Does an Infamos Slumlord Want Out of North Minneapolis?

3127 Morgan Ave N

As a Jordan neighborhood homeowner and avowed mortgage geek, I take it upon myself to know as much as I can about the local housing market, and I frequently scan the MLS for interesting tidbits.  One such listing popped up a while back.  A house at 3127 Morgan Ave N has been listed for sale with a purchase price of (drum roll, please) $1.45 million. 

I briefly wondered if this was something similar to the $2.5 million house that signaled the downfall of the Paul Koenig/Pamiko empire.  But the listing itself states that the seller is looking to unload a total of sixteen properties, is willing to barter each on an individual basis, and will give a steep discount to someone who is buying all of them at the same time.

The owner of record, according to the city's website, the owner of record is an obscure entity called Entrust Midwest LLC.  Right away, I recognized this as being owned by the notorious BMG, none other than...

Notorious Slumlords Khan and Meldahl Lose Rental Licenses, Leading to More Slummy Real Estate Activities

3111 Upton Ave N, where Meldahl lost a license

2714 4th St N, Khan's former rental

In my research for the equity blog post, I came across interesting information, and the Johnny Northside blog beat me to the punch by publishing news of Stephen Meldahl's rental license revocation before I could.  What he missed, however, was a loss of a license by one of the few slumlords worse than Meldahl, Mahmood Khan.

The good--nay, great--news is that with the revocation of one license, a second revocation could lead to the loss of all of Khan's or Meldahl's licenses for up to five years.  The Johnny Northside blog calls this "teeter[ing] on the verge of collapse."  While I certainly hope that's the case, I believe that's grossly exaggerating the anticipated demise of these rental slumpires.  There are several reasons why...

Conservation Districts Don't Do Enough for North Minneapolis

The newly-proposed conservation district ordinance should excite me.  Either the preservationist in me should leap for joy that neighbors may have another tool available to preserve the character of their community, or the libertarian in me should bristle at the prospect of fewer property rights.  Instead, I'm left shrugging my shoulders and responding with a resounding "meh."

At the very first meeting when the idea was first rolled out, I had one question that would shape my assessment of this ordinance moving forward:  How would a conservation district help north Minneapolis?  And more to the point, how would it help "level the playing field" between neighborhoods where it's already easy to preserve houses and features vs. neighborhoods where doing so is continuously an uphill battle?  Could a conservation district be used to slow or stop certain demolitions?  And to bring it home to an area in need of preservation a block away from me, could a conservation district help The Endangered Dutch Colonials of Oliver Avenue North?

The answer back then was essentially...

Delinquent Tax Document Provides More Questions Than Answers

Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

Every year on the City of Minneapolis website, a list of tax-delinquent property owners gets published.  The list can be a bellwether for up-and-coming slumlords, or can be a way to find out which properties are owned by known bad actors (since the city's website doesn't allow for the public to search by owner name).  The 2012 list isn't out yet, but 2011 shows a common pattern many on the northside hadn't noticed before.  There is frequently a different "billpayer" than the taxpayer/property owner.  Why would this be?  Friends and neighbors, some of whom are more knowledgeable in housing intricacies than I am, haven't been able to figure this out.

Our first thought was that the difference in names indicated...

Mahmood Khan and Johnny Northside Inspire Me

Post by the Hawthorne Hawkman, photo by NoMi Passenger, originally appeared on the Johnny Northside blog.

When NoMi neighbors first notified me that Mahmood Khan was on the cover of the Star Tribune, my initial reaction was one of shock and disbelief.  I wanted to fire off another heated post about irresponsible journalism.  That is, until I read the article and saw Khan readily admit his shortcomings.  The city "expects Edina, but this is not possible in this part of the world," said Khan, a Roseville resident.  Thank you Mahmood for showing your true colors to anyone who wasn't already aware.  North Minneapolis is apparently another part of the world than Edina, where quality housing simply isn't possible in Khan's vision.

For the record, the Strib article spells Khan's first name as Mahmoud.  Given that city records show Khan owning a rental property at 2906 Emerson Ave N (where neighbors have reported suspicious drug dealing activity) and his name is spelled "Mahmood," that is the spelling I will continue to use here.

I want Khan's low standards to be exposed, even indirectly, in a cover story by the Strib.  And I'm glad to see Stephen Meldahl included in the article too.  Whenever the spotlight is on our problem landlords, that has to be considered a good thing.  They'll either be exposed for what they are, or they will improve their performance knowing that the community and the press are watching.

That being said, the article did inspire me to do more than simply write an opinion piece.  John Hoff routinely publishes the Hennepin County jail roster so that names show up on Google searches.  The same thing can be done with slumlords who appear on...