Jim,
Interesting. However, I am still trying to figure out these transfers for $0 when HUD told me that this kind of activity is "highly illegal" ,Fannie Mae says "this sounds like some kind of fraud", and Freddie Mac saying "we would never accept $0 for a house". These cannot just be coincidences. There are special steps that you have to go through to get these houses, and they would never be given for $0 anyway. I have talked to these organizations at length and detail. While I am not an expert, I am starting to see the pattern.
Gus Frangos is now in charge of the Cuyahoga Land Bank. Frangos and family appear to currently own the dumpy North Parking Garage and also previously owned the Buckeye Beer Engine building (not the business). Both appear to be hidden behind numerous shell LLC's and the family lawyer from NYC, possibly in an attempt to hide the actual owner, which appears to be Gus Frangos and/or family. Gus Frangos and/or family also appear to have previously owned the INA Building.
If Frangos and/or family have owned this much property in Lakewood, I do not believe for one minute that he/they do not at least know the mayor.
Are the Lakewood City and County Land Banks One Huge Scam?
Moderator: Jim O'Bryan
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Lori Allen _
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Lori Allen _
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Re: Are the Lakewood City and County Land Banks One Huge Scam?
As of 12/12/2016, the now-demolished property at 13351-53-55 Madison is currently $89,000 property tax delinquent. As stated before, all documents I have seen point to K&S Development ( A.K.A. Nick & Bryan) being the owner. City Hall claims they cannot find the owner (s), despite the fact the deeds, mortgage documents, tax duplicates, etc. all have the signatures of Bryan & Nick on them. Also note that mortgages were taken out from First Federal of Lakewood under the name K&S Development, with Bryan & Nick's signatures both appearing on the mortgage.
See this sworn affidavit from City Hall. This sworn affidavit shows that City Hall supposedly assessed K&S Development (A.K.A. Nick & Bryan) $60,491.00 for nuisance abatement fees. Wait a minute. How can you assess or charge someone if you claim you can't find them? According to a police report, City Hall even called Nick when a window was broken at the property. According to the report, Nick told City Hall that he is not the current owner and he has no idea who the current owner is.
Huh?
In summary, according to public records, K&S Development owns the now-demolished property at 13351-53-55 Madison. Bryan & Nick are both listed as members of K&S Development. In other words, they appear to own K&S Development which owns the now-demolished property at 13351-53-55 Madison. K&S Development (A.K.A. Nick & Bryan) owes Cuyahoga County roughly $89,000 in delinquent property taxes on the property dating back to about 2002, and K&S Development (A.K.A. Nick & Bryan) also owes the City of Lakewood roughly $60,000 in nuisance demolition fees. That now brings the new grand total owed by K&S Development (A.K.A. Nick & Bryan) to roughly $149,000.
That is a lot of money to be charging someone that you claim you can't find and someone that claims they don't own it and don't know who the current owner is, especially when other properties are owned with the same tax mailing address as the now-demolished Madison Ave. property. Said tax mailing addresses go to Nick's house.
When will Cuyahoga County finally step up to the plate, admit that all of the evidence points to Bryan & Nick being the owners of this property, and foreclose on it? When will City Hall finally step up to the plate, admit that Bryan & Nick appear to be the owners, and take Bryan & Nick to court for the $60,000 in nuisance abatement fees?
I wonder how Samira, Russell, or Alexsandar would feel if I told them that Cuyahoga County foreclosed on their house for $500 in delinquent taxes, while Bryan & Nick appear to get away with owing $89,000?
See this sworn affidavit from City Hall. This sworn affidavit shows that City Hall supposedly assessed K&S Development (A.K.A. Nick & Bryan) $60,491.00 for nuisance abatement fees. Wait a minute. How can you assess or charge someone if you claim you can't find them? According to a police report, City Hall even called Nick when a window was broken at the property. According to the report, Nick told City Hall that he is not the current owner and he has no idea who the current owner is.
- 13351 Madison Demolition Affadavit 1.jpg (151.71 KiB) Viewed 4768 times
In summary, according to public records, K&S Development owns the now-demolished property at 13351-53-55 Madison. Bryan & Nick are both listed as members of K&S Development. In other words, they appear to own K&S Development which owns the now-demolished property at 13351-53-55 Madison. K&S Development (A.K.A. Nick & Bryan) owes Cuyahoga County roughly $89,000 in delinquent property taxes on the property dating back to about 2002, and K&S Development (A.K.A. Nick & Bryan) also owes the City of Lakewood roughly $60,000 in nuisance demolition fees. That now brings the new grand total owed by K&S Development (A.K.A. Nick & Bryan) to roughly $149,000.
