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If you have not done so, go back and listen to Episode 29 which is part 1 of this two-part series about fire safety in your rental properties.

It’s got a TON of important information about fire safety prevention with regards to clutter & hoarding, the use of small appliances like space heaters, air fryers, and crock pots, and what you need to pay attention to depending on if you have a single-family home or multifamily rental.

This episode we focused on

▪️ Inspections and the fire safety issues to be on the lookout for

▪️ Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, what we recommend, how many you need, and where they should be located.

▪️ Fire safety points to include in your lease and which addendums to use.

▪️ Fire escapes and escape plans for rental properties.

▪️ The fire codes you need to know and

▪️ And finally, how to help tenants who have pets on your property.

We really try to be very comprehensive when we bring you information to help you become confident and professional landlords.  This and last week’s episodes are no exception!

LINKS

👉 Fire Escape Ladder we use in our rental.  Put one in each bedroom on every level of the unit.

👉 Emergency Gas Shut Off Wrench: Attach to your gas meter so tenants can turn off gas in an emergency like fire or gas leak.

👉 Interconnecting Smoke Detectors: Great for multilevel homes or ones where the bedrooms are far removed from the living area.  Once one is activated, it triggers all the others to alarm, bringing attention to your tenants much quicker than if they had to wait for the alarm to sound right near them.  Limits damage to your unit too!

👉 Our Periodic Inspection Checklist. $5 gets you a 6-page checklist that covers up to a 4 bedroom, 4 bath rental property.  Includes space to note if all is well or if an item needs attention. It’s very comprehensive and covers all areas of the home inside and out.  Download it once and use it over and over!

👉 Escape plan information: Red Cross “How to create an escape plan” for a single-family home and multi-family rental property.

👉 FEMA: This webpage has multiple free, downloadable PDF’s regarding fire preparation and prevention, fire escape plans, etc.

👉 Renters Insurance we recommend: Toggle a division of Farmers Insurance that offers VERY affordable liability insurance and customizable policies.

👉 Pet Sticker Notification to advise emergency personnel there are pets inside.

👉Help other DIY landlords discover what we have to say… Please leave us a review of our podcast!  

On ITunes, please scroll to the bottom of our main page (with our logo) and click “Write a Review”.

On Spotify, please click the 5.0⭐ on our the front page of our podcast page.

Want the podcast link emailed to you weekly? Subscribe to our FREE newsletter, Landlord Weekly!

▪️Landlord Tips ▪️ Early Access to Our Blogs ▪️ Landlord Specific Articles by Other Industry Pro’s ▪️Podcast Links

Provided by TurboTenant

Donating furniture and household items you no longer use is a perfect way to give back to your community while also going through your belongings. It’s especially strategic if you’re moving, downsizing, or decluttering.

Donating large furniture items isn’t as difficult as you might think. You don’t need a pickup truck or extra hands to get furniture to its destination. Instead, get in touch with one of the 10 charities listed below who will come and pick up household items for free or at an extremely reduced rate. 

If you’re renting, save your landlord or property manager the hassle of dealing with furniture items that have been placed near or inside trash and recycling receptacles. And if you’re a landlord dealing with tenant abandonment, save yourself the headache of managing abandoned belongings.

Table of Contents

1. Habitat for Humanity
2. Salvation Army
3. GreenDrop
4. Pickup Please
5. The Arc
6. AMVETS
7. The Furniture Bank Network
8. Donation Town
9. Housing Works
10. PickUpMyDonation

Tips for Furniture Donation Pickup

How To Help Your Tenants Donate

Donation Pickup FAQs

1. Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity is an international nonprofit organization focused on creating affordable shelters for families, operating out of 70 countries and all 50 states. Habitat for Humanity is dedicated to educating communities on the barriers to affordable housing and the impact a healthy home has on families. 

Habitat ReStores, Habitat for Humanity’s donation and home improvement store, offers furniture, large appliances, and building material pickup in most of their locations. You can schedule your pickup here.

Who your donation serves: Families across the U.S. and the world in need of affordable housing.

Items Habitat for Humanity accepts:

• Sofas
• Chairs
• Dining room tables
• Dressers
• Bed frames
• Coffee tables
• End tables
• Filing cabinets
• Bookshelves

Note: Any donated upholstered or leather furniture must be free of tears, stains, and pet damage. Also, if you’re renovating your home, here’s a list of renovation donations they accept.

