Is Darren from "Darren Buys Houses" Another Summers' Friend?

[Lori Allen _]

When I used to attend city council and COW meetings, Mary Louise Madigan mentioned signs being posted around town (illegally) on utility poles, traffic signal boxes, and other public property. She mentioned the signs that said "Darren buys houses" during at least one COW meeting. I recall Mary Louise saying something to the effect of "Oh! I guess I'll have to call Darren and tell him to take his signs down!"

To give you some background, Darren's full name is Darren Mancuso. He resided on Lakewood on Morrison Ave. until very recently when he moved to Strongsville. Darren is the owner of Relief Properties. This is the company whose signs seem to keep popping up in yards all over town. Relief Properties have been buying up homes in Lakewood like there is no tomorrow, flipping them, and then selling them at seemingly very high prices. This company also was one of the main players in the transformation of the Mars Ave, boarding house a while back (in fairness, it was nice that this was preserved).

Currently, these are the homes Darren, A.K.A. Relief Properties, owns in Lakewood:

- 1450 Grace
- 1479 Rosewood
- 1283 Warren
- 13225 Merl (this is one of the homes Amy mentioned a while ago that comes with a huge tax abatement)
- 2044 Elbur
- 1570 St. Charles
- 17216 Lake
- 2172 Alger
- 1240 Marlowe
- 1465 Arthur
- 17852 Cannon
- 2155 Brown
- 1344 Giel
- 1110 Wilbert
- 1220 Nicholson (this is in Darren's name, not Relief Properties)

Interestingly, both 1570 St. Charles and 2174 Alger both sold on Saturday (title will probably still be under Relief Properties until Monday or Tuesday). If any city or Cleveland Clinic people bought these, I will update this ASAP.

Through research, I have discovered that Mike Summers and Darren are friends on Facebook. This was also taken from the Relief Properties Facebook page:

Darren Buys Houses.jpg (64.06 KiB) Viewed 12106 times

Also, see this. Darren with Ian Andrews and Nickie Antonio (alleged to be a backstabber by some) outside of the flipped Mars Ave. boarding house. I was told by a member of LakewoodAlive that Ian Andrews' salary comes from the Cleveland Clinic.

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As I mentioned earlier, Darren's houses on Merl come with a hefty tax abatement. Are these other flipped homes getting a tax abatement as well? I don't know, but it is possible.

Most of the flipped houses are selling at very high prices (over $300,000). Could this be an effort by Summers to make our home sale prices look great?

While it may not be unusual for a mayor to be friends on Facebook with a contractor, it does make you wonder when said contractor lived in Lakewood until very recently and when you consider all of the other contractors and developers doing work in Lakewood that appear to be friends of Summers or the Cleveland Clinic. Also, it seems odd that Lakewood is the only city where Darren is buying up houses like mad.

Who runs the city? Lord Lakewood or Cleveland Clinic? Who shall the subjects praise?

[Anne Steiner]

What's the big deal?

Relief Properties are above average flippers. They work they do is high end. I commend the work they do. High home prices are good for all homeowners in Lakewood.

Isn't it exhausting trying to connect dots that don't exist?

My husband used to do IT work for Summer's Rubber, so we say "Hello" to the Mayor when we run into him occasionally. Are we in cohoots with the Clinic? Dun...dun..dun!!!!!

[Lori Allen _]

I never commented about the quality of their work. I would agree that their work appears high-quality from what I have seen.

I have presented facts here. When I posted anything that was opinion, I feel that I made it quite clear that it was opinion and not fact.

I feel I have connected most, if not all of the "dots". Darren buys up 16 houses in Lakewood in roughly a year's time: fact. Darren is a friend of Michael P. Summers on Facebook: fact. Darren was a Lakewood resident until very recently: fact. Darren owns two houses in Bay Village and all of the rest are in Lakewood: fact.

If there is any documentation that is evidence that Darren does not know Summers, I would be interested in seeing it.

As a side note, I will say that I am pleased that Darren took all of his signs down and has kept them down.

Also, isn't Summers Rubber now Tiger Properties and still owned by Mike Summers?

[Anne Steiner]

Very scintillating work. I am not sure what these facts are germane too.

If you like gathering facts and writing so much, why don't you write a nice article in the LO about Relief Properties and the work they do in Lakewood fixing properties in neglected neighborhoods raising the property values in Lakewood. I'm sure the Mancusos would give an interview about how they got involved with the business of real estate.