That is a lot of money to be charging someone that you claim you can't find and someone that claims they don't own it and don't know who the current owner is, especially when other properties are owned with the same tax mailing address as the now-demolished Madison Ave. property. Said tax mailing addresses go to Nick's house.
When will Cuyahoga County finally step up to the plate, admit that all of the evidence points to Bryan & Nick being the owners of this property, and foreclose on it? When will City Hall finally step up to the plate, admit that Bryan & Nick appear to be the owners, and take Bryan & Nick to court for the $60,000 in nuisance abatement fees?
I wonder how Samira, Russell, or Alexsandar would feel if I told them that Cuyahoga County foreclosed on their house for $500 in delinquent taxes, while Bryan & Nick appear to get away with owing $89,000?
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Lori Allen _
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Re: Are the Lakewood City and County Land Banks One Huge Scam?
While I await Cuyahoga County's collection of over $89,000 in delinquent property taxes from K&S Development (A.K.A. Nick & Bryan), more questionable activity has come to light.
Back in February, a gentleman who owns a rental property on Waterbury was taken to court by City Hall for failure to fix said rental property. The paint was peeling badly and the front step had completely crumbled away. The owner failed to appear for his court date, and summons sent to the owner were returned "unclaimed". The law department was supposed to notify Lakewood Court by August 2nd of an alternative address for the owner. However, the law department failed to do so. Due to multiple failed attempts to serve the owner, the case had to be dismissed, and the owner went free. The house still looks the same as it did in February.
The owner should not have been hard to find. All documents and records point to him living down the street from his rental property.
Why is our law department not trying to find these owners? This is not the first time this has happened. I don't believe for one minute that these owners cannot be found, especially when this one in particular appears to live right down the street.
Could this be another possible scam to turn another century-old house into a vacant land bank, that can later be given away to friends and for $0?
Back in February, a gentleman who owns a rental property on Waterbury was taken to court by City Hall for failure to fix said rental property. The paint was peeling badly and the front step had completely crumbled away. The owner failed to appear for his court date, and summons sent to the owner were returned "unclaimed". The law department was supposed to notify Lakewood Court by August 2nd of an alternative address for the owner. However, the law department failed to do so. Due to multiple failed attempts to serve the owner, the case had to be dismissed, and the owner went free. The house still looks the same as it did in February.
The owner should not have been hard to find. All documents and records point to him living down the street from his rental property.
Why is our law department not trying to find these owners? This is not the first time this has happened. I don't believe for one minute that these owners cannot be found, especially when this one in particular appears to live right down the street.
Could this be another possible scam to turn another century-old house into a vacant land bank, that can later be given away to friends and for $0?
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Lori Allen _
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Re: Are the Lakewood City and County Land Banks One Huge Scam?
I have spoken to people at Fannie Mae. They told me that they never give houses away for free, under any circumstances. When I told the person about Fannie Mae properties being given away for free in Lakewood, she said "this sounds like some kind of fraud".
Property transferred from Fannie Mae to the City of Lakewood, given away, for $0. Some people reading this may not see it as a big deal, but it appears that there are a lot of alleged bad deals happening in the city over the past several years.
- 2147 Dowd $0.jpg (97.63 KiB) Viewed 4681 times
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Lori Allen _
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Re: Are the Lakewood City and County Land Banks One Huge Scam?
City Hall to Sell Vacant lot on Edanola
At tonight's city council meeting, Planning & Development Director Bryce Sylvester will recommend sale of the city-owned vacant lot on Edanola Ave. behind the Blackbird Bakery.According to Mr. Sylvester's letter to council, the land was a gift from Bonnie Bell in 1983.
Let's hope that this land is put up for an open, transparent, public bidding process and that the recipient of the property will use it properly. Hopefully, City Hall will not give this property away for free ($0) to an alleged friend named Frank as they appeared to do with a vacant lot on Waterbury a few years ago.
I will be looking forward to seeing a "for sale" sign being displayed clearly on this vacant lot.
At tonight's city council meeting, Planning & Development Director Bryce Sylvester will recommend sale of the city-owned vacant lot on Edanola Ave. behind the Blackbird Bakery.According to Mr. Sylvester's letter to council, the land was a gift from Bonnie Bell in 1983.
Let's hope that this land is put up for an open, transparent, public bidding process and that the recipient of the property will use it properly. Hopefully, City Hall will not give this property away for free ($0) to an alleged friend named Frank as they appeared to do with a vacant lot on Waterbury a few years ago.
