Colorado Appeals Court Gives Homeowner The Boot; Rules Her Affluence Violates Deed Restrictions

In Aspen, Colorado, The Aspen Times reports:

• A local anesthesiologist who reportedly owns $10 million in real estate property has lost her legal battle with the affordable-housing office and has been ordered to move out of her apartment. The Colorado Court of Appeals this month ruled against Amanda Tucker, who was sued by the Aspen Pitkin County Housing Authority (APCHA) more than two years ago. Judge Jerry N. Jones ruled Tucker, who purchased an apartment at a foreclosure sale in 2005, had illegally lived in it because she didn’t meet the qualifications required by APCHA. Since the unit was in the affordable-housing system with publicly recorded deed restrictions, Tucker was asked to provide proof that she was a qualified buyer, officials said. Tucker never provided the required information, officials said.(1)

For more, see Court: Doc must leave apartment (Court of Appeals rules anesthesiologist must move from affordable unit).

See also, Housing program still ‘under serious attack’:

• Local housing officials are celebrating a recent court ruling that is seen as validating the Aspen and Pitkin County affordable housing program. But the housing office’s attorney said this week that the Aspen/Pitkin County Housing Authority — which oversees an inventory of rental and for-sale units that numbers in the thousands — is not out of the woods yet. “The housing program’s been under serious attack over the last year and a half,” said attorney Thomas Fenton Smith, who represents the housing office in court. Smith said there currently are six cases working their way through the courts, of which “all, or nearly all, are using the Telluride defense.”

For other reports on this story, see:

• A welcome victory for the housing program,
• Doc fights to keep housing unit (Appeal expected in eviction case).

For story updates, see:

• (2-24-09) Local housing scofflaw gives up cheap unit,
• (2-5-09) Housing authority not backing down in dispute with local.

(1) According to the story: (a) at the time Tucker bought the unit at Ritz-Carlton, at Aspen Highlands Village, she owned seven pieces of real estate in Hawaii with a reported value of $10 million, according to public records; (b) APCHA originally claimed that Tucker didn’t complete an application in order to qualify for ownership of the Category 3 housing unit, which puts a $91,000 cap on yearly earnings for owners with two dependents. Additionally, their net assets cannot exceed $150,000.