I just find it hilarious that just because business people in Lakewood meet the Mayor, or are FB friends with him, you think SOMETHING?!? Is going on. The Mayor's job is to know people.

Come to think of it:

My husband and I know the Mayor.
The Cleveland Clinic has provided my family with health care services.
This year we won Keep Lakewood Beautiful 'Beautiful Home Award'
At least once a week a garbage truck passes and STOPS in front of my house.

How are these things connected!?!?!? You need to get to the bottom to this!!

[Lori Allen _]

Apparently, all of the "fact-finding" is bothering someone, as it seems to have you quite perturbed and upset. Apparently, I have hit a nerve. Maybe you know more than I do. Could you please elaborate and share your facts with us?

I find it interesting that you suddenly came out of nowhere when this thread appeared.

[Lori Allen _]

UPDATE: Apparently, Darren has bit off more than he can chew and needs to spit some out. Currently, Darren's flipping company, Relief Properties owns 14 properties in Lakewood. Below are the addresses:

2031 Arthur
1283 Warren
1479 Rosewood
1450 Grace
17216 Lake
2044 Elbur
A vacant lot on Donald by the railroad crossing
1344 Giel
1544 Rockway
2155 Brown
17852 Cannon
1465 Arthur
1110 Wilbert
1240 Marlowe

It appears that these 14 properties are just too much for Darren and his crew to handle, as the majority of the projects appear to have been abandoned. On most of the properties, absolutely no work has been done for weeks, leaving dumpsters in driveways, construction debris, all over the property, boarded-up windows, etc. All of it just laying there for weeks and weeks.

This one really takes the cake, however. The property on Marlowe has looked like this going on five or six weeks now, with no work being done:

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20160914_140920.jpg (74.54 KiB) Viewed 11525 times

Notice the dumpster/trailer that has been sitting on the front lawn with the hitch the hangs over most of the sidewalk, bricks and debris all over the porch, and the broken second-story front window. Besides this looking like something out of Green Acres, two things strike me as being downright dangerous: the trailer hanging over the sidewalk and the broken window. Anyone with sight problems could easily trip and fall face first on his trailer. If he has no plans of fixing the property, why not move the trailer? Also, the broken window invites squatters, thieves, homeless, and maybe even kids a somewhat safe haven if they found a way to the roof (not impossible). Neighbors are not happy with Darren or his company due to this situation. Also, aren't building permits supposed to have an expiration date? Also, no building permits are visible on the property. Aren't they supposed to be clearly visible? Does he even have permits? What the heck is going on?

City Hall has been aware of this flipping company and Darren seemingly abandoning this project for two weeks. They have done nothing about it, nor has the city come and boarded the open window and billed the owner, as is procedure.

It is also worth noting that Darren and his flipping company bought a house at 1465 Arthur on 6/24/16. The property was bought by Darren's company for $236,500. The property is appraised at $190,000. Why buy a house for almost $50,000 more than its value, especially if you are trying to make a profit by flipping? It is worth noting that this house is not distressed or in need of flipping.

City Hall: please hold Darren and his company accountable for their properties. Please come board up the window of the house on Marlowe and send Darren or his company a bill. Please don't let this stand in the way of keeping people safe and protecting neighboring properties:

Darren Summers.jpg (28.33 KiB) Viewed 11525 times

Darren and his company: Please be respectful of Lakewood, its residents, and its neighborhoods when doing your property flipping. If you are going to abandon projects, please remove debris from the property and secure any open doors or windows. Please treat our neighborhoods with the same respect that you would like in your neighborhood.

[Lori Allen _]

In my opinion, this is more disrespect for our neighborhoods thanks to "Darren buys houses" and his company:

This is the property at 1240-42 Marlowe that Darren and his company have left sitting for months with at least one broken window, along with debris and bricks on the property, general junk, etc. Darren finally moved the trailer from the front yard. Now, it appears that he has taken it a step further. He now has a huge pile of plywood and a huge pile of something else (possibly more wood) completely blocking the sidewalk. He and/or his company apparently knew what they were doing, as they completely blocked off the sidewalk with banner tape stretching clear from the tree lawn tree all the way to the front porch of the house. Neither the front yard, tree lawn, nor the sidewalk were passable. Therefore, there are two options in order to pass: jaywalk across the street or walk in the street for about 50 feet and go around Darren's company's mess.