I will be looking forward to seeing a "for sale" sign being displayed clearly on this vacant lot.
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Lori Allen _
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Re: Are the Lakewood City and County Land Banks One Huge Scam?
This is another update regarding Nick's now-demolished property at 13351-55 Madison.
First, a refresher about the history of this property. City Hall had the building demolished in September 2016, claiming that it was a “nuisance”. The building had sat decaying for years and years. A court case was brought against the owner, Nick, for not repairing the property. However, the City of Lakewood Law Department claimed that they could not find the owner (Nick) and were unable to forward any summons to him. Therefore, the case against Nick had to be dismissed and his building was later demolished. However, Nick's contact information was easily found in Avon. It is also worth noting that Lakewood Police contacted Nick about vandalism on his building back in May. According to the police incident report, Nick told LPD that he does not own the property and does not know who owns it. However, Nick and another man named Bryan signed the mortgage for the building. Interestingly, the mortgage came from First Federal of Lakewood.
I have never heard of someone saying to City Hall “I don't own it” and being let off the hook.
Over the years, Nick has apparently allowed the property to accumulate over $89,000 in delinquent property taxes. Furthermore, Nick also supposedly owes City Hall roughly $60,000 as demolition charges for his property. This brings Nick's total debts owed the City Hall and Cuyahoga County to almost $150,000. According to the Cuyahoga County Recorder's office, three property tax lien certificates were taken out on the property between May 2010 and August 2011.
This is how this works. Cuyahoga County uses private companies to go after delinquent property taxes. Cuyahoga County gets the delinquent tax money up front from the private company, and then the private company goes after the delinquent owner in court while tacking on an interest rate of up to 18%.
Here is the kicker. Soon after Cuyahoga County hired Lakeview Holding (the private company) to go after Nick's property, Lakeview Holding went out of business. They are listed as defunct and all known phone numbers for them have either been changed or are not in service. Furthermore, Lakeview Holding's tax lien certificates on Nick's property will expire six years after they were issued, which is coming very soon. Two of them have already expired. After they all expire, I believe the tax collection goes back to Cuyahoga County.
The question is: what on Earth is going on here? The owner of this property (Nick) has gone over 12 years without paying any property taxes on it whatsoever. He racks up over $89,000 in delinquent taxes. Then, City Hall tears the building down and supposedly charges Nick $60,000 for demolition fees. Cuyahoga County supposedly sells the delinquent taxes to Lakeview Holdings, but Lakeview Holding almost immediately goes defunct, leaving the tax liens to expire. According to public records, no court cases have been filed against Nick for owing all of this money. Meanwhile, Nick appears to go on his merry way, flipping houses in Lakewood and making profit.
In my humble opinion, something is not on the “up and up” with this property at all. What is it? Is it a slush fund? A “money mule”? In all my years, I have never, ever seen anything like this.
First, a refresher about the history of this property. City Hall had the building demolished in September 2016, claiming that it was a “nuisance”. The building had sat decaying for years and years. A court case was brought against the owner, Nick, for not repairing the property. However, the City of Lakewood Law Department claimed that they could not find the owner (Nick) and were unable to forward any summons to him. Therefore, the case against Nick had to be dismissed and his building was later demolished. However, Nick's contact information was easily found in Avon. It is also worth noting that Lakewood Police contacted Nick about vandalism on his building back in May. According to the police incident report, Nick told LPD that he does not own the property and does not know who owns it. However, Nick and another man named Bryan signed the mortgage for the building. Interestingly, the mortgage came from First Federal of Lakewood.
I have never heard of someone saying to City Hall “I don't own it” and being let off the hook.
Over the years, Nick has apparently allowed the property to accumulate over $89,000 in delinquent property taxes. Furthermore, Nick also supposedly owes City Hall roughly $60,000 as demolition charges for his property. This brings Nick's total debts owed the City Hall and Cuyahoga County to almost $150,000. According to the Cuyahoga County Recorder's office, three property tax lien certificates were taken out on the property between May 2010 and August 2011.
This is how this works. Cuyahoga County uses private companies to go after delinquent property taxes. Cuyahoga County gets the delinquent tax money up front from the private company, and then the private company goes after the delinquent owner in court while tacking on an interest rate of up to 18%.
Here is the kicker. Soon after Cuyahoga County hired Lakeview Holding (the private company) to go after Nick's property, Lakeview Holding went out of business. They are listed as defunct and all known phone numbers for them have either been changed or are not in service. Furthermore, Lakeview Holding's tax lien certificates on Nick's property will expire six years after they were issued, which is coming very soon. Two of them have already expired. After they all expire, I believe the tax collection goes back to Cuyahoga County.
