[StBernard] Rental ruckus

[Westley Annis]

Here's something fun to do when u have some time on your hands.  Go to
www.whitepages.com and put in R. Brenneman and Lakeland FL.  You will get an
address listing in Lakeland FL.

Then, use GoogleEarth and type in that address and check out Rodney's house.
Looks like ole Rodney is doin' okay from the neighborhood and I'm sure he'd
be a bit antsy about rentals there.

Then check out Dad's place.  Same thing.  Maybe we can contact a Hatian help
organization and refer them to Lakeland FL and see about some rentals in
Rodney's and Dad's neighborhoods.  I'm sure they'll be thrilled.






	-----------------------------------------------------
	Rental ruckus
	by Ariella Cohen 
	
	Posted: Monday, April 14, 2008 
	
	Real estate investor Rodney Brenneman had no intention of becoming a
	spokesman for the rights of renters when he bought the ravaged
remains of a
	one-story St. Bernard Parish home in 2006 with the intention of a
quick
	renovation and sale. 
	
	One year - and one lawsuit - later, the suntanned businessman from
Lakeland,
	Fla., has emerged as an unlikely bullhorn for low-income and often
non-white
	renters in the post-Hurricane Katrina battle over who will return to
the
	quiet, driveway-lined subdivisions that have long defined the
parish. 
	
	"The people most in need, which are those who can't afford to buy a
single
	family home, are the people being discriminated against," said
Brenneman,
	one of 25 out-of-state investors who bought 80 St. Bernard
properties
	through their business, Your Home Solution Louisiana. Last month,
the
	company filed a lawsuit against the St. Bernard Parish Council
accusing it
	of violating the constitutional property rights of owners who choose
to
	rent, lease or offer lease-to-own houses in the parish. 
	
	The lawsuit seeks to overturn a post-Katrina rental regulation
requiring
	property owners wishing to rent or lease properties to first obtain
a
	"permissive use permit" from the St. Bernard Parish Council for
properties
	that weren't rentals before the storm. 
	
	The ordinance "requires property owners who wish to rent or lease or
	lease-to-own their property undergo an intimidating, irrational,
oppressive
	and indefensible process," said plaintiffs' attorney Henry Klein in
the
	federal lawsuit filed in March, only two weeks after the parish
settled a
	suit alleging a previous version of the ordinance that limited the
permit to
	those renting to non-relatives was racially discriminatory. 
	
	While U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Vance stopped enforcement of
the
	ordinance at the properties in litigation with a temporary
restraining order
	April 3, the 25 investors and their tenants say they have lost
significant
	amounts of money and time to heavy-handed attempts from the parish
to
	pressure owners to stop renting. 
	
	Enforcement already has pushed at least three tenants to move out
after
	eviction was threatened and utilities were disconnected. Under the
rules,
	fines of up to $250 "for each day of unpermitted rental, lease or
occupancy"
	were also levied on owners and tenants.
	
	"The power people gave me running water but they won't give me
lights
	because they say the parish won't give them permission. Now there is
a
	notice of condemnation on the house," said Zachary Alveris, who paid
$1,500
	in rent to Your Home Solution Louisiana before he realized the newly
	renovated Chalmette home he had secured for his girlfriend and two
daughters
	lacked electrical power. 
	
	Alveris, who was refused power shortly after moving in his plush
sofa and
	boxes of Pocahontas-themed toys in February, was given a full refund
on his
	rent and said he plans to restart the lease on his Plaza Drive
rental now
	that the courts have ordered parish officials to turn the lights
back on. 
	
	"Really and truly I don't feel comfortable there, but I need
somewhere to
	live," said Alveris, who has been living with his mother in her
Harvey home
	since being evicted. African-Americans such as Alveris make up 70
percent of
	the 54 Your Home Solution Louisiana renters, said Brenneman. 
	
