PWA stuck with mold-filled house

[Guest guest]

PWA stuck with mold-filled house NEWS

Bay Area Reporter - San Francisco,CA*

Published 08/23/2007

by Cassell

h.cassell@...

http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news & article=2124

Many people dream of owning a home, but for a longtime AIDS survivor

who bought a house through a low-income first-time homebuyer

program, owning a home has been nothing but a nine-year nightmare.

Marshall Roper, 53, who is living with AIDS and cancer, purchased a

house in West Oakland in 1999, but he hasn't been able to live in it

since 2003. The house was deemed uninhabitable because of mold in

2002 by National Econ, which was hired by the Home Place

Initiatives, a subsidiary of the East Bay Asian Local Development

Corporation, the organization from which Roper bought the house.

But Roper is preparing to move back into the house at 1794 8th

Street even as he's being caught in what seems to be a financially

binding quandary derived from a deed restriction, a string of

various lawsuits, and the fact that he lives on a fixed income, due

to his disabilities. Roper wouldn't disclose his monthly income,

which is based on a variety of benefits.

Roper sees no other choice but to move back into what he calls

the " sick house. " The agreement that he signed with the EBALDC to

purchase the house for $135,000 prevents him from taking out a loan

to repair the house or being able to sell the house without paying

$203,700.

Roper, a former paralegal at Heller Ehrman, might be back in court

in September for a case against him for failing to follow through on

the sale of the house to , owner of CFS Construction

Inc., due to the deed restriction issue. had agreed to

purchase the house from Roper for $200,000 in 2005. But both Roper

and are experiencing personal hardships that might prevent

them from settling their case.

In the meantime, Roper plans to ask the court to dismiss the case

against him because the deed restriction prevents him from being

able to repair or sell the house.

would not comment on the case for this story.

Roper is out of money, despite being awarded $500,000 in 2005 from a

lawsuit he filed against EBALDC and Current Construction, the

contractor hired by EBALDC to renovate the house, and his health has

been strained under the pressure of the mounting lawsuits with no

lawyer to represent him, he said.

The settlement, according to Roper's former attorney J.

Halloran of , Pearson, Bradley and Feeney, was to cover

expenses to repair mold and water damage to the house.

Roper sued EBALDC and Current Construction in 2003 for fraud,

negligence, and breach of contract, but Halloran, who Roper found

through the AIDS Legal Referral Panel, didn't include the deed

restriction in the settlement.

The deed restriction wasn't included in the settlement, according to

Halloran, because of EBALDC's contracts with " government entities

that lent them the money, " which allowed them to afford to offer a

low-income homebuyer program.

" When Marshall settled the case, the idea was to get him enough

money to allow him to repair the home so he could move back into the

home, " said Halloran. " He didn't use the money to repair his home.

Apparently he decided to sell the property ... so, when he sold the

property he got involved in another lawsuit with the person that

purchased the property. "

According to Roper, after paying for his legal fees, mortgage, and

living expenses he wasn't left with enough money to do the repairs

necessary in order to move back into the house.

Roper is trying to bring a case against Halloran. He alleges that

Halloran paid himself a higher fee and that the deed issue wasn't

included in the settlement as it should have been, according to

Roper.

Halloran wouldn't disclose to the B.A.R. what his fee agreement was

with Roper other than to state, " I reduced my fee for him to give

him enough money to make sure that he took care of all of the

business he wanted to take care of. "

According to Roper, because of the deed restriction he saw that his

only option was to live in an uninhabitable house or to sell it. But

EBALDC wants $203,700 if Roper sells and he doesn't see that as

being fair. He is willing to pay them $27,780 for the deed. This is

similar to his neighbor, who has since sold her house due to water

damage and mold as well. According to Roper, she paid $50,000 to

EBALDC to meet the deed requirements.

Lynette Jung Lee, executive director of EBALDC, refused to comment

about Roper's case.

" I do not know what the current situation is, " said Jung Lee. " He

has not contacted us. "

Halloran added, " All he had to do was pay the people under the deed

restriction what they were owed and he could get clear title. He

just didn't want to do that. "

Roper is also attempting to sue EBALDC for the deed restriction, but

when Roper signed the settlement, there was a clause restricting him

from pursuing future lawsuits against the housing organization.

In July 2006, Roper filed a complaint with the California Department

of Fair Employment and Housing. A year later he received

disappointing news. On July 21 his claim was denied, citing that the

complaint was resolved due to the settlement in 2005.

" The investigation indicated in the opinion of the investigator no

probable cause to prove the violation of the statute, " said Bill

Branch, public affairs office of the DFEH in Sacramento on August

6. " The investigation produced no evidence to indicate that the

individual was required to sign a different contract. "

This isn't what Roper imagined when he decided to buy a house. Roper

wanted to settle down.

" I wanted to buy a house ... that I could have my dog and have my

personal things in and not have to move, " said Roper. " As an

adult ... I said buy yourself a home & #608;sit down and settle in take

care of your health, take care of yourself – this was my goal to do

on a fixed income. "

Roper told the B.A.R. that he continues to work with ALRP to find a

lawyer who will assist him with his growing legal battle.

Unfortunately, due to the complexity of the situation and without

any money he hasn't been able to find an attorney.

" We tried diligently, " said ALRP Executive Director Bill Hirsh. " We

actually tried every single attorney on our panel that does real

estate law. We exhausted all of our resources. "