahahahaha…….the listing agent is obviously a moron.

    1. anon

      Pretenders. As far as the eye can see. All willing to do absolutely anything to maintain the facade…

  12. Bobbie Lee Swagger

    Gee, a (nother) realtor to pick on .

    This is getting really old .

    Real estate salespeople , and NOT goldman (et al), are obviously the cause of the real estate debacle .

    Maybe you should aim your sights a little higher .

    1. IrvineRenter

      First, I don’t make the news, I only report it.

      Second, to quote John Rambo, “They drew first blood, not me.”

      1. bobbie lee swagger

        course , it’s nice to have a scapegoat when the one-story , 1,850 sq. ft. , 1973 home that YOU (and nobody else including the seller’s / your realtor) paid $700,000 for crashes to earth in a fall not unlike that of charlie sheen’s acting career

        i mean , it’s never my fault

      2. tlc8386

        What they really need to do is hire you to REFORM them since they have no clue how to fix anything themselves but to accuse you of hurting them–

        IR did nothing but report and rant after all this is a blog if there was no fraud there would be nothing to say–

        Goldman just marketed and sold the MBS–the public was fed the lie and bought multiple homes, heloc’d the ones they owned and over paid> RE agents filled out all the forms!! ect. ect. They were a big part in the game.

        Everyone bought the bridge to nowhere–

      3. covered

        It’s been awhile since I popped in IR but today was a good day in my neighborhood after I read your post!

    2. DarthFerret

      an [obvious] realtard: This is getting really old.

      Speak for yourself, [r]ealtor. IR has been dogging on banksters, sleazy mortgage slingers, greedy, pretentious loanowners, and lying, rodent [r]ealtors for 4+ years, and he has attracted a loyal following doing that. He has also been able to build a business, because of the respect that he has earned here on the IHB. Clearly, IR’s schtick is NOT getting old.

      -Darth

      P.S. I made (and then withdrew) an offer on a 3-BR Irvine condo in 2009, because I almost bought into the [r]ealtor and gummint hype about the subprime crash being contained and limited. Shortly after withdrawing my offer, I discovered the IHB. My offer on that condo was for $440K, and those units are listed today for $325K and falling. I figure that I am in debt to IR for more than I earn in a year and counting. I am not even close to thinking that his insights are “getting really old”.

      1. DarthFerret

        Correction, that was April 2008 that I made that offer. As in, 3 months before Lehman Bros.

        -Darth

  13. HydroCabron

    The 50-year-old Irvine family man … agreed to plea guilty to felony interstate wire fraud

    That word, “family”, has rhetorical power. It softens opposition to many arguments which have little support, and can often be employed on both sides of a given argument.

    Look for it here in the comments from time to time, particularly in explanations as to why certain places sell for 5x median income.

    For some reason, “family” means caring, nurturing, love, respect, sharing, goodness and niceness, as if families have wet furry noses and big cute eyes, spend most of their time building toys for children, live off milk and apples under the magical candy tree in a gingerbread cabin on marzipan lane, and will burst into dancing and four-part harmony if you throw them a penny.

    In reality, the worst neighbors I have had were families. Across the street, both sons, about 8 years apart, were drug dealers: just as the eldest left that profession, his little brother started high school and picked up the slack. This meant that for over a decade there were vehicles coming and going from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m., thanks to our neighbor’s family.

    Meanwhile, the neighbors over the north fence had two kids who installed outdoor speakers and
    cranked hard rock every moment their parents were gone – neighbors across the street from them gave up after 5 years and sold their house.

    Finally, over the east fence the son of that family took time off from his drunk-driving hobby one night to play with his .44 while intoxicated, and sent a slug through the wall toward our house, which fortunately ricocheted off a planter instead of coming in through our kitchen window.

    Ahh, life in a family neighborhood!

    1. Sac Boomer

      When last we chcked, Jeffery Daumer, Adolf Hitler and Osama Bin Laden all had families. It is ared herring to point out that some is a “family” man. We all are.

      SB

  14. newbie2008

    It’s said the scheme might be named after Ponzi, but it was perfected in Utah.

    Four million dollars is chum change with the WS fraud unless it’s my money. It seems like the more stolen the less likely for prison or jail time.

    IR,
    Remember what happen to John Rambo.

  15. DarthFerret

    IR,
    Remember what happen to John Rambo.

    He went on to make 2 (3?) sequels? 😀

    -Darth

  16. nefron

    Just want to know if it was an accident that today’s property was owned for the same amount of time as Mr. Sparks was a realtor, or if you looked until you found one as close to 24 years as you could get.

    THAT would be truly subtle and slightly wicked…and, a sublime choice!

  17. Jonathan Benya

    Just heard about the complaint from the Orange County Association of Realtors. Do they not understand how tha interwebs workz? Consider thanking them, you’ve just gained another reader/subscriber!

  18. Jaffo

    Sparks is the heart and soul of the Realtor® culture and, in fact, should be nominated Realtor® of the year!

  19. brianguy

    Wow, this rEaltor is an absolute functional illiterate. One of the worst I’ve seen, and in this market, on this home? All it’s missing is the ALL CAPS.

    It just keeps getting better.

  20. Jaffo Nerr

    Realtor® is a trademarked appellation for a member of a vile criminal enterprise of wanton psychopaths masquerading as a trade association.

    Remember, when you go outside, there are thousands of Realtor®s at large all over America, watching, waiting for the next opportunity, literally a vast army of criminally insane monsters who would rip out their own mothers’ livers if they could make a nickel doing it.

    No one is safe as long as even on Realtor® is at large.

  21. Stephen

    Oh please…..”A few bad apples”???? The RE industry is nothing but petty hucksterism and Sparks is just another sleazy, lying crook with a boxtop license. RE is the “Least prestigious occupation” (WSJ/Harris Poll – July 2009)

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