2. The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is a Christian-based nonprofit that provides community-focused programs. It helps those who have experienced a disaster, poverty, addiction, domestic violence, and more.

The Salvation Army offers scheduled pickups and drop-off locations in a variety of areas. Use their ZIP code finder to schedule a pickup in your area and to determine which items are available for pickup. The Thrift Stores page also has ZIP code finders for drop-off locations, thrift stores, and vehicle donations. Note, The Salvation Army’s list of accepted is one of the most comprehensive. 

Who your donations serve: Families who find themselves in crisis or those experiencing homelessness 

Items The Salvation Army accepts:

• Vehicles
• Clothes
• Couches
• Household appliances
• Electronics
• Power tools
• Upright freezers
• Fridges
• Washers
• Armoires
• Grandfather clocks
• And more

3. GreenDrop

GreenDrop is a for-profit company and registered professional fundraising company. Their services are primarily located on the East Coast. 

The organization distributes to the American Red Cross, the Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Philadelphia, and the National Federation of the Blind to raise funds through donation collection. 

Who your donations serve: The American Red Cross, the Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation, the National Federation of the Blind, and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul

Items GreenDrop accepts:

• Clothes and shoes
• Household items
• Kitchenware
• Games and toys
• Small appliances
• Electronics
• Sporting goods
• Books
• CDs and videos
• Small furniture (less than 50 pounds)

4. Pickup Please

Pickup Please is a donation program that helps veterans. It’s an extension of the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA). They work in select states across the U.S., and you can schedule a free pickup online. Items will often be collected within 24 hours. 

Pickup Please’s convenience and quick turnaround are some of their major benefits. However,  their locations are limited and specific in what they’ll collect. All items should be small and light enough for one person to easily lift and carry, and they do not pick up large appliances,  large furniture, or televisions. 

Who your donations serve: Vietnam veterans

Items Pickup Please accepts:

• Clothes
• Small appliances
• Toys
• Electronics
• Books
• Sporting goods
• Non-fuel power tools
• Bikes

5. The Arc

The Arc was founded in 1950 to serve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. The company has more than 600 chapters across the U.S. 

You can drop off items or schedule a pickup by calling your local chapter. Use this chapter locator to see what items are accepted and to schedule a free pickup (if allowed). To donate a car, use this online donation form or call (877) 272-2270.

Who your donations serve: Children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Items The Arc accepts:

• Used vehicles
• Boats (with trailer)
• Recreational vehicles
• Furniture and housewares
• Clothing
• Electronics
• Books
• Toys and games

*All items are location-dependent

6. AMVETS

The AMVETS National Service Foundation represents more than 20 million veterans and has more than 250,000 members nationwide. AMVETS has physical stores and donation pickups across the country. 

You can schedule a pickup in the following states and areas: Maryland, Washington D.C., northern Virginia, Delaware, Texas, and Oklahoma.

Who your donations serve: United States veterans

Items AMVETS accepts:

• Clothes
• Small appliances
• Electronics
• Jewelry
• Kitchenware
• Household items 
• Flat-screen TVs (five years old or newer)
• Exercise equipment (five years old or newer)
• Computers
• Books

You can inquire about items not listed by emailing [email protected]. 

7. The Furniture Bank Network

The Furniture Bank Network consists of registered charities that help individuals donate gently used furniture to people in need. This collective helps other organizations with furniture pickup.

They serve a wide range of people, including but not limited to those who are unemployed, immigrants, families that have experienced domestic violence or homelessness, and those affected by natural disasters/fires. 

Use their North American location finder to see if there’s a furniture bank near you.

Who your donations serve: Families who have experienced homelessness, unemployment, domestic violence, natural disasters, robbery or fires

Items The Furniture Bank Network accepts:

• Gently used furniture
• Used cars and recreational vehicles

8. Donation Town

Donation Town is similar to Furniture Bank Network, but instead of acting as an overarching network, its website is a search engine in which individuals can locate charities. Think of it as an online real estate marketplace, where you can find homes for sale or rent. Instead of apartments or houses, it lists charities that offer donation pickup or have donation drop-off locations. 

Each nonprofit Donation Town works with will provide you with a tax receipt for your donation.

