Warning for those looking for a contractor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please join us in welcoming Omar Elrahimy, Founder and CEO of Optimum Group, Inc., to the RTMC Board of Directors. As a successful businessman and serial entrepreneur, Omar leads ventures including Optimum Construction Inc., Optimum Investments, The Clarksburg Room, Optimum Entertainment, Optimum Interiors, The Maryland Auto Show, and Private Track Days. Omar is passionate about RTMC's mission and we look forward to working with Omar to serve our homeowners. #WeAreRebuilders #givingback #RebuildingTogether #nonprofitboardservice #volunteering

What a joke!

No longer on the board of directors as of today.

Did you see an announcement by RTMC or just that he is no longer listed on https://www.rebuildingtogethermc.org/our-board ? Hopefully they will do the right thing and make a statement. Does not need to go into detail but it would confirm that they made a mistake - be transparent. Can be simple, Omar Elrahimy is no longer a board member as RTMC did not feel that we were aligned on our goals and values. Ultimately, they need to clear things up. Clearly they did not do their homework or were mislead like so many others that have dealt with Optimum and Omar Elrahimy. Do the right thing RTMC.

I sent an email to the executive director explaining my situation and she replied this morning saying he was no longer on the BOD. Don't know if they're going to put out a statement, but I would doubt it.

First, thank you for reaching out to RTMC. I hope they were appreciative of your efforts. RTMC, this is for you as I hope you are now monitoring. Your organization has a charter of doing good and helping others that we all applaud. Don’t let this experience with Optimum and Omar Elrahimy stain that record. You are now one of a group that has been impacted by his deceitful ways. Please use your voice, admit your recognition and promotion of him and his companies was done without a full understanding of his history and intentions. Show leadership in your decision to cut ties and continue with your support of others and not simply be quiet. If you do not explain his removal from your board, Omar will, and I am sure his story will be one of a completely different nature. Did you know that you placed Omar Elrahimy of Optimum Group Inc on your board, and he used that for promotion within Optimum Construction Inc and Optimum Interiors Inc? Did he make you aware that these are all separate corporate entities with no actual corporate structure that ties them together? The deceit runs deep, please don’t condone it with your silence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is significant downpayment to you?

What difference does it make? Any amount of money is an issue now that the place is bankrupt.

[Anonymous]

Wow, what a crazy story. Hope the guy gets what he deserves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is significant downpayment to you?

What difference does it make? Any amount of money is an issue now that the place is bankrupt.

I was asking about $ amount I was asking %. A lot of people pay stupidly high down payments which is always a red flag.

[Anonymous]

Omar stole from us too. I wish all of us who had our money stolen could all meet up at his GRIP event... I wonder of we could contact his sponsors to drop him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is significant downpayment to you?

What difference does it make? Any amount of money is an issue now that the place is bankrupt.

I was asking about $ amount I was asking %. A lot of people pay stupidly high down payments which is always a red flag.

If in Maryland, contractors can not require or accept more than 33%. Contractors must also included approximate start and substantial completion dates. However, of the Optimum contracts I have seen Omar never included dates. Anyone get a contract from him with approximate start and completion dates?

[Anonymous]

Do you think some of our money went to RebuildingTogetherMC RTMC? Are donor lists public? I don't understand how someone with home improvement company and all these complaints, lawsuits, and an F BBB rating gets on the board of an organization like this? Did he buy his way onto the board?

[Anonymous]

He's also on the Gaithersburg Germantown Chamber of Commerce and I have no idea how that works....

[Anonymous]

My mother used to design commercial offices in NYC and always said not to give contractors a dime until work starts and to offer to make payments for materials directly to suppliers. And make sure they deliver them directly to you because contractors can and do steal construction supplies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He's also on the Gaithersburg Germantown Chamber of Commerce and I have no idea how that works....

Gaithersburg Germantown Chamber of Commerce is a membership organization. However, appears Optimum Group Inc is a 2023 Corporate Sponsor https://www.ggchamber.org/about-ggcc/corporate-sponsors/ My guess is that GGCC has also fallen victim to a similar path as RTMC. GGCC did a ribbon cutting for Optimum Interiors Inc in October (now closed). However, GGCC's website states "Chamber conducts, upon request, ribbon cutting ceremonies for member businesses opening, expanding or moving to a new location." There is no corporate ownership structure between Optimum Group Inc and any of the other companies created by Omar Elrahimy. GGCC did a ribbon cutting for a non member company. If I was a member company I would not be happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why won’t anyone post what they are actually out?

Understandable people don't want to share what they may be out. If you look at what is public based on the court filings -- it is BAD! Current judgements against Optimum Construction are $108K and $148K plus some small ones. Judgement against Omar Elrahimy for $19K. Amounts associated with other open or closed(settled before trial) Maryland lawsuits push the amount over $800K. Cases in DC appear to push this over $1M. This does not include complaints filed with MHIC or Consumer Protection that did not result in a lawsuit. If all of this money is gone, someone has a lot of explaining to do.

[Anonymous]

There is a lit of feelings of embarrassment and shame for falling for optimum construction. The contract is made up of 30% down, 30% permits completion, 30% upon construction,and 10% to wrap it up. Everything was vague and there wasn't any start date. We fell for it because of all the reviews, photos, and the positive press given to these guys. There were no draw orders or effective start dates, just lots of empty promises and reassurances that added up to nothing. Looking back at it now there were so many red flags but at the time we trusted them, like how did a company with 15 years of experience just toss away their reputation? If you told me they did that for some shitty racecar company I would have told u that u were crazy yet here we are. I just hope others will stand up and try to stop this guy and his cronies from scamming others in the future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is significant downpayment to you?

What difference does it make? Any amount of money is an issue now that the place is bankrupt.

I was asking about $ amount I was asking %. A lot of people pay stupidly high down payments which is always a red flag.

If in Maryland, contractors can not require or accept more than 33%. Contractors must also included approximate start and substantial completion dates. However, of the Optimum contracts I have seen Omar never included dates. Anyone get a contract from him with approximate start and completion dates?

PP here, legally there is ambiguity around this.

But my point is people don't have to what a contractor asks. Giving more than 1/3 before work has actually begun is just foolish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is significant downpayment to you?

What difference does it make? Any amount of money is an issue now that the place is bankrupt.

I was asking about $ amount I was asking %. A lot of people pay stupidly high down payments which is always a red flag.

If in Maryland, contractors can not require or accept more than 33%. Contractors must also included approximate start and substantial completion dates. However, of the Optimum contracts I have seen Omar never included dates. Anyone get a contract from him with approximate start and completion dates?

PP here, legally there is ambiguity around this.

But my point is people don't have to what a contractor asks. Giving more than 1/3 before work has actually begun is just foolish.

Agree. negotiating deposit amount and writing clear and detailed payment schedule is very important as you don't know if you are dealing with an Omar Elrahimy. Make sure any payments are tied to completion of specific tasks. If money is needed for materials then have the materials delivered to the site or minimally get proof of delivery. If you read the cases for Optimum you will see that Omar would take the money and lie about getting the materials. Bottom line MHIC has the power to enforce the Maryland laws and stood silent. The laws are clear. Contract dates are required. MHIC license is required on marketing materials and vehicles. Omar did none of this. The first contract in 2019 may have been a mistake. Every contract since then has been a calculated money grab. Anyone impacted after March 2022 can also hold MHIC responsible as they could have stopped things instead of rubber stamping his license renewal. They were fully aware of what was happening.

[Anonymous]

Can we really sue the MHIC? Has anyone tried that route? From my understanding it only covers up to $30,000.