The question is: what on Earth is going on here? The owner of this property (Nick) has gone over 12 years without paying any property taxes on it whatsoever. He racks up over $89,000 in delinquent taxes. Then, City Hall tears the building down and supposedly charges Nick $60,000 for demolition fees. Cuyahoga County supposedly sells the delinquent taxes to Lakeview Holdings, but Lakeview Holding almost immediately goes defunct, leaving the tax liens to expire. According to public records, no court cases have been filed against Nick for owing all of this money. Meanwhile, Nick appears to go on his merry way, flipping houses in Lakewood and making profit.
In my humble opinion, something is not on the “up and up” with this property at all. What is it? Is it a slush fund? A “money mule”? In all my years, I have never, ever seen anything like this.
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Lori Allen _
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Re: Are the Lakewood City and County Land Banks One Huge Scam?
Wow! This got buried in a hurry. Here are copies of the tax liens with the now out-of-business tax lien holder. If confused, see above post:
- 2010 Tax Lien.jpg (139.65 KiB) Viewed 4513 times
- 9 2010 Tax Lien.jpg (122.51 KiB) Viewed 4513 times
- 2011 Tax Lien.jpg (121.83 KiB) Viewed 4513 times
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Lori Allen _
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Re: Are the Lakewood City and County Land Banks One Huge Scam?
More City Hall Claims Debunked
http://patch.com/ohio/lakewood-oh/photo ... son-avenue
I just found a post on Patch written by Rick regarding Nick and Bryan's now-demolished property at 13351-55 Madison. According to the article, City Hall had cited the building owner with over 25 building code violations. However, the article also claimed that City Hall tried to contact the owner but could not reach him, and City Hall had to demolish it due to dilapidation.
(Warning: before the mayor's friends blast me for posting first and last names, I will say that Patch was the first to post some of this information first)
Rebuttal:
1. According to the mortgage for AFN# 200212190958 on file in the Cuyahoga County Recorder's Office, both Bryan M. Kagel and Nicholas A. Sanfilippo signed the mortgage for the 13351-55 Madison Ave. as “managing member” and “member” of K&S Development, LLC, respectively. This virtually disproves any claim by City Hall that they “do not know who owns it”, as the now-demolished property is still listed as belonging to K&S Development, LLC.
2. Did City Hall really attempt to contact the owner multiple times without success? According to the nuisance declaration letter posted on Patch, City Hall only sent the letter to Bryan M. Kagel at a P.O. Box in Olmsted Falls, and an Empire Management Group at an Avon address. The address listed for Empire Management Group is actually Nick's residence, according to the Lorain County Auditor. Bryan M. Kagel's actual residence in now in North Olmsted. I doubt that he still even uses the P.O. Box in Olmsted Falls from 2002. This was easily found through property and voter registration records. According to the nuisance letter, City Hall never attempted to contact Bryan at his North Olmsted address. As far as Nick is concerned, I have a news flash for City Hall. Nick is flipping homes in Lakewood under the name NuDesign Homes. He has properties he is flipping on Ethel, Brown, and Woodward. Also, Nick owns some rental properties in Lakewood under the name Mulberry Street Properties. These include properties on Giel, Detroit, and Madison. In a nutshell, Nick is renting and flipping properties in Lakewood but City Hall still claims they tried numerous times to reach him without success. Huh? What about building permits from his house flips? Rental registrations for his rental properties? Does anyone still believe that City Hall was unable to reach Nick? Finally, here is the Kicker about Nick. He is advertising his building for sale or lease at Quail and Madison. The advertisement includes his name and phone number (which I redacted for fear of upsetting the mayor's friends)
Then again, it is the same phone number that the police called Nick at when there was vandalism on his 13351-55 Madison property. .That is when Nick claimed “I don't own it and I do not know who the current owner is”. Come on, really? Meanwhile, Bryan and Nick appear to go on their merry way, scot-free and Nick appears to be permitted to continue his property flipping.
3. According to public records, City Hall attempted to criminally prosecute Nick for failure to fix his building at 13351-55 Madison, only to claim that they cannot reach the owner. First, did they attempt to serve a warrant for his arrest at all known addresses, including rental properties, flip properties, and his home address? Did City Hall ask any workers at any of his flip properties where Nick could be located? Nick also has a Facebook account. Couldn't a subpoena have been issued to Facebook to turn over IP addresses, etc. related to Nick's account? I mean if Nick's building was in as bad of condition as City Hall claimed, I would think they would try to pursue it more seriously as opposed to just saying “we can't find him” when they have so many easy tools at their disposal.