Who your donations serve: Various charities across the United States and Canada

Items Donation Town accepts:

• Clothes
• Bedding
• Small appliances 
• Household items
• Books
• Non-computer electronics
• Toys
• Sporting goods
• Office supplies
• Small furniture (small chairs, nightstands, end tables, bookshelves and small rugs)
• Home renovation items
• Vehicles

*The list above is general and varies depending on your local charity. You can see which items Donation Town does not accept here.

9. Housing Works

Housing Works’ mission is to help support the community of people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, particularly those experiencing homelessness or poverty. Housing Works was founded in 1990 and provides service to more than 30,000 homeless and low-income New Yorkers.

Housing Works offers online donations, thrift shop donations, and furniture pickup. You can learn more about furniture pickup here or call (212) 366-0820.  Schedule a pickup here.

Who your donations serve: Individuals in New York living with or affected by HIV/AIDS

Items Housing Works accepts:

• Furniture in excellent condition
• Clothing (in plastic garbage bags only)
• Antiques
• Art
• Houseware (packed in boxes)
• Jewelry
• Clean rugs (up to 6′ x 9′ with occasional exceptions)
• Up to 4 boxes of books (24″ x 24″ box max)

You can find a detailed list of items Housing Works does and does not accept here.

10. PickUpMyDonation

Similar to Pickup Please, PickUpMyDonation aims to make the donation process easier for nonprofits. Since 2012, PickUpMyDonation has helped donate more than $89 million to nonprofit organizations. 

The process is easy. You make a donation request based on your ZIP code and select either a free pickup or priority pickup. Priority pickup requires a fee, but is carried out by professional moving companies that have partnered with PickUpMyDonation and will move donations to a local thrift store or donation center. The free version puts you in contact with other nonprofits, some of which have free pickup services.

Who your donations serve: A variety of local charities and nonprofit organizations

Items PickUpMyDonation accepts:

• Large household items that meet their minimum requirements

Tips for Furniture Donation Pickup

If you’re having a difficult time deciding what to donate, check out the flowchart to help them quickly decide which item should be donated, kept, or trashed.

Donating household items, appliances, and furniture can happen year-round, especially when you’re moving homes or downsizing. Another time to donate is if you upgrade furniture and don’t know what to do with the old pieces.

Below are four steps to follow when scheduling a donation pickup:

1. Research Your Charity

The above-listed charities and others not listed use your donation directly or indirectly to help individuals. That being said, most charities serve a particular group of people. Research each organization’s website to ensure its values align with your beliefs or if there’s one you’d prefer to reach out to. 

2. Confirm the Organization Accepts Your Donation Type

Most importantly, confirm that the organization accepts your donation type. Many of these nonprofits’ websites list items that they do and do not accept, along with exceptions. If your chosen charity doesn’t accept or won’t pick up one of your items, research one of the other ones on our list.

3. Schedule a Donation Pickup Time With the Charity

Most charities make it easy to schedule a donation pickup. You can typically do so by filling out an online form, sending an email, or inquiring via phone. Once you have a move date, schedule your donation pickup. It’s best to plan ahead so you’re not in too much discomfort without an often-used furniture piece like a bed or couch. 

Note: Charity donations increase dramatically during the holiday season so there might be longer wait times for scheduled pickups.

4. Coordinate Donation Pickup Time With Landlord and Neighbors

As a tenant, it’s best to make your landlord and close neighbors aware of your scheduled donation pickup. If you can’t be there during the exchange, ask a neighbor or friend to sub in for you. Also, let your landlord know so they don’t toss the item intended for donation or fine you for breaking lease rules. 

How to Help Your Tenants Donate

Part of being a great landlord means organizing fun and exciting events for your tenants. One option is to create a canned food drive or a donation pickup for your tenants. You can organize a community-wide donation pickup by contacting one of the above-listed organizations and working with them to do a large sitewide pickup. 

Below are a few donation pickups or drives the entire complex or community can help with:

• Canned food drives
• Clothing drive
• Animal shelter needs
• Toy drive
• Blood drive

Another option is to advertise these charities that pick up appliances and furniture via email, flyers, or your monthly newsletter. This way, tenants are fully aware of these services. You can organize this type of event annually during high turnover seasons, biannually, or quarterly.

Ava Johns

Ava is the Digital Marketing Specialist at TurboTenant where she manages outreach efforts while writing content to educate rental property owners. With a focus on inclusive and engaging communications, she is excited to help landlords strengthen their professional relationships with tenants and self-manage their rentals better.

