Plumb Place: The Bullshit STILL Continues.
This is my eighth post trying to save Plumb Place.
This past Friday, Michael wrote me:
Today the realtor replied to me that, because one person has been trying to buy this for several months, “the seller feels somewhat loyal to them”.
I was in utter disbelief. Seller feels loyal to one offer?!?! If that is true, it stinks of corruption.
This ‘one offer’ is from Eli Fowler. His dad is the judge who decreed that Plumb Place could be sold for the first time in its 150-year history.
Eli made his offer in December. But…drum roll, please…he attached a zoning contingency to the offer.
At the zoning hearing in March? The issue was tabled.
At the zoning hearing in April? The request was denied.
So, Eli filed an appeal. This will be heard this May. (Note: Eli has now withdrawn the contingency on his offer. He has not withdrawn his appeal.)
In short, the SIX MONTH delay is 100% due to Eli tacking on a contingency. But the listing agent, Becky, feels loyal to him as a result? And has been telling all subsequent interested parties that offers are not being accepted?
WTF????????
Today, Morgan wrote in that the listing agent will not return his calls.
I previously posted about other prospective buyers who were rebuffed by Becky.
And how many other prospective buyers were rebuffed but did not reach out to me?
Also, what was the point of even having the house finally listed on MLS (multiple listing service, which is the standard for selling a property), only to then automatically reject all offers?
WTF????????
It is also my understanding that the flurry of new offers each exceed Eli’s offer. The money from the sale will be used by a new board to benefit women in need in the city. How can anybody work to short-change this effort? It all just makes me ill.
As I have stated previously, we are all witness to a house being stolen in plain sight. To benefit one person.
Last week, I spoke with the de facto owner, the receiver Kevin Flott. When I told him that Becky was telling people that no offers were being accepted, he replied: “I was not informed about that.” He later asked that offers be made directly to him.
THE BIG QUESTION: If Kevin did not authorize Becky to reject all offers, who did? As I understand it, Kevin is the only person with the authority to do so.
The number of Kevin’s bank is: 620 475 3213.
Or email him: kflott@bankcsb.biz
He’s the sole person who might make things right.
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Kevin Flott has been very quick to respond to questions. Kevin also needs to understand that if he has a listing contract, in most states that makes the agent your agent with fiduciary responsibilities. That means Becky is supposed to be working in the best interest of the bank since they are her client. As a transaction broker, which it would be VERY rare for anyone to list with an agent as only a transaction broker unless they already have a buyer lined up and it’s a slam dunk. Mr. Flott and the bank has a couple of courses of action or both if he so chooses:
1. file a complaint with the National Association of Realtors
2. file a complaint with the Kansas Real Estate Commission.
If this were my property, I would do both.
Thank you, Patrick.
I did file a complaint against Becky with the Kansas Real Estate Commission.
Since Kevin has said buyers can contact him directly with offers I would say this property is NOT under contract. Simply that an offer has been made.
From what I am reading it sounds like Becky is blocking all other offers; not passing them on to Kevin and discouraging those interested from even making an offer. If true, that doesn’t sound legal or ethical.
Thanks for the updates, Ross! You’re the best neighbor a house could have!
How can this be legal? I can’t say whom to go to, if you go to the Bar Association, they probably won’t go against a judge. I know, I had a legal issue with an attorney, and I reached out to everyone for help, and no one would go against a colleague. Maybe your state’s Attorney General? And the state or county Board of Realtors?
Michael, I talked with a local lawyer about my filing a lawsuit. She laughed. “Not a single lawyer is going to go after Judge Fowler, or his son, in this city.”
What a surprise. But i’m sure there is someone to report such malfeasance to.
Then you get a lawyer from outside the city and you change the venue too.
But the least that can be done is to turn over the log and expose the rot. Since the Emporia Gazette has tragically dropped the ball, what about you? You are very eloquent. How about writing up an op ed piece with all of the details and submitting it to anyone and everyone? I’d love to see this go viral on the Huffington Post.
Most charlatans rely on peoples’ lack of engagement in order to conduct such con games. Emporia is very lucky to have as one of it’s citizens one who is not only observant, but also willing to speak out against such shenanigans.
I don’t know if it will make any difference, Paul. It’s hard to fight powerful people.
She should be reported to the Kansas real estate board. What she is doing is illegal.
I did file a complaint, Jane.
Why isn’t the Emporia Gazette doing a feature article on all of this bullshit? Shouldn’t the people of Emporia know exactly what is going on to block any legitimate buyer from making an offer higher than Eli’s low ball “steal”? Are they complicit as well?
