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...

Valentine's Day Fire Forces Tough Questions

When the fire at 4425 Aldrich Ave N--owned by the infamous Mahmood Khan--broke out several months ago, a common refrain was relief that everyone was able to escape in time.  Many wondered what would have happened if circumstances were just a bit different.  If the fire had started somewhere else, or if it spread just a bit faster, would we be mourning deaths instead of sighing in collective relief?  Tragically, we don't have to wonder "what if?" because the unthinkable has happened.  Five children are dead, and a family is torn apart.

When news spread about the Valentine's Day fire at 2818 Colfax, plenty of northsiders' first words were, "I bet it happened at a property owned by _____."  That blank had one of about five well-known landlords in it, and Paul Bertelson was among them.  Initial investigative results are already pointing away from foul play and indicating the fire was an accident of some sort, making the next question obvious:  How could we have kept this from happening, and how will we keep something like it from happening again?  We shouldn't need a senseless tragedy like this to cause us to ask some tough questions around housing in Minneapolis.  But it's happened and we better take a hard look at how and why.

Khan Wins Ruling on 2639 Oliver Ave N, Demolition Stayed

If Mahmood Khan put as much effort into screening tenants, or fixing his properties, as he does into paying his attorneys to fight the city of Minneapolis, the northside would be a better place.  Instead, demolitions that are all but inevitable get tied up in court for years on end, and in the meantime Very Bad Things continue to happen at Khan properties throughout our community.

As a die-hard preservationist, one part of my credo is to never hold the owner against a property when determining whether a structure is worthy of rehab and continued use.  Khan tests that ethic more than anyone else.  I hear through the grapevine that some of the features inside 2639 Oliver are quite nice--amazing, even.  But as long as Mahmood Khan owns the house, none of that will matter.  If he really was serious about preservation and rehab, he would have entered into a restoration agreement with the city long ago.  Although he doesn't do such a great job of keeping those either.

In any case, a judge reversed the demolition order on this property, and all I can say is thank God the court opinion is "unpublished" and can't be used as a precedent.  Although just as surely as we know this won't be the last of his houses with a demo order, we know damn well Khan will now try this trick again.  The ruling, although wrongheaded, does have some interesting points.  For instance, it states...

Arson Suspected at Khan's 8-Unit/1-Smoke Detector Apartment Complex

Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

It's a wonder nobody was killed or more seriously hurt one early morning when a fire broke out at the Mahmood Khan property of 4425 Aldrich Ave N.  The Star Tribune covered the harrowing details of the rescue quite well, the Pioneer Press was the only mainstream media to report the address, KSTP published a photo of the property and revealed the detail that there was only one working smoke detector, and the Johnny Northside blog let the world know this was a Mahmood Khan property.  I drove past recently, out of curiosity, and realized that nobody had publicized that arson could have been a factor.

Some media pointed out that the cause of the fire is still under investigation.  But the property itself and quite a few telephone poles on surrounding blocks have arson hotline fliers posted in a request for more information on what happened.  Through this blog, I'm doing my part to spread the word in hopes that information gets back to the correct parties (or gets shared broadly here, as the case may be).

I'd also be quite interested in finding out exactly when this house, which doesn't look like it should be more than two units, if that, was converted into an eight-unit monstrosity.  Who signed off on that permit or variance request?  (It is possible that since the property is zoned R4 Multi-family, which allows for a range of densities at generally no more than four stories, that a variance may not have been necessary.  But at some point, this house was converted to eight units.  When, and how?)  There were rumblings several years ago when housing advocates in north Minneapolis heard that a local bank had acquired 4425 Aldrich Ave N via foreclosure and then sold it to Khan.  The previous owner, by the way, appeared to have difficulty even keeping the heat on.  A fire department document from 2007-2008 lists the house as needing to be maintained at 68 degrees.

Hopefully more information is forthcoming.  Any tips regarding arson should be sent to Sgt. Sean McKenna at 612-673-3389.

BREAKING NEWS: MAHMOOD KHAN WANTS OUT OF NORTH MINNEAPOLIS

Post and top two screen images by the Hawthorne Hawkman, bottom photo originally appeared on Johnny Northside.

Notorious slumlord Mahmood Khan has posted a Craigslist ad selling what is believed to be many, if not all, of his north Minneapolis properties for one lump sum...of $4.5 million.


The biggest worry that such a move causes is that at a price that seems drastically over-inflated, the next buyer will be another slumlord who is as bad or worse than Khan - assuming of course that the offer to sell is even remotely genuine.  But if there is a chance to either chip away at his inventory or arrange a buyout in the same manner as the Spiros Zorbalas sale, it would seem that now is the time.