Darren Wood Pile Marlowe.jpg (44 KiB) Viewed 11281 times

I know that countless seniors use this part of Marlowe to get places from the Westerly, Bloom, etc. Most of them use canes, walkers, or wheelchairs. Also, children could easily get hurt on this.

I could understand if Darren's company was doing actual work that required this, but this stuff could have very easily gone in the driveway or backyard. There is really no excuse for this. Is blocking the sidewalk allowed by Darren's company's permit? Better yet, does he even have a permit? There are none hanging in the windows or anywhere on the property. Darren also just bought another property on Woodward last week. He hasn't worked on several of his properties in weeks or months. Why is he buying more properties when he is apparently not working on the ones he already owns, leaving the property dormant and blighting the neighborhoods? Also, don't permits expire?

This is almost, if not as bad as City Hall's sidewalk contractor, Telamon, leaving dump trucks, sharp objects, and flammable and toxic materials lying around our streets for weeks and weeks. This stuff should go with the contractor at the end of each working day.

Darren: I will ask again that you please take our neighborhoods into consideration. I have talked to several neighbors on Marlowe about this and they are not happy. First the broken windows and the Green Acres trailer sitting for months, and now this. There appears to be no reason to have this stuff lying there, taking up the whole sidewalk, tree lawn, and front yard. It could have easily gone in the driveway. Please consider this for your next project.

City Hall: Please hold Darren and his company accountable for their projects. Residents pay taxes and most do not want to look at trailers, broken windows, and wood piles for months on end with little to no work being done. Please ensure that Darren and his company have permits and that they adhere to the requirements and time limits of said permits. This is getting out of hand and Darren's company is hurting more than helping our neighborhoods, in my opinion.

Does apparent membership have its rewards? How long would a private citizen get away with this? Better yet, how long would someone who opposes the mayor get away with this?

[Lori Allen _]

UPDATE:

In 12 days, Darren and his crew have managed to move all of that wood from the front yard and sidewalk up to the front porch. Now, the wood piles have been sitting on the porch for about 7 or 8 days, with little to no work being done on the house at all.

Darren and his crew also failed to board-up one of the open second-story windows on the south side of the house, leaving an open window with a torn screen fluttering in the breeze.

1240 42 Marlowe side window.jpg (42.4 KiB) Viewed 11114 times

Darren now owns 14 properties in Lakewood. Very little work is being done on any of them. Most of them have just been torn apart and left sitting for weeks and months.

Also, no permits are visible on any of Darren's properties. I believe permits are supposed to be put in a conspicuous location throughout the project. Additionally, permits are only good for a certain amount of time. How is Darren getting away with leaving these properties sit for weeks and months? Does he even have permits?

It would be great for City Hall's image if they could post the permits and inspection reports for this property. The address is 1240-42 Marlowe. It doesn't appear that anyone from City Hall is inspecting Darren's work, as is supposed to be done on projects like this.

I spoke with some neighbors about Darren's Marlowe Ave. property and they are not happy with having this in the neighborhood. They are upset with the fact that they are only given a certain amount of time to fix their properties, but that Darren appears to have free reign.

Instead of "Darren buys houses", perhaps his slogan should be changed to "Darren rips up Lakewood homes and leaves them sit, one house at a time".

[Lori Allen _]

UPDATE:

Darren T. Mancuso and his company (Relief Properties INC.) appear to be working very hard on Darren's property at 1240-42 Marlowe Avenue.

Darren T. Mancuso and his ccompany (Relief Properties INC.) have now been so kind as to grace the neighbors on Marlowe Avenue with an unknown metal contraption and a torn apart refrigerator that have now sat in the front yard for over 4 days. Not to mention he has yet to secure the second-story window on the south side of the house. No windows, no boards, nothing. A huge, open gap.

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1240 42 Marlowe fridge.jpg (60.02 KiB) Viewed 10932 times

Next time I do a renovation on my house, I should leave unsecured windows and trash lying all over the work site and see what happens. Then again, it appears that membership has its rewards. It has also come to my attention that Darren T. Mancuso and his company (Relief Properties) have now purchased a home on Mars Avenue, probably to tear apart and leave to rot, much like they appear to have done with the Marlowe Avenue property. This is the 15th property that Darren T. Mancuso and his company (Relief Properties) now own in Lakewood.

