Property Owner:  Elk Realty, LLC, 2000 Winford Road, Baltimore, MD 21239  (Company is not in good standing, charter has been forfeited)

Resident Agent for Elk Realty, LLC:  Sharolyn Yarbrough, same address.  (You may remember Sharolyn Yarbrough from 2010 news reports that she fired a gun at someone in a downtown Baltimore hotel.)

City Council District and Contact:  District 9, “Pistol” Pete Welch

State Senator:  Verna Jones Rodwell

State Delegates:  Keith Haynes, Keiffer Mitchell Jr, Melvin Stukes

1017 N Monroe Street

The home is listed for sale, yet when the resident next door called to complain about the damage to his home, the real estate company employees have repeatedly told him they have no idea who owns the home — not sure how that could be true, since you couldn’t list a home for sale without the owner’s permission.  My guess is the real estate company, Spectrum Enterprises, simply doesn’t want a liability issue.

I met the man who lives in the nicer home, and his wife, yesterday.  You couldn’t ask for nicer neighbors — they keep their home tidy, their yard tidy, and they simply want resolution to this problem.  I’m hoping this post will get that ball rolling.

There’s some good news and some bad news about the property’s owner — he’s currently incarcerated, for refusing to clean up his lead paint-filled properties.  But he’s scheduled to be released soon, and he’ll be on house arrest, so if the owner of the adjoining property wants to sue — he’ll be home to open the door for a process server!

Property address:  1106 N Appleton Street, Baltimore, MD 21217

Property Owner:  C Murrell Business Consultant, Inc., PO Box 16413, Baltimore, MD 21217 (corporation is not in good standing) / 600 Laurel Hill Lane, Catonsville, MD 21228

Resident Agent for C Murrell Business Consultant, Inc.:  Cephus Murrell, 600 Laurel Hill Lane, Catonsville, MD 21228

City Council District and Contact:  District 9, “Pistol” Pete Welch

State Senator:  Verna Jones Rodwell

State Delegates:  Keith Haynes, Keiffer Mitchell Jr, Melvin Stukes

1106 N Appleton Street

In the Baltimore Sun, Luke Broadwater reports the Housing Authority of Baltimore City has disbanded and laid off its Housing Security Unit.  These were the folks responsible for “investigating illegal occupants, nuisance activity, unsecured vacants and vandalism”, according to the article.

Developer Mark Manzo wanted to demolish part of a historic 19th Century church to make way for a parking lot for his new townhouses in Butcher’s Hill.  According to this Baltimore Brew article, the Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation (CHAP) denied the petition, as several neighbors, and District 13 Councilman Warren Branch protested the effort.  One neighbor called the townhouses “boring”.

Vacants are everywhere, including Japan, says Business Insider.

Since you can’t talk about vacants without mentioning Detroit… S&P has downgraded Wayne County’s credit rating to two steps above “junk”, says Bloomberg.  That’s gotta hurt.

You can’t really talk about vacants without mentioning Baltimore or HUD, either — and the Baltimore Sun reports that HUD is shrinking its Baltimore office staff by one-third, as part of a consolidation effort.

In the UK, investors and landlords are being targeted by mortgage scammers.

Speaking of the UK, Britain’s biggest mortgage fraudster was given an extra four years in prison for conspiring to defraud two banks of £61 million, according to the London Evening Standard.  One of his previous scams was selling bogus manorial titles to Americans.

Dozens of homes in New Orleans were moved and then left to deteriorate, at taxpayer expense, according to WWLVT Channel 4.  The nonprofit in charge of renovating the homes, Builders of Hope, is no longer involved in the project.  If you recall, the Baltimore Sun reported back in 2012, the same nonprofit was supposed to partner with Ray Lewis to renovate 500 homes in Baltimore, and that seems to have gone nowhere.

You know life has taken a bad turn when the feds are busting down the door, looking for your 40+ year old son who’s living in your basement.  Van Smith from the City Paper reports on former deputy mayor and state delegate Salima Siler Marriott’s latest woes.

And speaking of the feds — Philadelphia’s notorious “Slumlord Millionaire” Robert Coyle is on his way to the pokey after defrauding a couple of banks.  Nevermind the fact that he’s allegedly swindled people in his “rent to own” schemes, and forced citizens in the Kensington neighborhood of Philly to live next to his blighted nasty homes…oh, and how about the fact that he treated his tenants worse than animals and forced some of them to live without plumbing or heat?  But hey — he defrauded a couple of banks, so off to the clink he goes!

Because sometimes I like to save the best for last…

The man who raped a 13 year old girl in a vacant home (owned at the time by disbarred attorney John Reiff) has been sentenced to four life sentences.  Count ‘em — 1-2-3-4.  I would say justice has been served quite nicely — I hope he also has to pay for the counseling the survivor will need to be able to move past such a horror.