Still, who seriously expects to make $4.5 million off of a Craigslist ad?  Furthermore, the sale becomes difficult to finance even for bona fide buyers on the up-and-up, since the individual market value of these structures is almost certainly nowhere near a cumulative four and a half million.  The only way that amount is remotely feasible is if one goes off of an income-based approach and puts very little into upgrading the existing structures.  Khan would need to be talked down significantly from this price point, if for no other reason than the end use of many of these houses should be conversion back to owner-occupancy.  The new owner(s), if they are good ones instead of the next round of slumlords, would have to put serious money towards repairs, and the proceeds to make the purchases viable would have to come from resale and not continued rental use.

Rally the troops!  Public, private, and non-profit!  This may be a tremendous opportunity to turn around the neighborhood in one swoop.

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...

Problem Landlords File Fair Housing Complaint

Post by the Hawthorne Hawkman, photo from the Johnny Northside blog.

A few weeks ago, a small blurb caught my attention in the Star Tribune.  A group of landlords had filed a federal fair housing complaint against the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.  It was worth barely a few inches of newsprint, but the small article was so chock full of wonkish housing policy tidbits that I had to dig deeper.  What kind of complaint?  Who, specifically filed it?  And most importantly, could I track down the full complaint document?

Well, the answer to the last question is an affirmative.  The complainants' press release can be found here, and here is the full complaint document.

The case alleges that Minneapolis and St. Paul haven't complied with some reporting requirements, and goes on to state that since the Complainants rent predominantly to minorities, each city's housing policies have a disparate effect on people of a protected class.  Therefore, neither Minneapolis nor St. Paul should be eligible for federal funds such as Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) or Community Development Block Grants (CDBG).  As for who filed the complaint, there are a few infamous bad actors involved, such as...

Another Khan Property Hits the Demo List

Post and photo by the Hawthorne Hawkman, sign made by Jordan neighbor Deb Wagner.

At today's City Council meeting, another Khan property was unanimously voted into a landfill.  2639 Oliver Avenue North got the heave-ho, thanks in large part to dedicated Jordan residents who compiled video and photographic evidence of just how damaging a force Mahmood Khan is to north Minneapolis.  Even though the agenda item was not up for public discussion, three of us sat through the meeting holding homemade signs reminding the Council how much this property needs to come down and how much we need strong action against slumlords like Khan.

In a poetic twist, many of the signs were papered-over "We Buy Houses" sign spam.  Just like Khan is known for placing used carpeting in his rentals, we reused items that should have been thrown away a long time ago.

I hope our northside CMs realized that as staunch of an advocate for preservation as I am, if a house inspired me to take time off of work to go downtown and lobby for demolition, then this place must really need it.  That being said, Khan has been fighting the demolition at 2222 4th St N for several years now, so who can say when the Oliver property will meet the backhoe of doom?

Plywood and Chicken Wire and Glass Block Windows, Oh My!

Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

Last week I wanted to see Mahmood Khan's dilapidation at 2639 Oliver so I could be certain it's as bad as everyone says (it is).  I don't normally pick on random properties just for the heck of it.  Instead, I try to focus on specific problem landlords or poorly done replacement windows.  Every once in a while though, a house is in such an egregious state of disrepair that it just begs for a 311 report.  And that's the case at 2701 Oliver Avenue North.

Just look at it.  How in the WORLD is something like that even permissible?  Glass block windows are on the second floor, and even then, they aren't installed correctly.  One segment is upside-down.  Next to that is what I am generously calling a window, although it's broken and so is the plywood around it.  This is also the first time I've seen chicken wire used in this way.  Around the corner on the north side of the house are two windows that almost look like they could be repaired.  But sometime recently, these windows became self-aware, realized they are in imminent danger as long as they are attached to this property, and have clearly been plotting their escape.

Then we have the paint job, which looks like it was done by a four-year-old who wanted to prove to mommy and daddy that he doesn't always have to color inside the lines.  This is one of the few properties that would be improved if Keith Reitman handled the painting.

As I was snapping these photos, a tenant came up and asked what I was doing.  I informed her in no uncertain terms that this house was in terrible condition and I was going to report it to 311.  She said her landlord has been a good landlord, and that she hasn't had any problems with him.  Now that's certainly interesting, because according to the city's website, Brandon Fischer and Kevin Owen don't have a rental license. 

The 311 report I filed mentions the apparent lack of a license, the numerous window problems, and the fact that there are no house numbers on the front of the property.