Taking a page out of the follow the money playbook, this is what I found online in public records:
Eli started a business called Hometown Management LLC August, 18, 2021 and listed 711 Rural St as the business address. This address was sold in May of 2021. Then it was listed for sale Apr 1 2022 (agent Becky Baumgardner) and then listed as pending sale the same day. This is on Trulia and Zillow. Realtor dot com shows it as being listed March 31, listing removed Apr 1, then being relisted on Apr 22 and then removed on Apr 23. I have no idea if Eli owns this property or not but it is his business address. Hometown Management LLC also has a P.O. Box. I doubt Eli would use a business address for a property he does not own. I don’t know what all of the listing and withdrawing means. Is he selling this property to fund buying Plumb Place? If he uses Plumb Place as his new business address, then it will have to be rezoned from residential to business no matter what he does with the property.
I have no idea what Hometown Management LLC does, what kind of business it is.
What I do know is that if Becky is supposed to be working for the bank to sell the house, everything she is doing to protect Eli’s bid and make sure he is the only offer is some sort of violation, if only of ethics, and should be reported to KREC. If she works for the bank her loyalty should be to the bank and her job is to bring every offer to the bank to get them the HIGHEST offer.
I think Kevin Flott should fire her if she is supposed to be working for him.
And all this should be a feature article on the front page of the Emporia Gazette. They did articles on Preston Plum, two on the auction, gave Eli a feature on March 5 and then reported on the zoning committee on March 18. There has been silence ever since as far as I can tell.
Mary, I contacted a Gazette reporter last week. They did not respond. I will contact another this week.
“Today the realtor replied to me that, because one person has been trying to buy this for several months, ‘the seller feels somewhat loyal to them’.”
If it is the seller rather than the realtor, who feels some loyalty then why is the seller accepting additional offers directly? Does she not know that he is accepting offers directly? Why would he not have conveyed this loyalty himself?
Yes, Mr. Flott should fire her. She has already shown herself to be unethical and incompetent–at least compared to the standards of the highly ethical and proficient real-estate company I worked for. And the newspaper should overcome any embarrassment it might face over its prior cheerleading and scoop itself with an expose of the ongoing chicanery underpinning this deal.
It appears to be that Becky likes Eli, and is protecting his interest, to the point of rejecting all others offers.
Again, when I brought the latter to the attention of the de facto owner, Kevin Flott, he replied: “I was not informed about that.”
Eli and Becky sat together at the last zoning meeting, and left together. And Becky has been the listing agent for other Eli properties.
Today, Old House Dreams removed Becky as the contact agent, and referred readers to the comments where Mr. Flott’s contact info is given. This is extraordinary.
Becky has been working with Eli regarding his business, Hometown Management LLC. She is either helping him buy the business address on Rural St or helping him sell it. Maybe she did both. It was bought in May of 2021 and had been listed twice for sale this past month. She is listed as the agent for the recent sale.
I don’t know what Hometown Management LLC does but if it involves the services of a realtor, maybe Becky and Eli have some sort of business arrangement. There is no way to tell, at least not online with public records.
Follow the money, as they say, and there is a lot of money to follow in a lot of different directions.
Lyon County, KS, property records are online at https://qpublic.schneidercorp.com. I looked up 711 Rural Street, as well as 705 Rural, which is included with the sale of 711. No results. Tried 703 Rural, which worked and brought up a report on the property, including the owner’s name. I switched to the Map view, clicked on 705/711, and again, nothing. Every property on the street is in the database, except 705/711. Interesting.
Interesting. Realtor dot com now shows the property under contract. Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t. It’s been listed and withdrawn within 24 hours twice in April.
I tried property records using the parcel number but also couldn’t find anything without paying for it, which I refuse to do. This is what comes of outsourcing.
Parcel Number: EM00155
Time was I could go down to our county office and pull up microfiche to search the alias for owners of businesses. The property tax records were online with owners and addresses but no phone numbers. If I couldn’t get anything from a phone book or online, I would send a letter. I have a lot of absent landlords in my neighborhood that don’t always keep good tabs on their property or their tenants.
Interesting 622 Union St is just up the street on the other side from Plum Place.
It sold September 1, 2021.
Seller? Sunflower Association of Realtors
Does that look familiar?
Plump Place? Sunflower Association of Realtors
Here is the Secretary of State’s listing for Hometown Management LLC:
https://www.kansas.gov/bess/flow/main?execution=e1s5
Eli Fowler’s name also shows up in connection with Stavis Enterprises LLC, an out-of-state business as well:
https://www.kansas.gov/bess/flow/main?execution=e1s6
The filing for Stavis Enterprises is dated a little over a month after Hometown Management’s filing. Apparently Eli Fwler, Hometown Management and Stavis Enterprises all reside at 711 Rural Street. Sounds like a frathouse.
Stavis Enterprises is the owner of 622 Union Street.
