Do you have a few years.....Maitreya is one of the Iconic "buddhas" of Tibetan Buddhism.......there are hundreds. A Buddhist teacher would answer your question very simply....."It is not important whether Maitreya apeears or doesn't appear......It does not matter if maitreya is real or not, in fact if maitreya were here and you were to ask him if he was real he would say,"I'm not real"......then he would ask,"Why is this important to you"......Years of sitting at the feet of Buddhist Lamas and asking questions has taught me alot, especially that you rarely get the answer you were thinking you might get...
If you are interested in Tobetan buddhism this is a good book, written by a "western" Lama in terms westerners can understand.
Amazon.com: Awakening the Buddha Within : Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World: Lama Surya Das: Books