Why keep buying property when you are not even close to finishing what you have?

Why does City Hall continue to issue Darren T. Mancuso and his company (Relief Properties) building permits? Do they even have permits? There are none displayed on any of his properties.

Darren Summers.jpg (28.33 KiB) Viewed 10932 times

In my opinion, if you happen to see the guy on the left or the right side of the above picture snooping around your house, I would advise you call the police and a good lawyer immediately.

[Lori Allen _]

I just drove by Marlowe this morning on my way home from work, and STILL, NO activity by Darren and his men. Mr. Summers, why are you allowing this? Would you like it if Darren tore up the property next to you on Wilbert? Just exactly what is the relationship between Summers and Darren that appears to give Darren free reign over the entire City of Lakewood? Hmmmmmm!

[Lori Allen _]

UPDATE:

Darren's Marlowe Ave. house flip is still moving at a snail's pace to be generous. As a reminder, Darren has owned this house for over a year, since November 2015.

For months and months during the summer and fall of 2016, Darren left large windows in the house wide open, allowing rain, snow, sleet, and animals inside. Who knows how much the inside was damaged? About two weeks ago, plastic and some window frames were finally installed in most of the openings. However, some openings are still open and unsecured.

This still does not excuse the fact that the worksite is a mess. Last weekend, Darren left a power-digger sitting in the front yard all weekend, with no work actually being done. Anyone could have gotten hurt on this, especially kids - or it could have gotten stolen. Also, Darren has had large piles of wood with splinters and nails sticking out of them sitting in the front yard for months without the wood actually being used.

Never have I seen a contractor get away with what Darren appears to get away with. Trash, litter, debris and tools being left all over the worksite, windows and doors left wide open, etc.

The house was gorgeous before Darren came in. All it needed was an occupant. Leaded-glass windows, natural woodwork, you name it. Now it has looked like a disaster for over a year.

Is this all for show? Will Darren's Marlowe Ave. property become another demolition for Summers & Co.? I have spoken with some of the neighbors, who claim they have complained to City Hall and that nothing has been done.

[Lori Allen _]

Darren "Buys" Two City Hall Land Bank Properties

On 2/23/17 and 2/24/17, "Darren Buys Houses" A.K.A. Darren A.K.A. Relief Properties Inc. purchased two land bank lots from City Hall. They are located at 1589 Newman and 1214 Gladys, respectively.

It is interesting to note that Darren purchased the lot at 1214 Gladys for $9,000, when the lot was appraised at $26,400. In other words, Darren purchased the property from City Hall for only about 34% of its value.

It is also interesting to note that Darren purchased the lot at 1589 Newman for $5,334, when the lot was only appraised at $2,000. In other words, Darren purchased this lot from City Hall for roughly 266% more than its appraised value.

According to the housing committee meeting notice for 2/13/17:

ORDINANCE NO. 2-17 – AN ORDINANCE authorizing and directing the Director of Planning and Development or the Mayor to enter into an agreement with a licensed real estate broker to market for sale the real property located at 11900 Madison Avenue (PPN 315-15-025), 1468 W. 117th Street (PPN 315-13-103), and 1482-84 W. 117th Street (PPN 315-14-002), 1252 Westlake Avenue (PPN 311-29-066), vacant lot associated with Newman Avenue (PPN 311-15-072), 1589 Newman Avenue (PPN 315-15-073), 1635 Hopkins Avenue (PPN 315-15-031), 1214 Gladys Avenue (PPN 312-13-054) and 2147 Dowd Avenue (PPN 215-22-034) for a period of 120 days, pursuant to Section 155.07 of the Codified Ordinances. (Placed on 1st reading and adopted 2/6/17)

First, that is a lot of properties to be selling at one time. What's the rush? Secondly, only the vacant City Hall lots at 11900 Madison, 1468 W. 117th, and 1482-84 W. 117th St. have had "for sale" signs publicly visible on them. I drive by the vacant lots on Gladys & Newman (the ones sold to Darren) quite frequently and never, ever saw any type of "for sale" sign on either of those lots. Also, I never saw any public bid notices for these lots that were recently sold to Darren.

While I am glad that City Hall ensured they were compensated for their property this time, I am wondering why these lots appear to have been sold to Darren without any public notice, sale, or bidding process.

