Complaint Review: David Lerner - Jay Dobrow - teaneck New Jersey

If you are looking to invest in real estate or need to do a 1031 exchange stay far away from David Lerner Associates and especially Stephanie Walcoe, the wife of the executive vice president of the company.  She will promise you the rosiest of scenarios with the lowest cost but unfortunately after the documents are signed and the check is cashed you find out it was anything but true. Then, after she has taken as much of your money as she can possibly steal from you, Stephanie will disappear into the nail salon and not return your phone calls.  These guys leverage real estate using over 90% debt, through first and second mortgages. Stephanie shows you how good the revenue stream is and the dividends youll earn so that the debt seems inconsequential. Well Im here to tell you its nothing like Stephanie Walcoe says it is.

The property I bought a share of was a complete bust, but her presentation was that it was the deal of a life time. All the generous revenue I was going to make never materialized. When I questioned her she gave me every song in the book until she wouldnt even take my calls. I cant begin to tell you how many thousands of dollars I had to come up with so I dont lose my investment. The other partners in the property are also disillusioned and angry.

I did a 1031 exchange. I had done very well on my own in real estate and this is my retirement nest egg. My wife and I are losing sleep wondering if well have anything left. I cant even sell my share although Stephanie made it sound like it wouldnt be a problem with her contacts and sources if I wanted to sell down the road. She babbled something about the bad market whenever I brought it up.

They say a fish stinks from the head well that must be true for David Lerner Associates.  They tout their decades of experience which is laughable. They have a few guys and they added up each persons years in real estate investments. Heck if there was an office of 50 one year rookies they could say they had 50 years of real estate experience! If this report spares one person from the financial problems and the anxiety about losing your retirement nest egg to a shyster like Stephanie Walcoe, then it is worth it.  Stephanie has a Wall St. background, maybe Bernie Madoff was her mentor. Im sure Bernie would be proud of her.

Dear CJI490:

In response to your November 3, 2010 post, please be advised that David Lerner Associates has identified the subject account, has researched your inquiry and, in response, provides the following.

With respect to the purchase of 400 shares of Sirius XM Radio, Inc. (SIRI), effected in March 2009, the order was to a market maker (UBS) and was executed in three lots (300, 35 and 65 shares). David Lerner Associates does not make recommendations in individual equities to retail customers and does not determine whether an order is executed by the market center in round or odd lots. For future reference, equity orders in share amounts of 200 or greater are frequently executed by market markers in odd lots, depending on demand in the market center at the time of order execution. Nevertheless, David Lerner Associates regrets any confusion this may have caused. 

As previously stated, David Lerner Associates does not make recommendations in individual equities to retail customers. However, David Lerner Associates does offer fair commissions on equity transactions. In fact, in this instance, contrary to your statement, one $59.00 commission was charged on the 400 share purchase. This amount is consistent with what is stated in the DLA client agreement and this amount was applied to the sale of 400 shares of SIRI on November 3, 2010.

David Lerner Associates takes seriously all inquiries and values customer relationships. While we hope that the content of this response has assisted you, we encourage all of our customers to first contact the firm at (800) 367-3000, as opposed to first using a social media site as a primary means of communication, which may result in a delayed, unclear or inefficient communication.

Please feel free to contact the undersigned at [email protected], in the event that you require further assistance with this or any other matter.

Sincerely,

Steven L. Sormani

Chief Compliance Officer

David Lerner Associates, Inc.