Article Courtesy of ABC Action News
Published July 10, 2008
Brett Hawker and his
wife, Jenny Lea, started Condo Management Solutions in November of 2005,
according to Florida state records. Documents obtained by the ABC
Action News Investigators indicate that the couple managed at least 65
condominiums in Tampa and Orlando. However, two people who work in bay
area real estate and property management say that the Hawkers might have,
at one point, managed at least 130 properties, and as many as 200.
In a telephone conversation with Matthew Schwartz, Jenny Hawker claimed
that the couple only managed 30 units. Record show that the Hawkers ran
the business out of their bay area home.
Investigators with the Florida Department of Business and Professional
Regulation say the Hawkers are not licensed to conduct the type of
business they were running. The DBPR first received an anonymous
complaint in January of 2007 alleging that the business was not licensed.
In July, 2007, the state sent the Hawkers a “Cease and Desist” letter.
However, according to eight condominium owners in four states, the Hawkers
continued to do business for nearly a year after the “Cease and
Desist” was sent to them.
Jenny Hawker told Matthew Schwartz, “We didn’t know we had to be
licensed. We do take full responsibility. It’s our fault.” But Mrs.
Hawker blamed some condominium owners for the problems, saying she and her
husband are owed money as well, by condo owners who went into foreclosure
and never paid the Hawkers for managing their units. She said she and her
husband are going into bankruptcy.
|