Back in the days when home sales were booming, people flocked to real estate investing like it was a sure thing. Some of the seasoned rehabbers in Baltimore shook their heads and wondered who would end up without seats when the game of musical chairs ended.

At least one of the seasoned ones, as it happens.

Vito Simone, president of the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors and principal of Baltimore Rehab Services, recently filed for bankruptcy. Yesterday he resigned as president of the Realtors group.

He lists debts -- his and his wife's -- of $3.9 million, Lorraine Mirabella reports. As she notes, "Much of Simone's debt to 66 creditors stems from several real estate companies and from residential rehab projects in areas such as Baltimore's Reservoir Hill caught up in the housing market slowdown."