Property Owner:  NB2 Business Trust, 5616 Park Heights Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21215 (A Stanley Rochkind controlled entity)

Resident Agent for NB2 Business Trust:  Jack Novograd, same address.

City Council District and Contact:  District 4, Bill Henry

State Senator:  Joan Carter Conway

State Delegates:  Curtis Anderson, Mary Washington, Maggie McIntosh

4727 Old York Road

One of Baltimore’s most notorious slumlords and lead-paint violators, we’ve written about Stanley Rochkind and his many shell LLCs, business trusts, and corporations many times.  It’s a little unsettling to think he’s allowed to continue to do business in Baltimore City.

Property Owner:  Tadesse & Associates, Inc., 21124 Hickory Forest Way, Gaithersburg, MD 20876 (Corporation is not in good standing.)

Resident Agent for Tadesse & Associates:  Mihretu Tadesse, same address

City Council District and Contact:  District 10, Ed Reisinger

State Senator:  Verna Jones Rodwell

State Delegates:  Keith Haynes, Keiffer Mitchell Jr, Melvin Stukes

1446 Carroll Street

This lot was purchased from the city in 2009.  No permits were ever filed to improve the lot, and it’s become a neighborhood eyesore — and a dumping ground for trash and weeds.  It’s also located next door to a home (1444 Carroll Street) that has been vacant for years.

Property Address:  1712 Light Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

Property owner, Citibank, NA, 6501 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine, CA 92618

(Kudos to Citibank for at least making sure the ownership info is correct after taking over the home in 2012, as many banks have not bothered to do so after foreclosing on a house.)

City Council District and Contact:  District 11, William Cole

State Senator:  William Ferguson IV

State Delegates:  Pete Hammen, Luke Clippinger, Brian McHale

1712 Light Street

Yet, the house is still standing.  Many thanks to Reader 4 for the pictures and information.

We have written about this property owner before.

Property Address:  617 N Grantley Street, Baltimore, MD 21229

Property Owner:  CE Realty, LLC, 3210 Labryinth Road, Baltimore, MD 21208

Resident Agent for CE Realty, LLC:  Ephraim Weingarten, same address.

City Council District and Contact:  District 8, Helen Holton

State Senator:  Lisa Gladden

State Delegates:  Jill Carter, Nathaniel Oaks, Samuel Rosenberg

617 N Grantley Street, condemnation and demolition notice from 2011

617 N Grantley Street

617 N Grantley Street

617 N Grantley, rotting front porch

Both SDAT and the land records indicate the home is still owned by John and Barbara Fefel, as does the Baltimore City Real Property database.

When deeds aren’t recorded, the true owners aren’t being held liable for the condition of the property — and what happens when the current owners default on the taxes?  Who gets stuck with the tax bill?  The water bill and maintenance?  Not to mention the money lost by the state and the city in deed recordation fees and transfer taxes — it may not seem like a lot of money, but when you multiply it by the thousands of deeds that probably haven’t been (or won’t be) recorded, it adds up to a lot.

Property Address:  1910 Lemmon Street, Baltimore, MD 21223

Property Owner:  ETS-Maryland, LLC, c/o Corporation Service Company, 2711 Centreville Road, Suite 400, Wilmington, DE 19808 (company charter was forfeited)

Resident Agent for ETS-Maryland, LLC:  CSC-Lawyers Servicing Company, 7 St. Paul Street, Suite 1660, Baltimore, MD 21202

City Council District and Contact:  District 9, “Pistol” Pete Welch

State Senator:  Verna Jones Rodwell

State Delegates:  Keith Haynes, Keiffer Mitchell Jr, Melvin Stukes

1910 Lemmon Street

In Baltimore City, you can receive free smoke detectors, so there’s no excuse for not having them.  Call 311 or use the online 311 customer service request form, and the fire department will bring them to you and install them.  If you’re using the online form, next to “Service Type”, choose “Smoke Alarm Installation Request” from the drop-down menu.

We’ve had more than our fair share of fatal fires this year in Baltimore City — an increase over 2012′s number, and it’s only May.

Aren’t your home and your family worth a simple phone call or five minutes online?

Property Address: 6511 O’Donnell Street, Baltimore, MD 21224

Property Owner: Gregory Davis, 4346 Breeders Cup Circle, Randallstown, MD 21133

City Council District and Contact: District 1, Jim Kraft

State Senator:  William Ferguson IV

State Delegates:  Pete Hammen, Luke Clippinger, Brian McHale

6511 O’Donnell Street