Mar 28, 2008 11:47 pm US/Eastern
Developer's Debt Pushes Condos To Sheriff's Sale
Condo Owners Paid Mortgages, Taxes
Developer Defaulted On Loan, Landscaping Bill
WEST DEER (KDKA) ―
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Condo owners in West Deer met Friday evening after learning their homes are up for sheriff's sale, despite the fact they paid their mortgages and taxes.
KDKA
The nationwide housing crisis has hit the Pittsburgh area hard.
Foreclosures skyrocketed in February with 400 homeowners losing their houses - the highest since 1986.
Many of those were because homeowners defaulted on their loans, but more than three dozen condos in West Deer are up for sheriff's sale at no fault of the owners.
The condos at the Hunt Club development are worth more than $180,000 each.
Theodore Hazlett though he'd found his retirement dream when he bought his home three years ago, but through no fault of his own, it's now become a nightmare.
"My house is gonna be gone. I mean it's a beautiful place, we're gonna not have it - it doesn't make sense," he said.
Hazlett, along with 37 others, received a letter on Thursday saying that his condo is going up for sheriff's sale.
"Act now or your house will be put up for sheriff's sale," he said. "We pay our mortgage. We pay our taxes which are high and we just don't understand it."
The problem lies with the condo developer - Links Development Company of Murrysville.
A few months ago, Links defaulted on a loan from National City for $2.5 million forcing all of the land in the subdivision into foreclosure.
On top of that, the developer owes Richland Properties another $1 million for the landscaping the property.
Since Richland hasn't been paid, it's bringing all of the condo owners to sheriff's sale where the condos will be offered to the highest bidder.
"My client doesn't want their homes, we want paid," attorney Richard Witchko said. "And the way to force payment is to proceed with this claim."
He says his client feels bad that the condo owners are caught in the middle, but if Richland doesn't get paid, they may well lose their home.
"It is a real possibility," Witchko said.
For Hazlett and his wife, the reality of that possibility is quickly sinking in. He and the rest of the community aren't sure what to do about it.
"This is totally, totally making me feel sick," he said.
Links Development Company did not return calls from KDKA. The company also has dozens actions filed against them in civil court for non-payments of debts and taxes.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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