Penn Avenue Redevelopment Photo Tour

Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

In a previous post, I began to take a look at the city's proposal for what it would consider redevelopment along Penn Avenue.  And while I'm glad to see needed focus placed on a community corridor, I have to question what part of this plan actually constitutes redevelopment.  The redevelopment area will include uses of properties for "housing, commercial/retail uses, and shared parking."  Clearly some of the properties are entirely appropriate for things like retail or parking, such as the two vacant parcels photographed above.  3215 and 3205 Penn Avenue North, just south of Union Liquors, are prime parcels for commercial/retail and parking expansion.

(And while they're at it, I'd love to see that spirit shop go the way of the dodo.  I went in there for the first and last time the other weekend and it was possibly the most distasteful such shop in all of Minneapolis.  I find that some liquor stores have dust on the $50 bottles of wine or the higher-end beers.  Union's level of wine that's too classy to be purchased on a regular basis starts off in the eight-dollar range.  Things go downhill from there.)

At least from the exterior, it's hard to see what the city would do with 3229 Penn Avenue North, the duplex pictured above.  A cursory examination of this and many similar properties leads one to believe there is a three-step process in place

1. CPED acquires a property
2. ?  
3. Presto!  Redevelopment.

So before we get too far into the process, the community deserves to hear more from the city about that second step - and we need to be at the table about what that redevelopment looks like and how to get there.  While there are plenty of parcels that make complete sense for acquisition (and some of those for demolition) there are some that leave me scratching my head.  If readers feel the same way, or ideally if this post can be used to educate each other about these properties, please chime in.

And now we continue with the rest of the tour...

Proposed Redevelopment Along Penn Ave N

 Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman, map from the city of Minneapolis.

In my previous post, I pointed readers to proposed changes along West Broadway.  The city is also planning to designate a redevelopment area along Penn Avenue and several intersecting cross streets.  The plan's language seems somewhat innocuous in this initial stage, although it's unclear yet how it could affect the various D2 light rail designs.  What has me worried though, is the language on the final page of the document, which states:

Minnesota Statutes Section 469.002, Subdivision 14 includes in its definition of a redevelopment project “any work or undertaking to acquire blighted areas and other real property for the purpose of removing, preventing, or reducing blight, blighting factors, or the causes of blight.”

A “blighted area” is defined in Minnesota Statutes Section 469.002, Subdivision 11 as “any area with buildings or improvements which, by reason of dilapidation, obsolescence, overcrowding, faulty arrangement or design, lack of ventilation, light, and sanitary facilities, excessive land coverage, deleterious land use, or obsolete layout, or any combination of these or other factors, are detrimental to the safety, health, morals, or welfare of the community.”

The proposed Penn Avenue North Redevelopment Project area is determined to be a blighted area, based on the characteristics described above. Indicators of blight observed in the project area include deteriorated or damaged building elements, underused or vacant land, poorly maintained premises, unoccupied residential properties, evidence of tornado damage, buildings in need of major repair, physically and/or functionally obsolete buildings, and lack of adequate parking for commercial operations.

Redevelopment activities in the project area will remove blight and facilitate the implementation of City land use policies and redevelopment objectives.

What's so scary about that, you may ask?  Well...

Same Problem Properties, Different Fluorescent Placards

Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

Slowly but surely the city of Minneapolis is moving forward with its demolition of the infamous property at 2222 4th St N.  Given Mahmood Khan's persistent legal battles, I wouldn't recommend holding one's breath until demolition actually happens.  But a pink placard has now been posted, informing passersby that the house has a date with the backhoe of doom. 

Not too far away, we have two properties in a row owned by Mohammed Amro - he of the "Mr. Slummy" moniker AND the slumlord inadvertently responsible for the "Hawthorne Hawkman" nickname.  The property in question though, is not 2515 3rd St N, where a hole to china was attempted, and the owner clearly intended to make a mockery of city zoning by bringing in at least four units to an area where only duplexes are allowed.  The second floor open to the elements, and the grass growing tall enough to warrant a 311 call are pretty strong indicators that Mr. Slummy has given up that dream.  Amro, however, owns the adjacent house at 2519 3rd St N.  From the exterior, it has looked like he's done somewhat respectable work there.  If we didn't have the immediate juxtaposition of 2515 3rd, one could almost assume Mr. Slummy was not, well, slummy.

But then there was the fire.  For almost a year, the house has sat vacant, with little or no repairs done.  A week ago, a shiny new placard was added to the regulatory rainbow.  One would think that somehow the house's fire-damaged status caused the citation.  Instead, the house is unfit for habitation because of unsafe levels of lead.  This is a first.  Other slumlords like to hide behind lead abatement (even as they strip historic elements of a property).  Mr. Slummy aparently took the ball in the complete opposite direction.

How long before one or both of these properties sports a similar pink card, calling for demolition?