If any of the mayor's numerous mouthpieces wish to rebut this, I respectfully request that they come prepared with the following. Given City Hall's track record, I do not trust anything said by City Hall at face value, especially with the revelations earlier this week.

1. A copy of the contract with the "licensed real estate broker" that helped with the sale of the two vacant lots sold to Darren.

2. Any documentation showing that members of the general public were given an open and reasonable opportunity to bid on these two lots that were subsequently sold to Darren. No, the council minutes don't count, as they do not perform the function of a public bidding notice. If no documentation of such exists, please be prepared with an explantion of why the general public was not given an opportunity to bid.

3. Documentation of why Darren was chosen as the best bidder. As you will see previously in this thread, Darren appears to not have the best track record with keeping his work sites clean and safe.

4. Any correspondence (e-mails, letters, etc.) between Darren Mancuso, Michael P. Summers, Bryce Sylvester, or any members of city council regarding the sale of these lots to Darren.

5. If public bidding was permitted, copies of all bids that were not accepted. Yes, these can be released, as the properties have now transferred and bidding has closed.

This will probably get shoved down, as some city employees and/or the "Deck Patrol" appear to have been working double duty recently!

See attached for copies of the valuations and transfer details of these two lots, taken from a publicly accessible site:

1214 Gladys City Hall Darren.pdf

(115.96 KiB) Downloaded 280 times

1589 Newman City Hall Darren.pdf

(112.39 KiB) Downloaded 260 times

[jackie f taylor]

Please understand, I'm not a partner in flipping houses, rehabbing, not a personal friend of the mayor, city hall, buying and selling houses at a profit, maybe I wish I were? BUT IF SOMEONE IS WILLIING TO PURCHASE A DISTRESSED PROPERTY ON MY street, and do a high quality job of rehabilitation, and then selling it, making a nice profit on it, I don't have a problem with it, what am I not seeing? The house sat for 2,3 years empty, now someone has made it a home again, someone bought it at a higher price, making my neighborhood better, we all have the same opportunity to bid, purchase the place, do the rehab, he won, what is wrong with that? Let them make money, why not, better that than the place sit there vacant for years? Is he robbing, cheating, stealing from the public? Don't we all have the same opportunity? I'm too old to do it, let the younger studs pursue it. If they have 20 houses, so what? There making it all better for all of us, no? What am I not seeing?

[Marguerite Harkness]

Jackie,

Thanks for your comments.

What you're not seeing is: The properties were not advertised, no signs stating For Sale, which means, the opportunity was NOT offered to the general public. (Even though the ordinance implied it should be.) Perhaps it was ONLY offered to Darren. Perhaps NO real estate broker was involved. Perhaps Darren IS the real estate broker. Perhaps (probably?) this list was worked out in advance, with City Hall and Darren figuring out what he personally wanted to buy.

Why did he get to buy a property at one-third of its appraised value? Surely at its (low) appraised value, Darren could afford to rehab the house and still make a handsome profit on it.

Part of Lori's disgust, is that some of Darren's properties look like h..ll while dumpsters sit out front, windows hanging off their frames, construction debris outside - for extended periods of time, and not cleaned up. I don't want MY street to look like that and I'm sure you don't, either. Yes, once a job is completed it may look nicer - but they should start the project and get it DONE, without disfiguring the whole neighborhood in the meantime.

Let's wait and see who ELSE buys any of these properties. Lori is probably already on top of it, she is a good investigator.

[Lori Allen _]

Marguerite,

Thanks. That was my whole point of that post, was to show how there appeared to be no open sale or bidding, for some reason.

Now, a new revelation has come to light. The Cuyahoga Land Bank, on Friday, March 10th, 2017, sold the last remaining Cuyahoga Land Bank lot in Lakewood at 1570 Winchester to Relief Properties Inc. A.K.A. Darren A.K.A. Darren Buys Houses.

Now, in fairness, this Winchester Ave. lot was advertised as being for sale on the Cuyahoga Land Bank website. That is a good thing.

The question remains: what is this apparent special relationship between Mike Summers, City Hall, Cuyahoga County, and Darren?

Why is there a sudden need to get rid of all of the city/county land bank property now? Why now, in such a hurry?

Hey City Hall/Cuyahoga County, what's your hurry, Murray?