4. K&S Development, LLC (Bryan & Nick) still owes $89,000 in delinquent taxes to Cuyahoga County and $60,000 to City Hall for demolition fees. How do City Hall and Cuyahoga County plan to collect this balance, when they claim “we can't find him” and Nick claims “I don't own it and I don't know who the current owner is”? If the tax liens put on the property back in 2010 and 2011 are legitimate (around the time Summers came into office), it would have been up to the tax lien company to give the tax collection responsibility back to the county when they went out of business. Finally, why is City Hall or Cuyahoga County not putting a lien on his other properties he is flipping?
I have never seen anything like this. If I sign a mortgage for a property and City Hall tells me to fix my building, can I just say “I don't own it” and go on my merry way?
I am bracing myself now for the mayor's friends to come out of the woodwork and blast me for posting this information. It needs to be posted to debunk City Hall's ridiculous claims that “we can't find him” or “we can't find who owns it”.
Quite frankly, I want to know what the hell is going on with this property.
http://patch.com/ohio/lakewood-oh/photo ... son-avenue
I just found a post on Patch written by Rick regarding Nick and Bryan's now-demolished property at 13351-55 Madison. According to the article, City Hall had cited the building owner with over 25 building code violations. However, the article also claimed that City Hall tried to contact the owner but could not reach him, and City Hall had to demolish it due to dilapidation.
(Warning: before the mayor's friends blast me for posting first and last names, I will say that Patch was the first to post some of this information first)
Rebuttal:
1. According to the mortgage for AFN# 200212190958 on file in the Cuyahoga County Recorder's Office, both Bryan M. Kagel and Nicholas A. Sanfilippo signed the mortgage for the 13351-55 Madison Ave. as “managing member” and “member” of K&S Development, LLC, respectively. This virtually disproves any claim by City Hall that they “do not know who owns it”, as the now-demolished property is still listed as belonging to K&S Development, LLC.
- Nick 2002 Mortgage K&S.jpg (100.97 KiB) Viewed 4430 times
- 2014-01-29-05-33-14.JPG (316.63 KiB) Viewed 4430 times
3. According to public records, City Hall attempted to criminally prosecute Nick for failure to fix his building at 13351-55 Madison, only to claim that they cannot reach the owner. First, did they attempt to serve a warrant for his arrest at all known addresses, including rental properties, flip properties, and his home address? Did City Hall ask any workers at any of his flip properties where Nick could be located? Nick also has a Facebook account. Couldn't a subpoena have been issued to Facebook to turn over IP addresses, etc. related to Nick's account? I mean if Nick's building was in as bad of condition as City Hall claimed, I would think they would try to pursue it more seriously as opposed to just saying “we can't find him” when they have so many easy tools at their disposal.
4. K&S Development, LLC (Bryan & Nick) still owes $89,000 in delinquent taxes to Cuyahoga County and $60,000 to City Hall for demolition fees. How do City Hall and Cuyahoga County plan to collect this balance, when they claim “we can't find him” and Nick claims “I don't own it and I don't know who the current owner is”? If the tax liens put on the property back in 2010 and 2011 are legitimate (around the time Summers came into office), it would have been up to the tax lien company to give the tax collection responsibility back to the county when they went out of business. Finally, why is City Hall or Cuyahoga County not putting a lien on his other properties he is flipping?
I have never seen anything like this. If I sign a mortgage for a property and City Hall tells me to fix my building, can I just say “I don't own it” and go on my merry way?
I am bracing myself now for the mayor's friends to come out of the woodwork and blast me for posting this information. It needs to be posted to debunk City Hall's ridiculous claims that “we can't find him” or “we can't find who owns it”.
Quite frankly, I want to know what the hell is going on with this property.
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Lori Allen _
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Re: Are the Lakewood City and County Land Banks One Huge Scam?
City Hall to Consider Mayor Campaign Donor to Build New Homes on City-Owned Vacant Lots
http://www.onelakewood.com/event/board- ... 017-05-11/
According to the agenda for the January 12th, 2017 City of Lakewood Board of Building Standards meeting, the board is considering approving the construction of two new single-family homes on two City of Lakewood Land Bank lots. The lots are at 1252 Westlake and 1635 Hopkins. The applicant is a William Sanderson from Knez Homes, Inc.
