Las Vegas agent disciplined

Kevin Rademacher

Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2004 | 11:30 a.m.

Complaints are mounting against a Las Vegas real estate agent accused of selling and renting property he did not own.

The Nevada Real Estate Commission last week recommended a second suspension, for one year, of the license of Eric R. Alpert, this time for allegedly mishandling the sale of a home on Lucilee Street, near Eastern and Washington avenues.

A complaint brought against Alpert by the prospective buyer, Mario Martinez, said that Martinez was told that the home had been repossessed and that he would be buying the home property from Certified Holding Ltd.

Martinez, working through Alpert's Prophet Realty, believed he had purchased the home, moved in and began remodeling only to be told that Certified Holding Ltd., also operated by Alpert, was not the owner of the property, the complaint said.

The property, the complaint said, was owned by the Hawley Land Trust, which had an alleged assignment of beneficial interest agreement with Certified Holding. The complaint, however, said that interest did not give Alpert the right to sell the property without trustee Diane Hawley's consent.

The Real Estate Commission also recommended an $11,000 fine against Alpert. The commission is expected to make a final ruling on the case in April.

Alpert's attorney, Michael Stoberski, said his client will make a decision on a possible appeal once the final order is issued.

A District Court judge on Monday also denied Alpert's motion to stay a more than $27,000 fine and a six-month license suspension during the appeal of a separate Real Estate Commission ruling against him. That suspension becomes effective Wednesday. The suspension in the Lucilee home case would run consecutive to the six-month suspension.

The initial case involved Alpert's effort to claim ownership of apparently abandoned property and rent it to tenants. The final order was handed down in that case in November, and Alpert appealed.

Stoberski said the appeal process would continue.

"There's no prohibition in Nevada law for what he did," Stoberski said.