Dick Mann came from Trumbull to a foreclosure sale on a Hill street that put three of his kids through college, wondering if more riches awaited him.
Mann (pictured) was one of two housing rehabbers who showed up at the sale at 129-131 Plymouth St. Saturday morning. Both refrained from bidding. But both said they made come back in search of a better offer from the bank that took control of the property.
Cheryl Juniewic, the lawyer assigned by the court to conduct the sidewalk sale, was nervous about the neighborhood, so she arranged for extra-duty cop protection.
By the time attorney she arrived — and spoke to Derek Singh, another local rehabber, who arrived in his truck — there was no danger in sight. There were also no serious bidders.
Juniwiec said she’d received a few calls of interest in the previous days but no one had come forward with a single $17,500 certified check, the amount required to make a bona fide bid.
That would be 10 percent of the $175,000 appraised value of the the two-family, built in about 1900. Within the last month or so, the appraised value had dropped, said Juniewic, by $10,000.
The home’s owner, Edmond Turnage, had taken out a $130,000 loan in August 2006 from the Foundation Financial Group. He since defaulted. A foreclosure proceeding was instituted against him in January. According to Singh, he had moved out about a month ago. Mail was still visible near the box on the porch
Since 2006, the loan had been sold several times, ending up with Deutsche Bank. That conglomerate owns the most properties foreclosed or in danger of in New Haven. With encumbrances — the city wants some back taxes and the Water Pollution Control Authority also wants about $600 of unpaid taxes — the debt had now climbed to $144,000.
As the 11 o’clock hour for the proceeding to begin arrived, Dick Mann showed up. But he, like Singh, though a contractor with experience in the area, was more curious than serious.
Without certified bidders, there is officially no proceeding. The house goes to the bank, which initiated the action, and at the bank’s bid, which in this case was $148,750, according to attorney Juniewic.
Plymouth Put Kids Through College
Mann, who is from Trumbull, said he was back on Plymouth Street because it had been very good to him. “I bought houses on this street for $8,000 in the 1990s, rehabbed them, rented, and then sold them,” he said. “The last one was in 2004.” He clearly entered low and left high. “I put three kids through college thanks to Plymouth Street.”
He said he was looking at 129-131 because, after some four years of staying away from that business (his day job is a salesman of chemicals), he was considering more purchases on Plymouth or other streets in the area. “I really believe in New Haven,” he said. “It has a future.” One of the main reasons, he said: Yale.
“The last house I had on this very block, my tenant was the most wonderful, hard working Jamaican woman. I’d fixed the house up, she was renting, and one day she said to me, ‘Can we talk about my buying the place?’ And we did,” said Mann, “and she
bought the place.” He motioned, with a wag of his head down at the other end of Plymouth, near Ella Grasso Boulevard, where she still lives.
Hearing this, Derek Singh, a local developer headquartered on Kimberly Avenue, who also owns houses on Plymouth, said, “This house is a good buy. Deutsche Bank is just going to write it off. Then in a month they’ll put it on the market.” He seemed casual and in no hurry, but also confident of what will happen next. “They’ll offer maybe $90,000, and I’d buy it then. And fix it up.”
A contractor, he does most of the work himself (as does Dick Mann). He said he’s proud of how he’s cleaning up the neighborhood, doing good, but also well.
Looking up at 129-131, he quickly did the figuring: “I can rent the three-bedroom apartment for close to a thousand, say $900. The two bedroom for $700. If I take out a 30-year mortgage to buy the place, that’ll cost me, with insurance and all that, maybe $800 a month. That means I’ll clear $800. Then, when the market turns, I’ll sell it for maybe $130 to $140,000.”
While Singh spoke, Mann had been walking around seeing what he could see and doing his own calculations. He saw about $5,000 worth of tree work in back, and all the guttering, and of course you couldn’t tell what a place was worth until you got inside.
His plans?
“I’m going to go online to get the blueprint for the place,” and then he asked the attorney for the phone number of Deutsche Bank.