2222 4th St N Set for Demolition...For Good This Time Again Eventually

Post by the Hawthorne Hawkman, photo from the city of Minneapolis.

The property at 2222 4th St N seemingly just won't go down, but the city council approved its demolition yet again on July 1st.  I posed the question to a few residents, "Why in the world is Mahmood Khan fighting so hard to keep this property up?"  After all, it's not that great and he has reportedly used materials and supplies from other units instead of putting in new or even gently used items - that includes used carpeting.  Maybe the carpet in the photo above is from the Neapolitan house at 2906 Emerson.  The prevailing opinion is that Khan's hope is to win this fight so that this case/house can be used as a precedent to allow similarly low standards at Khan's properties throughout NoMi.  If that's the case, then 2222 4th St N marks the front line in the battle against slumlord ownership.

More to follow.

Long Term Problem Properties in Need of Impact Statements

Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

Council member Diane Hofstede informed residents at the 3rd Ward CARE meeting that the Northside Food Market owners had not yet submitted architectural plans for how they will comply with the orders to rehab their property.  Instead, their plan appears to be an attempt to sue the city so that they can remain open for "business."  Business in this case means renting out the 466-square foot apartment to whoever will bring in a constant parade of drug deals, and then blame the drug dealing on the bus stop in front of the establishment.  A new round of community impact statements will certainly help keep Northside Food Market shut down until (if ever) the owners come up with a viable plan to address the problems associated with how the place has been run.

Astute readers will notice that the photo above is NOT of the Northside Food Market, but instead a picture of what may be the aesthetic nadir of the Hawthorne neighborhood; 2222 4th St N owned by Mahmood Khan; the property where Annshalike Hamilton's body was found.  Khan has defied both city orders and reasonable housing expectations time and time again here.  For instance, since the restoration agreement (which he has failed to meet) only said "new" carpet without specifying what "new" means, he apparently put in carpeting from a previous unit.  Don't even get me started on the windows.  (There are seven different kinds because if you can believe it, Khan was even less selective about windows than about the carpet.)

The city council will be taking up 2222 4th St N at 1:30 on Monday.  Once again, impact statements should be sent to Diane Hofstede, or people can call her office at 612-673-2203.

What was interesting about this picture was the door, which until this week...

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...

Catching Up on Slumlord Details

Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

Recently in the Strib, there were two articles that had tiny bits of information about slumlords in north Minneapolis.  Where the NoMi blogosphere comes in is that we can take those shreds of info and hold them up to a magnifying glass for all to see.  In one article, a list of landlords who had lost one or more rental licenses was published.  Near the bottom of the article were two names of landlords familiar to NoMi:  Mahmood Khan and the Durkops (Aaron and Mary).  Khan shouldn't need much introduction, and the Durkops were the principals behind Kaizen Property Solutions LLC, who were the designated manager of Paul Koenig's dollar houses.  Khan and the Durkops each lost one rental license, but from which properties?

Well, that took a little digging through city council and committee meeting minutes, but...

Ask and You Shall Receive - Photos of 2222 4th St N

Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman.  Warning:  I get a little worked up in this post, and (gasp!) resort to a few Bad Words.

In the last post about Judge Hallbrooks' ruling on this property, an anonymous commenter asked for photos to show whether this property was adequately rehabbed.  In my opinion, the answer is no it has not.  I also hope that its current condition will still eventually allow the structure to be demolished.  Based on what the city staff report said about the poor quality of the interior, and the photos below, I would hope that we have higher standards for what is acceptable housing stock in the city of Minneapolis.  The prospect of widespread condemned housing being brought back to use is far from appealing if they look like 2222 4th St N by the time the owner is done.

Let's take a look, first at the windows...

Khan's Property Lives to Blight Another Day

Post and photo by the Hawthorne Hawkman, photo originally appeared on a Johnny Northside blog post about phone books.

Mahmood Khan's property at 2222 4th St N has, for the time being, taken a step back from demolition.  John Hoff and I have covered the house's course quite extensively, from when Annshalike Hamilton was found murdered there, to its path towards possible demolition. (more links found here, here, here, and here)

The ruling that pulls 2222 4th back from the brink only gives it a temporary reprieve.  The document can be found here, and from a policy wonk standpoint, it is quite fascinating.  I'm reminded of a vignette in the book "The Year of Living Biblically." Two people are having a very polarizing argument, and go to their rabbi to help resolve their conflict.  After listening carefully to each side, the rabbi turns to the respective parties, saying, "You are right AND you are right."  Another friend witnessing the discussion said, "Wait a minute, they can't BOTH be right," to which the rabbi responds, "And you are also right."

The court ruling is like that, except each side tends to get at least a little bit wrong.  We'll start with Khan, who of course...