News
DEARBORN HEIGHTS – City Council Tuesday listened to a presentation from Tarek Baydoun representing Salem One, a housing redevelopment company, proposing to renovate between 15 and 80 houses in the city over the next year.
Under the proposed pilot program, Baydoun said the city wouldn’t buy, renovate or have titles for any of the homes, nor would they have any liability for them — Salem One would.
Baydoun, a Dearborn City Council candidate, proposed creating a Strategic Development Partner program (SDP) with the city under the National Community Stabilization Trust.
The NCST is a nonprofit organization sponsored by six leading national organizations in the housing and community development field — such as U.S. Housing and Urban Development, Habitat for Humanity, Rebuilding Together and others — and was created expressly for the purpose of assisting local communities to weather the foreclosure crisis.
The program has been compared to the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, administered by HUD, which is a federal program that provides communities with resources to stabilize neighborhoods in distress as a result of high rates of foreclosure rate and vacancy, but without the red tape.
Under NCST, private, for-profit companies are also rehabilitating houses.
Three times a day the county updates a listing of foreclosures. Cities are given first priority to bid on those houses for their own rehabilitation purposes.
Dearborn Heights Community and Economic Development Director Ron Amen said the city’s NSP1 grant is expired and they do not plan to rehabilitate any more houses.
“I don’t think council wants to be in the home-buying business anymore,” Amen said.
Under the proposed program, the city would allow Salem One to use its priority to bid on houses within the first 48 hours of them being listed, before anyone else has a chance to bid on them. Continued…
- 1
- 2
- 3
- See Full Story
“For Salem One, the advantage comes in because they don’t have to compete on every single property,” Baydoun said.
Mayor Daniel Paletko, who said he’s in favor of the program, said he toured several of Salem One’s houses and is impressed with its quality of work.
“It was very impressive the workmanship that they do,” Paletko said. “It was our intent that there was no liability, private capital, so we’re not putting any money in … we have a priority and they want to piggyback on that priority list so they can bid on some of the better homes as these things come on the market. I look at the program as leveraging the private capital with the city’s priority to accomplish mutual goals,” Paletko said.
While Salem One would benefit from getting first chance at houses, the city would benefit from fast, quality rehabilitation.
“The partnership works on a house-to-house basis in the sense that every single house that’s brought up to a good standard and then subsequently sold to a homebuyer, hopefully at a good value, is a net positive to the city,” Baydoun said. “At the very least you’re creating value and continual growth and steady viable neighborhoods.”
In order to have an SDP between local municipalities and investors, the entities must be highly experienced and well-capitalized and have a proven track record of successful acquisition, rehabilitation, and disposition of residential properties at scale.
Baydoun said Salem One has 12 years of experience and has worked with Freddy Mac and Fannie Mae and nonprofit organizations such as Manna Development Group and National Faith Homebuyers.
Councilwoman Pro-Tem Janet Badalow said it seems like it could be a fruitful partnership and she favors the houses being sold to homebuyers versus sold as rentals.
“We have a vested interest in actually having the homes being rehabbed properly and being sold at a fair market value,” she said. “I don’t want rentals. We have enough rentals already in the city.”
Council members said they will send the information to City Attorney Gary Miotke for review and consideration. Continued…
- 1
- 2
- 3
- See Full Story
DEARBORN HEIGHTS – City Council Tuesday listened to a presentation from Tarek Baydoun representing Salem One, a housing redevelopment company, proposing to renovate between 15 and 80 houses in the city over the next year.
Under the proposed pilot program, Baydoun said the city wouldn’t buy, renovate or have titles for any of the homes, nor would they have any liability for them — Salem One would.
Baydoun, a Dearborn City Council candidate, proposed creating a Strategic Development Partner program (SDP) with the city under the National Community Stabilization Trust.
The NCST is a nonprofit organization sponsored by six leading national organizations in the housing and community development field — such as U.S. Housing and Urban Development, Habitat for Humanity, Rebuilding Together and others — and was created expressly for the purpose of assisting local communities to weather the foreclosure crisis.
The program has been compared to the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, administered by HUD, which is a federal program that provides communities with resources to stabilize neighborhoods in distress as a result of high rates of foreclosure rate and vacancy, but without the red tape.
Under NCST, private, for-profit companies are also rehabilitating houses.
Three times a day the county updates a listing of foreclosures. Cities are given first priority to bid on those houses for their own rehabilitation purposes.
Dearborn Heights Community and Economic Development Director Ron Amen said the city’s NSP1 grant is expired and they do not plan to rehabilitate any more houses.
“I don’t think council wants to be in the home-buying business anymore,” Amen said.
Under the proposed program, the city would allow Salem One to use its priority to bid on houses within the first 48 hours of them being listed, before anyone else has a chance to bid on them.
“For Salem One, the advantage comes in because they don’t have to compete on every single property,” Baydoun said.
Mayor Daniel Paletko, who said he’s in favor of the program, said he toured several of Salem One’s houses and is impressed with its quality of work.
“It was very impressive the workmanship that they do,” Paletko said. “It was our intent that there was no liability, private capital, so we’re not putting any money in … we have a priority and they want to piggyback on that priority list so they can bid on some of the better homes as these things come on the market. I look at the program as leveraging the private capital with the city’s priority to accomplish mutual goals,” Paletko said.
While Salem One would benefit from getting first chance at houses, the city would benefit from fast, quality rehabilitation.
“The partnership works on a house-to-house basis in the sense that every single house that’s brought up to a good standard and then subsequently sold to a homebuyer, hopefully at a good value, is a net positive to the city,” Baydoun said. “At the very least you’re creating value and continual growth and steady viable neighborhoods.”
In order to have an SDP between local municipalities and investors, the entities must be highly experienced and well-capitalized and have a proven track record of successful acquisition, rehabilitation, and disposition of residential properties at scale.
Baydoun said Salem One has 12 years of experience and has worked with Freddy Mac and Fannie Mae and nonprofit organizations such as Manna Development Group and National Faith Homebuyers.
Councilwoman Pro-Tem Janet Badalow said it seems like it could be a fruitful partnership and she favors the houses being sold to homebuyers versus sold as rentals.
“We have a vested interest in actually having the homes being rehabbed properly and being sold at a fair market value,” she said. “I don’t want rentals. We have enough rentals already in the city.”
Council members said they will send the information to City Attorney Gary Miotke for review and consideration.
Baydoun recently also has had ties to another housing rehabilitation company, Metro Property Group, from which he stepped down as their attorney in October 2012. Metro Property Group, which specializes in buying foreclosed houses in Detroit, is being sued in federal court over allegations of fraud and racketeering.
Debbie Schlussel, a conservative attorney and commentator, filed the suit in federal court. The suit accused the company of marketing houses in Detroit to investors all over the world as money-making investments, and they allegedly presented fake documents, including leases with forged signatures.
Baydoun told the Press Guide Newspaper in May that he firmly denied any wrongdoing and that Schlussel’s allegations are “scandalous and fraudulent.” He also said that he and didn’t expect to be a party in the litigation.
Metro Property Group LLC filed the counterclaim July 30 in U.S. District Court.
- Return to Paging Mode
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
comments powered by Disqus
Open all references in tabs: [1 – 4]