Juniewic gladly gave it, and Mann left, surprised at Singh’s offer to buy the place for $90,000.
Who Pays Palmer
In the meantime, Officer Warren Palmer (pictured), while not having a lot to do protecting proceedings, had given a warning to at least one young man driving the wrong way on one-way Plymouth.
Most foreclosure proceedings are conducted in front of the sad house in question without a police presence. Attorney Juniewic was concerned for her safety in what she’d heard was a crime- and drug-plagued street. She therefore had petitioned the court to approve an off-duty officer to accompany her. Palmer, an 11-year police veteran, got the call.
The street was pleasant enough in the humid late morning light, with kids playing next door under an adult’s supervision. But the street, part of Palmer’s regular beat in the Hill, does have its problems.
“You don’t get the assignment because you know the area. I just lucked out,” he said.
According to court papers, Juniewic petitioned the court for a police officer to attend the foreclosure because the property is located “in an area which is known for its high crime and drug trafficking.” The court ordered that $224.05 be spent for the extra-duty cop.
How unusual is it for a police officer to accompany an attorney to a foreclosure? According to Jonathan Einhorn, a New Haven lawyer and former police commissioner, it is not that infrequent. He himself recalled asking for a patrol car to be nearby. “It depends,” he said, “if you’re expecting as crowd,” for example.
Juniewic paid Officer Palmer his fee. Then lawyer, officers, along with the two potential developers of 129-131 Plymouth — should the bank put it back on the market — dispersed.
Who pays back the attorney? The police officer’s fee, plus the attorney’s, plus the cost for advertising the sale, the title search, and the foreclosure sign, all come out of the settlement — most likely from the new owner, the bank — or however the court makes the determination, said Juniewic.
Previous Independent coverage of New Haven’s foreclosure crisis:
• Quiet Foreclosure on Porter Street
• 3 Minutes Too Late
• Historic Gambardella Property Foreclosed
•2 Homes Lost, 1 Gained
‚Ä¢ “Everybody’s Got To Eat”
• More Foreclosures, More Signs
‚Ä¢ Foreclosure Sale Benefits Archie Moore’s
• Rescue Squad Swings Into Action
• A Bidder Shows Up
‚Ä¢ Bank Beats Tanya’s Bid
• Westville Auction Draws A Crowd
• DeStefano: Foreclosure Plan Ready
• Can They Help?
‚Ä¢ “We Should Over-Regulate These Bastards”
• Rosa Hears of Rescues
• WPCA Grilled on Foreclosures
‚Ä¢ WPCA’s Targets Struggle To Dig Out
• Sue The Subprimers?
• WPCA Hearing Delayed
‚Ä¢ Megna’s “Blood Boils” at WPCA Tactics
• Goldfield Wants WPCA Answers
• 2 Days, 8 Foreclosure Suits
• WPCA Goes On Foreclosure Binge
• A Guru Weighs In
• WPCA Targets Church
• Subprime Mess Targeted
‚Ä¢ Renters Caught In Foreclosure King’s Fall
‚Ä¢ She’s One Of 1,150 In The Foreclosure Mill
‚Ä¢ Foreclosures Threaten Perrotti’s Empire
‚Ä¢“I’m Not Going To Lay Down And Let Them Take My House”
‚Ä¢ Struggling Couple Sues Over “Scam”
The following links are to various materials and brochures designed to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.
How to prepare a complaint to the Department of Banking; Department of Banking Online Assistance Form; Connecticut Department of Banking, Avoiding Foreclosure; FDIC Consumer News; Statewide Legal Services of Connecticut, Inc; Connecticut Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service.
For lawyer referral services in New Haven, call 562-5750 or visit this website. For the Department of Social Services (DSS) Eviction Foreclosure Prevention Program (EFPP), call 211 to see which community-based organization in the state serves your town.
Click here for information on foreclosure prevention efforts from Empower New Haven.