Constance Nompelis wrote: Subject:"We Buy Homes" signs Has anyone else noticed the crop up of signs along Park and Portland Aves (and maybe elsewhere) that advertise a home buying company? Is this okay? I don't think it is, and if it is, it shouldn't be. I have removed two from the boulevard in front of my four-plex in the past week
Roberta Englund Says: We, the Folwell, Webber-Camden neighborhoods and 4th Ward CARE Task Force along with knowledgeable resident partners have been battling this problem of "investor scourge" for years! Most of the neighborhoods in the northwest quadrant of Minneapolis, at least those north of Plymouth Avenue have been deluged by these alleged investors. The "people of the signs" came to the neighborhoods and tacked "We buy" onto posts and poles on corridors and inside the neighborhoods on the residential grid. "They" were the precursor of the property flipping scams that devastated the neighborhoods leaving vacant and boarded properties in their wake; a foreclosure glut that resulted from enabling folks into homeownership, who could not afford the easy financing in the long run. They were there at the beginning of the predatory lending practices two years ago that has created even more victims! What we do: we tear down every sign we can find! There are those of us who are "armed" with slings (rope with weighted ends), crow bars, tree trimming extension rods with implanted hooks and a regular run of people with pick up trucks (that have beds high enough) to remove the signs that are being posted higher and higher. We call the phone numbers on the signs (most are answering services) and leave messages that tell the posters not to return to our neighborhoods. We have returned signs to the "sender" after we have tracked them down, sometime leaving them in shreds on the front lawns of these suburban property brokers. We send the message to our residents to do business with people they know; the local real estate brokers who have consistently had the best interest of the neighborhoods in mind. We provide information about the programs that Habitat for Humanity has to prevent, or intervene, in mortgage foreclosure. If these signs are appearing in your neighborhood..act now! Do not wait until residents who need help, education, or support to keep their property, as homeowners, loose it! Every sign that appears in your neighborhood should be treated as a warning that a predator is stalking at risk homeowners and the stability of your neighborhood. Every time a homesteaded property, especially in the single family residence market, becomes rental, the quality of life in the neighborhood is at a greater risk for disinvestment. If you want to talk about this issue, call us at 612.521.2100 or e-mail off list at [EMAIL PROTECTED] We can use all the help we can get in regard to "predator investors" and from the sound of it, so can you! Roberta Englund Folwell, Webber-Camden Neighborhoods 4th Ward CARE Task Force REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
