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Property Appraiser Gives Up License

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By SHANNON BEHNKEN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 27, 2007

TAMPA - The real estate appraiser involved in dozens of inflated home price transactions uncovered by The Tampa Tribune last year relinquished his professional license.

Ricardo Pride of Tampa voluntarily turned over his license this month, averting discipline from state regulators that could have included fines or the revocation of his real estate license.

The state investigation was opened as a result of the Tribune's October 2006 report that found 36 homes in working-class Pinellas County neighborhoods sold, on average, for $60,000 above the seller's asking price. The sellers received the original, lower asking price, and the rest of the money - at least $2 million collectively - was paid to two Tampa companies. In two cases, the money the company received was not disclosed to lenders on federal forms as required by law, the Tribune found.

Pride appraised the majority of properties and found the values to be at or near the inflated sales price.

Pride has not been charged with a crime, but the regulatory agency received much of its information from the FBI, which is investigating the series of deals involving several real estate professionals and investors.

As the real estate market slows, complaints against real estate professionals are on the rise. The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which investigated Pride's work for five months, is cracking down on the real estate professionals it regulates, said Sam Farkas, a spokesman for the agency.

'We are seeing a substantial increase in the amount of complaints and the amount of investigations we open,' Farkas said. 'And the cases are getting much more complicated. It's not just a buyer or seller against a Realtor or appraiser. Now, we're looking more at complicated financial dealings.'

While no charges have been filed against Pride, the state agency found for professional purposes that he was 'guilty of misrepresentation, concealment, false promises, false pretenses, dishonest conduct, culpable negligence, or breach of trust ...'

Specifically, the agency says Pride failed to back up his appraisal values with legitimate comparable sales and failed to disclose that the property was selling above the asking price or that a third party was to receive a large sum of money at closing.

Pride could not be reached for comment. His attorney, James R. Mitchell of Orlando's Baker & Hostetler, did not return a call for comment.

By voluntarily surrendering his license, Pride avoided the possibility of fines, up to $5,000 for each of the 29 counts against him, said Frank Gregoire, chairman of the Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board.

'Mr. Pride chose wisely,' Gregoire said. 'We're very pleased with the result in this case.'

It is unclear how many real estate appraisers voluntarily hand over their licenses or have them revoked each year, but Gregoire said he's seeing 20 to 50 cases come before the board for disciplinary action at the board's meeting every other month.

Farkas said there were 682 complaints filed with the agency in the 2006-07 fiscal year and 209 complaints filed in the past three months. Compare that to 225 complaints filed during the entire fiscal year of 2002-03, before Florida's housing boom.

The Tribune's story showed that the buyers of the homes Pride appraised were members of a real estate investment group. Two Indiana men and their Clearwater companies, Tye Funding LLC and Shorefront Ventures LLC, arranged the deals and collected cash at closing.

Tampa real estate agent Dawn Molen acted as the buyer's agent on all the deals and as the mortgage broker on some deals.

Molen's real estate license expired in late September and the state and federal investigations are pending.

Reporter Shannon Behnken can be reached at (813) 259-7804 or sbehnken@tampatrib.com.

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