Listen On:

It’s that time of year again when the weather cools and people start to heat up their homes.  It’s also the time of year when the number of residential fires increases.

Next week is National Fire Prevention Week and we have A LOT to say about rental properties and how to work with your tenant to prevent a fire in your unit.

So much to say that we did a podcast all about it and ended up having to split it into 2 parts!

This week, on part 1 we discuss,

▪️ How the age of your rental property can have an increased risk of fire danger and what to look for to lessen the chance of a fire in it.

▪️ Space heaters, candles, and flammable materials in rental units and how to deal with those.

▪️ Single family home rentals vs Multifamily properties and the fire risks associated with them.

▪️ The most common fires that occur in rental properties and how to guide your tenants on how to avoid them.

▪️ Hoarding and the fire risks associated with it for both the tenant and the fire fighters.

▪️ Whether those new fire blankets being marketed all over are a good replacement for small kitchen sized fire extinguishers inside your units.

▪️ And finally, we are talking about how many fire extinguishers you need to provide for your rental property. 

That’s just what we cover this week so you can see why we had to split it into 2 episodes!

LINKS

👉 YouTube Video On How to Use a Fire Extinguisher by Consumer Reports.

👉 FREE PDF from Kidde on Placement and use of a Fire Extinguisher.

👉 National Fire Protection Agency, Code Finder for fire codes by State.

👉 Kitchen fire extinguisher we use in our rentals.

👉Help other DIY landlords discover what we have to say… Please leave us a review of our podcast!  

On ITunes, please scroll to the bottom of our main page (with our logo) and click “Write a Review”.

On Spotify, please click the 5.0⭐ on our the front page of our podcast page.

Want the podcast link emailed to you weekly? Subscribe to our FREE newsletter, Landlord Weekly!

▪️Landlord Tips ▪️ Early Access to Our Blogs ▪️ Landlord Specific Articles by Other Industry Pro’s ▪️Podcast Links

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Fall is the season when it’s time to baton down the hatches and prep for winter.  In the old days, people would be using this time to can vegetables they grew in their garden over the summer months or fix broken fences so the livestock wouldn’t escape.  City slickers were using this time to pull out their winter gear and buy new galoshes!

Just like every other season, fall is a time to prepare for a potentially harsh winter ahead.  So, we are in Northern California and with the exception of our mountainous areas, we don’t see exceptionally harsh winters.  But that doesn’t mean that we do not prepare our rental properties located here for the winter months.  We still get pretty big storms with high winds and last year, quite a bit of unexpected rainfall.  The point is inspections are always a good idea.  Even more so just before the cold winter months set it.

In this episode we give you suggestions on what fall seasonal maintenance items you should be doing for your rental properties, especially if they will experience freezing temperatures this coming winter season.

We time this preventative maintenance along with our semi-annual property inspections.  This way we can lessen the amount of disruption to our tenants and keep our time on property to a minimum, which also helps us remain efficient in our business.

Where we touch on the things you should focus on inside the unit, most of the tasks are for the exterior of your rental property.  We discuss what to do and why it is important.  The rest is up to you.

LINKS

👉 Episode 4: The Importance of Rental Property Inspections

Too many landlords take the hands-off approach, thinking their tenants don’t want to be bothered.  That the less contact they have with the tenant, the better.  Maybe they won’t move out, maybe they won’t ask us for any improvements, maybe they won’t complain.  Guess what?  By avoiding the tenants, you’re ignoring your biggest asset, your rental property.

It has been statistically shown that rental properties that go without maintenance, have a higher turnover than those with active, attentive landlords.

Just like your personal home or your vehicle, rental properties need periodic maintenance.  It needs to be checked to make sure your tenants are caring for it as intended in the lease agreement. 

👉 Purchase our 6-Page Inspection Checklist ($5.00). For properties up to 4 bedroom/4 bath and includes all pertinent areas to be inspected, including the exterior.

To date, this product is the only item we charge for. Help support our site while getting a valuable tool you can use over as many times as you’d like.