Who is William Sanderson? According to my research, Mr. Sanderson is a Lakewood resident, living in a condo on the eastern end built by the Cleveland Clinic...err...Forest City...errr..Rockport Square LLC. According to Mr. Sanderson's Linkedin profile, he previously worked at Forest City Land Group from 2006 to 2012. Bear in mind that almost the entire Board of Directors for Forest City is composed of Cleveland Clinic Board members. Furthermore, Mr. Sanderson appears to be a mayoral campaign donor (see below for supporting documents). Also, it is interesting to note that Mr. Sanderson is only paying roughly $448 annually in property taxes on his condo. Cuyahoga County has his condo valued at only $14,000. All condos around him are valued at $200,000 to $400,000. This is not just a typo. The taxes and value have been the same since Mr. Sanderson moved to the condo in 2013. It was in 2013 that the drastic decrease in value and property taxes occurred. Apparently, this is due to a hefty tax abatement. According to Cuyahoga County, Sanderson has been receiving a roughly $312,000 tax abatement on his condo since 2013. No other condos around him are receiving any kind of tax abatement. Why? I can find no justification for a tax abatement, especially if no other condos around him are receiving a tax abatement.
First, I must ask where the public bidding or sale was? I never saw any "for sale" or similar signs on these vacant lots recently. I did however, see "for sale" signs in the City Hall-owned vacants lots at 11900 Madison as well as the lot on Sloane.
I never saw a post or Tweet on Onelakewood.com about these properties being put up for sale or bid.
I check Zillow.com and Realtor.com frequently. I never saw a listing for these lots on either of these websites.
I never saw any other public notice that these properties were open for public sale or bid.
What is this? If the Board of Building Standards approves this, this looks really unethical, sneaky, and allegedly illegal. Does this not appear to be another Summers & Co. way of giving our City away to alleged friends, one property at a time?
I will brace myself for Summers' friends to blast me for posting tax information, which is public record.
http://www.onelakewood.com/event/board- ... 017-05-11/
According to the agenda for the January 12th, 2017 City of Lakewood Board of Building Standards meeting, the board is considering approving the construction of two new single-family homes on two City of Lakewood Land Bank lots. The lots are at 1252 Westlake and 1635 Hopkins. The applicant is a William Sanderson from Knez Homes, Inc.
Who is William Sanderson? According to my research, Mr. Sanderson is a Lakewood resident, living in a condo on the eastern end built by the Cleveland Clinic...err...Forest City...errr..Rockport Square LLC. According to Mr. Sanderson's Linkedin profile, he previously worked at Forest City Land Group from 2006 to 2012. Bear in mind that almost the entire Board of Directors for Forest City is composed of Cleveland Clinic Board members. Furthermore, Mr. Sanderson appears to be a mayoral campaign donor (see below for supporting documents). Also, it is interesting to note that Mr. Sanderson is only paying roughly $448 annually in property taxes on his condo. Cuyahoga County has his condo valued at only $14,000. All condos around him are valued at $200,000 to $400,000. This is not just a typo. The taxes and value have been the same since Mr. Sanderson moved to the condo in 2013. It was in 2013 that the drastic decrease in value and property taxes occurred. Apparently, this is due to a hefty tax abatement. According to Cuyahoga County, Sanderson has been receiving a roughly $312,000 tax abatement on his condo since 2013. No other condos around him are receiving any kind of tax abatement. Why? I can find no justification for a tax abatement, especially if no other condos around him are receiving a tax abatement.
- Sanderson Campaign Donor.jpg (135.77 KiB) Viewed 4306 times
- Sanderson Campaign Donor 2.jpg (21.4 KiB) Viewed 4306 times
I never saw a post or Tweet on Onelakewood.com about these properties being put up for sale or bid.
I check Zillow.com and Realtor.com frequently. I never saw a listing for these lots on either of these websites.
I never saw any other public notice that these properties were open for public sale or bid.
What is this? If the Board of Building Standards approves this, this looks really unethical, sneaky, and allegedly illegal. Does this not appear to be another Summers & Co. way of giving our City away to alleged friends, one property at a time?
I will brace myself for Summers' friends to blast me for posting tax information, which is public record.
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Lori Allen _
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- Joined: Wed Jan 28, 2015 2:37 pm
Re: Are the Lakewood City and County Land Banks One Huge Scam?
More Questionable Property Transfers on Magee
It has come to my attention that another historic home was demolished by the Cuyahoga Land Bank in 2014. It is currently unknown why the home was demolished, but it can be suspected that it was allegedly a "nuisance". However, it is interesting to note that according to a 2006 Lakewood Municipal Court Case, the property was found to be in full compliance with all building codes. What happened in a few years? Did it really deteriorate that much?