Stavis Enterprises LLC is also Eli Fowler. It is a Foreign LTD Liability Company, whatever that is.
https://www.bizapedia.com/ks/stavis-enterprises-llc.html
https://www.bizapedia.com/ks/hometown-management-llc.html
The filing date is September, 20, 2021, about a month after Hometown Management LLC and Eli is the registered agent for both but Kyle Davis is the mailing address for Stavis Enterprises; 1933 Hooker St., Denver, CO 80204.
This Kyle Davis of Denver, CO is a landscape architect who also lists Distressed Real Estate Working Group, and Pete Asmus’ real estate networking group (investor strategies). Pete Asmus is a real estate investor who specializes in marketing, branding, and raising capital. This sounds like those seminars you go to to learn how to flip properties to make millions and retire at 40.
http://peteasmus.brandyourself.com/
That would make sense if Rural St was the first or second link in a series of flips. Plumb Place would be quite the feather in a portfolio. I find whenever a property or business is taken over by an investment company, it quickly deteriorates and then the carcass is sold off, or sometimes condemned and razed, after being sold off for parts.
Kyle Davis spent some time living in Lawrence, KS. It that possibly where he and Eli met? He’s 35, about the same age as Eli.
Apparently Kyle Davis is also the agent for Stavis Enterprises LLC
https://www.bizapedia.com/co/stavis-enterprises-llc.html
Filed in Colorado August 9, 2021.
August seems to have come up a lot. Both Stavis and Hometown Management both created in August. What this in anticipation of Plumb Place going on the market?
Ross, I emailed Kevin Flott and begged him to listen to you about the nonsense going on. I told him he is the only one that can make this right. I don’t know if it will help but it can’t hurt to try.
Thank you, Dan. Every effort helps.
WTF is right. I can’t offer any helpful suggestions, but just pray Plumb Place will be saved by people who care about old houses and NOT Eli.
Maybe it’s a dumb idea, but if the Gazette won’t write anything… maybe it’s time to find an Emporia Facebook group and put your own message out. It might do nothing… or it might make a ruckus. Either way, sending you and the Plumb house good vibes and hopeful it works out!
Well well, it’s unreal, but Becky just answered my call! My first time getting through. She said there have been multiple offers. She also said because the first offer has a contingency attached, they are still accepting other offers and no offer has been chosen yet. I know there are people interested with the same desire as me to save and restore the building and they have deeper pockets than me, so I hope the person with the best intentions is able to buy the property.
Don’t deal with Becky.
Have your realtor deal directly with Kevin. If you don’t have a realtor, call Lacie.
Lacie is really nice. We talked extensively and I started the process but after going over the finances with my credit union and a refinance company it was agreed that my pockets weren’t going to be deep enough.
I think the property is easily worth $300-350,000 and in pretty good shape. With some sensitive renovations and upgrade it would likely be worth much more. The parcel is five lots.
I love the publicity for the house (it’s how I found it) but the more people who put in offers, the less likely I can buy it 🤣😭. I want this house so badly I dream about it at night.
I’ve been working with Becky on this property since early last week. I haven’t had any of these same issues y’all are experiencing, she has been incredibly helpful and informative. I also spoke to Kevin last Tuesday (4/26). He was responsive and informative too, neither one told me there weren’t any more offers allowed, as of 4/26 they both said they would take backup offers. There was an accepted contract that they are now working to get out of. Both of them gave me suggestions for how I can make my offer more enticing. Now y’all are making me nervous 🤣 I don’t have deep pockets, but I definitely have a solid, quality offer. I am obsessed with this house, I’ve spent the last 8 days pouring over the history of the home, Emporia, 1900s architecture, interiors, period appropriate restorations…. I need this house!
If I were you, I would work with Lacie and make your offer directly to Kevin Flott.
A solid, quality offer is good. The first offer with first right of refusal means he has to beat any subsequent offers so the closer to asking or over you can go, the better. Please read all of the posts and comments as there is a lot of information on the house so you can avoid rumors and “Debbie Downers” trying to dissuade you. You would also make yourself familiar with the history of the house.
I’ve been working with a realtor there for over a week 🙂 I actually spoke to Kevin before his information made it on this blog. The offers that Kevin gets are going to Becky anyways. But my experience with her has been nothing but positive and helpful. And I agree about digging into the history, I’ve been learning everything I can since I found the house last Tuesday. I’m obsessed with it 🥰 I did a zoom walkthrough over the weekend, and we’re flying in Friday to see it in person.
Thank you, Ashley.
About a week ago there appears to have a huge change regarding the listing agent.
She stopped telling prospective buyers that no offers were being considered, and she actually started showing the house!
I keep hearing that Kevin, too, has been great to work with and highly responsive!
So, for the first time in SIX MONTHS, I feel a sense of hope that at last, at last, Plumb Place is being properly handled.
I hope they are not just putting on a show.
I talked/emailed with Mr. Flott today at the bank and walked thru what my thoughts were on the property and have reached out to Laci about doing a walk through survey Saturday morning. Looks like the house is getting some real action going which is great~