👉 Amazon Basics Outdoor Furniture Covers:

This page features all the covers Amazon Basics offers.  We have tried the expensive ones and they lasted the same if not as well as these covers.  Our patio furniture located in Sacramento is covered 24/7, 365 days a year except when it is in use, so it gets many hours of hot sun in the summer and keeps the furniture still looking like new after a windy, wet, cold winter.  We highly recommend this product for your personal home or rental properties.  You cannot beat the prices and variety of covers they offer.

👉 Outdoor Insulated Water Faucet Cover:

SUPER WATERPROOF & INSULATION – the outside spigot covers were made of heavyweight polyester waterproof fabric and special PP insulated cotton, which waterproof and insulate to guard against severe.

UNIVERSAL DIMENSION – the faucet protector measures 5.9″ W x 7.7″ H and works well with various faucet types, such as garden spigots, hose bibs, and water taps.

UNIQUE COVERING-WALL PATENT DESIGN – with this covering-wall clipping patent design, the great cover sock not only covers the faucet firmly, but hugs against the wall closely.

FLEXIBLE STRING TIE SYSTEM – comes with string tie, extremely easy to install or take off from your faucet within a few seconds, much easier to use than some foam covers or hook & loop tape styles.

Check out these insulated water faucet covers!

👉Help other DIY landlords discover what we have to say… Please leave us a review of our podcast!  

On ITunes, please scroll to the bottom of our main page (with our logo) and click “Write a Review”.

On Spotify, please click the 5.0⭐ on our the front page of our podcast page.

Want the podcast link emailed to you weekly? Subscribe to our FREE newsletter, Landlord Weekly!

▪️Landlord Tips ▪️ Early Access to Our Blogs ▪️ Landlord Specific Articles by Other Industry Pro’s ▪️Podcast Links

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This week we calmed things down a bit and did a shorty episode about gift giving to your tenants.

Our episode is primarily about the welcome gifts we leave as a surprise for tenants upon move-in.  But we do touch on other options for treating your tenants as well.

We let you know what we leave and what our thought process is behind each of the items.  If you know us well enough, you should know we do have a slight motive to some of the items we give to our new tenants.

Yea, we know that A LOT of landlords think this is a ridiculous idea.  We address that issue and much more.

So, give this quick episode a listen and let us know what gifts you leave for your new tenants!

LINKS

👉3M Claw Picture Hangers

We recommend these to all our tenants and have started to include them in our welcome basket. The tiny holes are much easier to repair on our textured walls, making the vacancy turnover much more tolerable.

👉 TouchUp Cup, Small Plastic Paint Storage Container

Touch-Up Cup is a clean, easy way to leave extra paint for your tenants to touch up scuffs and dings that are bound to happen as natural wear and tear.

👉Your Landlord Resource Podcast, Episode 2: Improving Tenant Retention and Renewals

In this episode, we discuss a multitude of ways you can make your tenant feel valued, important, and good about living in your unit and, ultimately, stay renting for years…even if you raise the rent.

👉Help other DIY landlords discover what we have to say… Please leave us a review of our podcast!  

On ITunes, please scroll to the bottom of our main page (with our logo) and click “Write a Review”.

On Spotify, please click the 5.0⭐ on our the front page of our podcast page.

Want the podcast link emailed to you weekly? Subscribe to our FREE newsletter, Landlord Weekly!

▪️Landlord Tips ▪️ Early Access to Our Blogs ▪️ Landlord Specific Articles by Other Industry Pro’s ▪️Podcast Links

Failed Signature Bank is in FDIC receivership, and tenants are seizing the opportunity to push for repairs and stronger regulations around lending.

Tenants in buildings with landlords that took out loans from the failed Signature Bank are demanding a say when the government sells off those loans this summer. For people in buildings with deteriorating conditions, many of whom have long accused Signature of being harmful with its lending, it’s a rare opportunity to push for repairs and stronger regulation of their landlords.   

Esther Acosta has lived in her current apartment at 638 160th Street in Washington Heights for over 10 years. When Hurricane Ida struck in 2021, a piece of the ceiling collapsed. There are still cracks, and water slowly leaks in when it rains, causing mold to grow, she said.

The building was owned by Sugar Hill Capital Partners, an uptown real estate firm that spent hundreds of millions of dollars in the late 2010s buying up multifamily apartment buildings. But Sugar Hill, which had purchased the buildings prior to statewide rent reforms in 2019 that made it harder to deregulate apartments, was reportedly falling behind mortgage payments in some of its buildings in 2022. 