The home was owned for seven years by a man named Leonard. It appears that Leonard was a racial minority. According to public records, Leonard had been struggling financially, and a foreclosure was filed against the home in 2010. Apparently, the property never sold at sheriff's sale. Therefore, the property was transferred to "Secretary of Housing & Urban Development" or HUD. About six months later, HUD transferred to property to Cuyahoga Land Bank for $0. Mind you that I have spoken with HUD on several occasions and they informed me that never, under any circumstances are properties "given away" for $0. After Cuyahoga Land Bank acquired the property for $0, they proceeded to demolish the home in the fall of 2013 or early spring of 2014 for an unknown reason. The property was then quickly transferred to a Green Urban Enterprises LLC. The property is still under this LLC's ownership to this day. Interestingly, Cuyahoga Land Bank gave the property away to Green Urban Enterprises LLC for $0. Mind you that I have spoken to the Cuyahoga Land Bank more than once. I was informed by the Cuyahoga Land Bank that they never give property away for free, under any circumstances. Green Urban Enterprises is owned by a gentleman named Justin that lives here in Lakewood near LHS.
Also note that around the same time that Justin received the Magee property for free, he apparently acquired a City Hall land bank property on Dowd for free as well. Specifically, he acquired the 2042 Dowd property for free on March 17th, 2014 and the 2086 Magee property for free on March 25th, 2014, eight days later. Why is City Hall giving away properties for free?
The question is: what is this? Both Cuyahoga Land Bank and HUD advised me that they never give properties away for free. Yet, there are countless properties where it has occurred all over Lakewood. Some of the transfers involve alleged mayor friends. What is this? A slush fund? A money mule? Who is involved?
It has come to my attention that another historic home was demolished by the Cuyahoga Land Bank in 2014. It is currently unknown why the home was demolished, but it can be suspected that it was allegedly a "nuisance". However, it is interesting to note that according to a 2006 Lakewood Municipal Court Case, the property was found to be in full compliance with all building codes. What happened in a few years? Did it really deteriorate that much?
The home was owned for seven years by a man named Leonard. It appears that Leonard was a racial minority. According to public records, Leonard had been struggling financially, and a foreclosure was filed against the home in 2010. Apparently, the property never sold at sheriff's sale. Therefore, the property was transferred to "Secretary of Housing & Urban Development" or HUD. About six months later, HUD transferred to property to Cuyahoga Land Bank for $0. Mind you that I have spoken with HUD on several occasions and they informed me that never, under any circumstances are properties "given away" for $0. After Cuyahoga Land Bank acquired the property for $0, they proceeded to demolish the home in the fall of 2013 or early spring of 2014 for an unknown reason. The property was then quickly transferred to a Green Urban Enterprises LLC. The property is still under this LLC's ownership to this day. Interestingly, Cuyahoga Land Bank gave the property away to Green Urban Enterprises LLC for $0. Mind you that I have spoken to the Cuyahoga Land Bank more than once. I was informed by the Cuyahoga Land Bank that they never give property away for free, under any circumstances. Green Urban Enterprises is owned by a gentleman named Justin that lives here in Lakewood near LHS.
- 2042 Dowd giveaway.jpg (64.64 KiB) Viewed 4223 times
- 2086 Magee Green Urban.jpg (74.41 KiB) Viewed 4223 times
The question is: what is this? Both Cuyahoga Land Bank and HUD advised me that they never give properties away for free. Yet, there are countless properties where it has occurred all over Lakewood. Some of the transfers involve alleged mayor friends. What is this? A slush fund? A money mule? Who is involved?
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Lori Allen _
- Posts: 2550
- Joined: Wed Jan 28, 2015 2:37 pm
Re: Are the Lakewood City and County Land Banks One Huge Scam?
Is it just a coincidence that the Cuyahoga County Recorder's Office website has been down since I posted the copy of Nick & Bryan's signatures on the mortgage for their now-demolished Madison Ave. property? Come on, really? The website has been down for almost two days now, rendering mortgages, deeds, and tax liens inaccessible. Any attempt to download these documents results in a server runtime error. These documents are also available on Cuyahoga County's MyPlace Home GIS map app. These documents cannot be downloaded from there, either, as any attempt to download them results in a blank page.
I'm not accusing, but the timing is very interesting. Just a reminder that tampering with public records is a felony.
Maybe Mary Louise would like to jump in and comment as to when the websites will be back up!
I'm not accusing, but the timing is very interesting. Just a reminder that tampering with public records is a felony.
Maybe Mary Louise would like to jump in and comment as to when the websites will be back up!
