Thursday, September 10, 2009

200+ Poor Tenants Face The Boot As Lender Threatens Foreclosure Of Mold-Infested Complex; Failed Inspections Could Result In Rent Subsidy Cut-Off

In Daytona Beach, Florida, the Daytona Beach News Journal reports:
  • For the past few years, some residents of the Daytona Village Apartments say mold has mushroomed on their walls and ceilings, their homes have been invaded by cockroaches and spiders, and their refrigerators have conked out and not been replaced. Now some of the roughly 230 tenants could find themselves homeless in a few weeks. Unless a new owner comes along pretty quickly and makes repairs, federal rent subsidies could be cut off at the Keech Street apartments.

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  • The complex has failed recent U.S. Housing and Urban Development inspections, and the man who has owned the property since 2006 was under a contract to keep the property in better condition to continue receiving roughly $30,000 every month in rental assistance, officials said.

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  • At a hearing Tuesday in circuit court, an attorney for the bank that handled [landlord Surujnauth "Oscar"] Bharrat's loan said there's a tentative agreement on the table for the deed in lieu of foreclosure. That's according to Debbie Hallisky, a Community Legal Services attorney helping tenants. [...] "According to the bank, there has been a potential settlement and the owner has agreed to sign over the property to the bank," she said.

For more, see Apartments' disrepair may force evictions. RentSigmaSkimming