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POOR
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CLASS CLEANSING THE ZEPHYR WAY Senior and disabled tenants protest unjust evictions by Zephyr Realty By PNN staff 6/3/00 One flyer from Zephyr Realty advises landlords that they can raise the value of their buildings by 20% if they sell buildings that are empty of any tenants. Another flyer lists property bought a few years ago and then re-sold in the last year at huge profits-the flyer notes "Come In And Ask About Ellis Evictions." These practices, and the involvement of Zephyr Realtor’s buying buildings, evicting tenants and converting the apartments to condos was the focus of a tenant protest and picket at Zephyr Reality in Noe Valley. Zephyr is one of the leading players in real estate speculation in San Francisco leading to the evictions of tenants for condo conversions. Their ads for condos often say "VACANT" or "DELIVERED VACANT." These condos are being sold empty because the tenants have been evicted, usually under the state Ellis Act. Real estate investors are buying up buildings, evicting tenants under the Ellis Act, and then using loopholes in the condo conversion law, the units are sold as condos-usually for about $425,000 per apartment (with the real estate speculator typically getting $500,000 profit per building). These evictions-for-condos are the leading cause of evictions in the city. Using the state Ellis Act, real estate have evicted about a thousand tenants in the past year for the purpose of condo conversion. Even though the city’s condo conversion law limits conversions to 200 a year and prohibits senior evictions for condos, these real estate investors utilize loopholes in the condo law to convert thousands of units. The Tenants Union is putting a measure on the November ballot to bring all types of "condominium-type" conversions into condo law. When such a law is passed, all rental units which are sold as condos will be covered by the condo law, regardless of how the sale is structured or recorded on the deed. INFORMATION: Ted Gullicken 282-6543 Pager: 791-1528 558 CAAP STREET- SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110 - PHONE (415) 282-6543-FAX:(415) 282-6622 Z ZEPHYR (top of article) |
NOTABLE ZEPHYR FACTS Zephyr officers and realtors are very active as landlords and real estate speculators. The 1998 effort to repeal rent control was led by Zephyr: Iise Cordoni-a longtime Zephyr agent & officer and currently a Director of the California Association of Realtors was the largest single donor to the anti-rent-control campaign, giving $25,000. Zephyr President and Founder William Drypolcher-who had residential property holdings worth $2.5 million in 1998 valuation, gave the anti-rent-control-campaign $5,000. Zephyr preaches the philosophy of DELIVERED VACANT. The current issue of Zephyr’s newsletter says: "Buildings which are delivered vacant sell for considerably more than those which are partially or wholly tenant occupied. The question is how much is a vacant unit worth?" "20% more, Zephyr says." The newsletter goes to give and example of a two unit occupied building which for $569,000. The sale fell through in escrow and the building was put back on the market empty and sold for $100,000 more, for $670,000. One Zephyr realtor’s flyer lists a number of buildings bought and then re-sold for 50-100% more in the same year, followed by "Call and ask me about Ellis Evictions. SOME BUILDING EXAMPLES 348-350 SCOTT
This 6 unit building was bought by a Zephyr Realtor in 1998 who began converting it into condo-type units. Two tenants were evicted for "owner move in" and then the realtor/landlords (Tuan Tran and George Uyeda) did an Ellis eviction to complete conversions of the apartment units into condo-type units.
Three unit building created as condos via OMI evictions in 1997. In May Zephyr was offering one of the condo-type units for $345,000 Evictees included a 20+ year rent tenant. Greed, Avarice, OUT OF CONTROL PROFITS. IT’S ABOUT HOW MUCH $$$$$$ CAN BE MADE OUT OF REAL ESTATE MARKET SPECULATION. INSPITE OF HAVING MORE THAN ENOUGH TO LIVE ON, FORCING OUT TENANTS BECAUSE THEY CAN. WHERE AND WHEN DOES THIS FISCAL INSANITY END? WILL YOU BE ‘ELLISSED OUT NEXT IS ANYONE SAFE?
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POOR MAGAZINE IN THE NEWS:
Program teaches poor to publish, Monday Feb 07, 2000 Emily Gurnon, San Francisco Examiner What It Means To Be Poor , July 16, 1997 Nina Siegal, SF Bay Guardian, |