	The YHS plan was to renovate the properties and "quickly sell" them
for
	between $135,000 and $165,000, said Brenneman, an investor and an
employee
	of the parent company, Your Home Solution Management, which manages
	investor-owned properties in Central Florida and the New Orleans
region. 
	
	In addition to the St. Bernard properties, the company has built
homes in
	Slidell, Lakeview and eastern New Orleans. 
	
	Brenneman estimates the 25 investors have spent $8 million on
rehabbing the
	80 St. Bernard homes. 
	
	Foiled by a market nearly buckling under the weight of thousands of
vacant,
	renovated homes for sale and a national mortgage crisis, Your Home
Solutions
	decided late last year to rent the unsold St. Bernard homes until
the market
	improved. The decision to rent the units was made out of economic
necessity,
	said Brenneman. 
	
	Of the 80 YHS homes, only one has sold. Another two are set to close
this
	month and 54 are rented. Nine homes haven't been renovated because
the
	investors have fallen short on construction dollars, and 14 finished
homes
	remain vacant and available for rent or sale, according to YHS
documents. 
	
	The 14 vacant homes are a small percentage of the uninhabited plots
lining
	St. Bernard streets, where nearly 6,000 homes have been demolished
and are
	awaiting sales through The Road Home. In Chalmette, 224 homes are
being
	marketed by Realtors, according to Latter& Blum. 
	
	Brenneman said investors didn't comply with the St. Bernard permit
	requirement because "its criteria was so unreasonable and there were
no
	assurances that we would even get the permits." The requirements for
public
	approval include applying to the parish Planning Commission for a
review,
	notifying by certified letter all property owners within 500 feet of
the
	proposed rental and publishing a public notice for three consecutive
weeks. 
	
	"It was an unreasonable amount to ask of an investor who has already
put his
	life savings into building houses for people who needed places to
live,"
	said Dan Brenneman, father of Rodney Brenneman and owner of six Your
Home
	Solution rental properties. Brennenam, who is a complainant in the
lawsuit,
	said he spent "nearly a million dollars" on his properties,
scattered among
	various Chalmette subdivisions. 
	
	"I am about tapped out," he said. "My tenants are receiving eviction
	notices. They are working people with families who are getting
notices that
	they are being evicted. How can I give them refunds when I am almost
out of
	money?" 
	
	St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro Jr., who introduced the
	year-and-a-half old ordinance as a member of the council, declined
to
	comment because of the litigation. St Bernard officials say the
ordinance is
	intended to "stabilize" post-Katrina property values and protect the
	character of parish neighborhoods. 
	
	"Our critical task is trying to stabilize real estate values and the
	neighborhoods for the people who own property here," said District A
	Councilman Ray Lauga Jr. 
	
	Lauga said the council has approved all 25 of the permit
applications it has
	received and is now trying to move along "several mixed-income
	developments." 
	
	"If you can meet the four criteria for the permit, there is no
reason to
	deny it," he said. "We aren't treating renters any different than
anyone
	else." 
	
	Meanwhile, those caught living behind yellow lawn signs that mark
homes that
	were never given permission to be rented feel as if they have been
	persecuted because they can't afford to buy a house. 
	
	"I feel embarrassed because I am the only person in the neighborhood
with a
	sign on the lawn, the only person who has to deal with inspectors
coming in
	and making us feel like we shouldn't be here," said Mary Manisfield,
who has
	lived with her husband, daughter, son and grandson in a newly
renovated
	ranch home in Chalmette since January.
	
	Manisfield lived in a Meraux trailer park before Katrina. After the
storm
	ripped her trailer apart, the Manisfields moved into a Federal
Emergency
	Management Agency-managed park where they lived until leasing the
Your Home
	Solution rental. She has been fighting to stay in the house since an
	eviction notice landed on her door Feb. 4. 
	
	"My grandson has a yard to play in for the first time," Manisfield
said.
	"It's the best place we've been and we are not going to just pack up
and
	leave.".