1121 Ward Street

Property address:  1121 Ward Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

Property owner:  Willie M. Coles, Jr. and Shannelle Morris, 1121 Ward Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

Baltimore City Council district and contact:  District 9, Agnes Welch

Baltimore City Housing Code Enforcement Attorney:  Seth Greer, seth.greer AT baltimorecity.gov

This house is in terrible shape, and in danger of collapsing.  Since it’s attached to two other homes, we encourage those property owners to call the city and complain.  The front wall is bowed in the front, and the house needs to be torn down.

Side view of bowed front facade.

More Legal Woes for Drug Kingpin and Slumlord Milton Tillman

Milton Tillman is back in court again, and this time his legal woes have nothing to do with his drug dealing in Baltimore City.  Apparently being a drug kingpin isn’t as lucrative as it once may have been, and he’s now the defendant in multiple foreclosure lawsuits filed by a Mr. David Cohen of the law firm Cohen & Forman, LLC.

Case Number 24O09003503:  Total debt $875,981.55

The affected properties are as follows:

• 1509 E. 28th Street
• 2932 McElderry Street
• 401 N. Rose Street
• 5201 Invahoe Avenue
• 623 Melville Avenue
• 515 N. Streeper Street
• 707 N. Lakewood Avenue
• 317 N. Gilmor Street
• 2628 McElderry Street
• 3002 McElderry Street
• 506 N. Ellwood Avenue
• 530 N. Ellwood Avenue
• 607 N. Ellwood Avenue
• 742 N. Kenwood Avenue
• 740 N. Kenwood Avenue
• 1053 N. Kenwood Avenue
• 2607 E. Chase Street
• 2816 E. Chase Street
• 2114 E. Hoffman Street
• 623 N. Curley Street
• 605 N. Curley Street
• 415 N. Belnord Avenue
• 2022 Robb Street
• 742 Bartlett Avenue
• 2421 E. Madison Street
• 1607 Riggs Avenue
• 928 N. Collington Avenue
• 2718 Ashland Avenue

Case Number 24O09003452:  Total debt is $69,458.08

• 819 E. Lakewood Avenue

Case Number 24O09003449:  Total debt is $29,007.13

• 2114 E. Federal Street

Biddle Street Fire Sale!

Apparently one Baltimore “investor” has given up on the 1500 block of Biddle Street, and is selling off his properties, as evidenced by the notices spray painted on the boarded up doorways of three properties we saw yesterday.

All three are in the 1500 block, and all three are owned by Group One Financial Holdings, LLC / Leonidas Newton.  Mr. Newton is your typical Baltimore “investor” — lead paint violations, a bunch of foreclosures, a few injunctions…your slumlord same-old same-old. We do hope someone buys these homes so they can be lived in — anything to ease the blight in this East Baltimore neighborhood.

1508 E. Biddle Street

1520 E. Biddle

Multi-unit on E. Biddle

Bankrupt Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors Head is Also a Slumlord, Records Show

After reading about Vito Simone, head of the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors, and his bankruptcy filing in the Baltimore Sun, we figured there had to be more to this story.

What we found was a stack of court cases dating back to the 1990s — most of which showed a pattern of failing to pay contractors, failing to maintain property in a manner that is fit for human habitation, foreclosure, and failing to register rental property. Mr Simone was sued multiple times by the city over his properties’ condition. Frankly, we don’t understand how he was able to keep his real estate license with the number of property offenses he’s committed — thankfully it looks as though he no longer has a license.  Update:  Unfortunately, we were incorrect in saying that it looks as though Mr. Simone no longer has a valid real estate license. He has not only one, but two.  With that said, we do hope that the state licensing board makes the right decision regarding Mr. Simone’s license — especially given his questionable business practices and disregard for the health and well being of others.

It’s this kind of scenario that allows for the current conditions of blighted areas in this city.  No checks and balances, no controls in place, and no accountability.  Hopefully this will serve as a wake-up call to the folks in charge.

Baltimore ACORN “Activist” Louis Beverly is Also a Slumlord, Records Show

After receiving a tip from a reader, and seeing this blog post from Inside Charm City, we thought the story deserved a closer look.

Approximately two weeks ago, ACORN “activist” Louis Beverly assisted Donna Hanks in breaking into her former home.  Hanks owed $260,000 when the house was placed into foreclosure.  Louis Beverly, in an ill-fated publicity stunt, broke the lock on the home, allowing Ms. Hanks entry.  As a result, both are facing criminal charges, and Ms. Hanks still doesn’t have her house back.  After a closer look into Louis Beverly’s background, the stunt looks even more ridiculous.  Louis Beverly has faced multiple foreclosures, most on his rental property located at 2622 Harford Road.  He has also been charged numerous times by the city for failing to maintain his properties, owning a property that was not fit for human habitation, trash dumping, failing to register his property as a rental property, and failure to provide a safe means of egress.  All of which are serious health and safety issues for his tenant(s). Along with his property violations, Mr. Beverly was also found guilty of battery and weapons charges.

In addition to his rental property on Harford Road that is currently in foreclosure, Mr. Beverly also owns a rental property at 540 Baker Street, located on a blighted block off North Avenue, and his residence on E. 25th Street.  We believe Mr. Beverly’s time and energy would be better spent fixing his properties and being a better landlord, than working on cheap publicity stunts.

Donna Hanks, the center of the failed ACORN “takeback” attempt, was found to be illegally renting out the basement of her S. Ellwood Street home, and was also charged with assault and possession of a dangerous weapon with the intent to injure, both in 2008.

Slumlord of the Week

Property Address:  701 Washington Boulevard, Baltimore MD 21230

Property Neighborhood:  Pigtown

Property Owner:  Raj LLC, 1900 Rolling Road, Baltimore, MD 21244

Registered Agent for Raj, LLC:  Anwar Mumtaz, 19 Wally Court, Lutherville, MD 21093

City Council District and Contact:  11th District, William Cole

Anwar Mumtaz is a doctor with an office on Annapolis Road, and surgical privleges at Sinai Hospital.

Once home to a Sav-A-Lot grocery store, this property has remained vacant because the owners want roughly three times the value of the property and refuse to repair or even take care of the property.  The lot is now a haven for drug activity and trash.  Located at the corner of Washington Boulevard and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, the property is the first thing visitors see when they stop at the light, and it needs to be cleaned up immediately.  I daresay Dr. Mumtaz wouldn’t want the same eyeseore in his neighborhood in Lutherville.

abandoned supermarket at 701 washington boulevard, baltimore md 21230

broken window at 701 washington boulevard

homeless camp behind shrubbery at 701 washington boulevard

trash in the stairwell of 701 washington boulevard