WARNING: Do NOT use Chuck (Carmel) Mifsud or Prime Property in A2/SE Michigan

[Karen Jou]

This man's bad reputation must be known. He is a great talker so I naively trusted him. If you already use him, make sure you avoid talking to him on the phone (his favorite way to get you to forget everything) and get EVERYTHING IN WRITING! He does sneaky things to line his own pockets. In the years I've been with him, he was at Howard Hanna and then Century21 and then Affiliated Property and now he's come up with Prime Property. That's a lot of changes for 5-6 years. 

He came up with a "benefits package" to charge my tenants $56 a month (to include renter's insurance and some other "perks"). I told him I didn't want to make my tenants pay more money but he insisted on it. Yet as the owner, I am still covering the cost of any maintenance and repairs, so who does this really benefit? He also charged a $300 nonrefundable pet fee for "inspect[ing] the unit and to take action, if need be, by revoking the lease if the pets have been a nuisance or has not been maintained." Now that I have fired him, he is insisting that he keeps it when by that logic, it should be passed along to my new property management. 

The reason I fired him is because our agreement says that expenditures over $200 require my approval first. Instead of asking for permission, I was presented with a big fat bill of thousands of dollars. When I asked him about it, he did not give a damn. I have the emails to prove it! And these invoices are terribly written. He will lump "painting" and  "flower beds" together and not provide receipts for the actual materials that were allegedly used. He makes it intentionally confusing and then he gets defensive when you ask him for the receipts and proof of work done. He only provided one estimate and then he will INVOICE everything together after and say you owe him money. And how generous he is to let you "slowly" pay it off. 

Maybe it's because I'm a woman, or a minority, or from out-of-state...I'm not sure. This is the only property I own so I really don't understand someone who is trying to take advantage of an owner who owns ONE property. If anyone wants to offer advice as to how I should proceed, I'm open. I've spoken to a few lawyers on this already and I welcome multiple perspectives.

Either way, steer clear. I've asked other property managers in the area and they all know who he is...by reputation. 

His daughter, Madeleine, also works for him. Beware!