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Lori Allen _
- Posts: 2550
- Joined: Wed Jan 28, 2015 2:37 pm
Re: Are the Lakewood City and County Land Banks One Huge Scam?
1578 Coutant - 1895 Home Demolished by City Hall
The home at 1578 Coutant was demolished by City Hall in the spring of 2014, due to the property being an alleged "nuisance". This home was built in 1895.
In 2010, the property sold at sheriff's sale to Fannie Mae. In 2012, a gentleman named John purchased the property from Fannie Mae. In February 2014, John sold the property to a new owner. No more than two months after the new owner purchased the property, City Hall had it demolished.
A few questions for City Hall:
1. If this property was an alleged "nuisance", why are there no court cases for any building code violations at this property between 2010 and 2014?
2. Per city ordinance and common sense, rental properties are to be inspected once per year. This was a rental property. If City Hall was inspecting this property annually, why were none of these supposed "nuisance" violations noticed before they got out of hand? If this property was not being inspected once per year, why not?
Also, it is worth noting that City Hall assessed the new property owner over $23,000 in demolition fees on her property taxes. $23,000 seems ot be a steep price to demolish a 1,500 square-foot home.
Could City Hall please post documentation of the following for this property:
1. Documentation that the owners were given the opportunity to correct any alleged building code violations, and were given a day in court.
2. Documentation that this rental property was inspected once per year, in accordance with city ordinance.
3. Documentation that the property was indeed beyond repair, including photographic evidence.
4. Documentation, including itemized invoices and contracts, that justify the $23,000 tax assessment for demolition on this property.
5. Itemized invoices that justify the $1,900 water and sewer fees assessed to this property.
The posting of this information for this property (and others, especially Nick's) in a timely fashion would be great. In the absence of this information, I have to wonder what is going on.
Finally, I will note that the Cuyahoga Recorder's Office website is still down, rendering deeds, mortgages, etc. inaccessible.
The home at 1578 Coutant was demolished by City Hall in the spring of 2014, due to the property being an alleged "nuisance". This home was built in 1895.
In 2010, the property sold at sheriff's sale to Fannie Mae. In 2012, a gentleman named John purchased the property from Fannie Mae. In February 2014, John sold the property to a new owner. No more than two months after the new owner purchased the property, City Hall had it demolished.
A few questions for City Hall:
1. If this property was an alleged "nuisance", why are there no court cases for any building code violations at this property between 2010 and 2014?
2. Per city ordinance and common sense, rental properties are to be inspected once per year. This was a rental property. If City Hall was inspecting this property annually, why were none of these supposed "nuisance" violations noticed before they got out of hand? If this property was not being inspected once per year, why not?
Also, it is worth noting that City Hall assessed the new property owner over $23,000 in demolition fees on her property taxes. $23,000 seems ot be a steep price to demolish a 1,500 square-foot home.
Could City Hall please post documentation of the following for this property:
1. Documentation that the owners were given the opportunity to correct any alleged building code violations, and were given a day in court.
2. Documentation that this rental property was inspected once per year, in accordance with city ordinance.
3. Documentation that the property was indeed beyond repair, including photographic evidence.
4. Documentation, including itemized invoices and contracts, that justify the $23,000 tax assessment for demolition on this property.
5. Itemized invoices that justify the $1,900 water and sewer fees assessed to this property.
The posting of this information for this property (and others, especially Nick's) in a timely fashion would be great. In the absence of this information, I have to wonder what is going on.
Finally, I will note that the Cuyahoga Recorder's Office website is still down, rendering deeds, mortgages, etc. inaccessible.
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james fitzgibbons
- Posts: 412
- Joined: Sun Jan 31, 2016 3:34 pm
Re: Are the Lakewood City and County Land Banks One Huge Scam?
Thanks for the info Lori, what can be accomplished with it?
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Lori Allen _
- Posts: 2550
- Joined: Wed Jan 28, 2015 2:37 pm
Re: Are the Lakewood City and County Land Banks One Huge Scam?
At this point, I do not want to disclose too much, but, the investigation is ongoing.
If Housing & Urban Development funds are being misused, that would be grounds for HUD pulling funding. If these land banks are being used as "slush funds" or "money mules", that would be something for law enforcement to investigate.
There is more about this issue that I am waiting to release, pending investigation.
If Housing & Urban Development funds are being misused, that would be grounds for HUD pulling funding. If these land banks are being used as "slush funds" or "money mules", that would be something for law enforcement to investigate.
There is more about this issue that I am waiting to release, pending investigation.
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james fitzgibbons
- Posts: 412
- Joined: Sun Jan 31, 2016 3:34 pm