In an email, Sugar Hill Capital managing partner Margaret Grossman said that she was not aware of cracks or mold beyond wear and tear. The building had facade issues that predated Hurricane Ida that caused interior leaks that it addressed during its ownership, she said. Grossman said that the building was “operationally distressed” when Sugar Hill purchased it, but because of 2019 reforms that made it harder to deregulate or raise rents on rent regulated units, “we were unable to execute our planned business plan at the building” because they would not be able to recoup money for repairs. Grossman said Sugar Hill spent six figures and remediated more than 200 pre-existing building violations.

In January, Sugar Hill sold Acosta’s building to a new landlord, Tyhum LLC. Acosta and other tenants in her building have been on a rent strike for months. But rather than focusing all their energy on the new landlord, Acosta and a group of tenants who have organized under the banner of the Upper Manhattan Tenants Union are taking their concerns to the federal government. 

That’s because the bank that lent Sugar Hill the loan, Signature, failed and was taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in March amid a banking crisis that saw several U.S. banks fail and enter federal receivership. As the FDIC prepares to sell off Signature’s assets, including its commercial real estate loans, tenants are hoping for a seat at the table. 

They assert that Signature Bank was irresponsible when it lent loans to corporate landlords, which they say can only pay back their loans by deregulating apartments and converting them to market rate, a point that tenant activists have been making about Signature for years. (Grossman said it is “categorically not true” that Sugar Hill couldn’t pay the mortgage on Acosta’s building when it took out a loan from Signature.)

Tenants are asking the FDIC to view what they say are the poor condition of their apartments and want influence in the decision-making process when the FDIC makes its sale. They want the new loan servicer to be more accountable for the behavior of its borrowers and to assure that they invest in the maintenance of units rather than allowing them to deteriorate. 

The Upper Manhattan Tenants Union organizes across a portfolio of buildings that are either currently or formerly owned by Sugar Hill capital. Each building within the larger tenant union has its own tenant association and has been encouraged to send letters detailing the conditions of units in their buildings. The entire Tenant Union also plans to send a joint letter to the FDIC requesting a say in the sale of their loans and the terms of any agreement between the FDIC and a new loan purchaser or borrower.

The group has been in touch with the office of Congressman Adriano Espaillat, whose district includes Harlem and Washington Heights, who they said is helping to coordinate a meeting between tenants and the FDIC. Congressman Espaillat’s office did not return a request for comment from Motherboard.

Adam Blazej is the co-founder of Upper Manhattan Tenants Union His building is still owned by Sugar Hill Capital with a mortgage serviced by Signature Bank. He says the tenant union’s demands are, at minimum, “asking that the terms of the mortgages be written in such a way that they don’t allow the current or new owner to continue their harmful practices” and to provide necessary repairs.

Blazej said tenants also want to have tenant-controlled housing, although this would likely require a nonprofit with enough cash to buy the building and turn leadership to tenants.

While his building is still owned by Sugar Hill, Blazej doesn’t feel that conditions would necessarily improve if it were sold to someone else, as he’s seen what tenants have experienced under new ownership. “Everyone I talked to said they didn’t think it could get worse. It’s gotten worse,” he said.  “I don’t want them to sell my building to some other vulture or slumlord,” he said.

Upper Manhattan Tenants Union is not the only tenant group organizing to have a say in the Signature sale. The nonprofit Association of Neighborhood & Housing Development (ANHD) is  also helping tenant groups across the city impacted by the Signature loan sale to draft letters to the FDIC. It is also working on its own letter to the FDIC on behalf of its member groups.

“When the collapse happened, I reached out to the FDIC. I want to ensure whatever the process is, the voices of the tenants don’t get left out,” said Will Depoo, senior campaign organizer at ANHD.

ANHD has been organizing to get Signature to reform its lending practices for years, and in 2018 tenants working with ANHD were able to get the bank to agree to set of best practices, including better vetting of its borrowers. which they say the bank did not follow through on. Depoo said that the FDIC has confirmed that they have read letters from tenants about the Signature Bank loan sale.

“The last time I heard from them, they did mention they are taking notice of the letters,” Depoo said. “I don’t know what exactly they’re going to do with it.”

When Motherboard reached out to the FDIC about whether they’re able to change the terms of Signature’s mortgages or mandate repairs, a spokesperson deferred to a press release that did not address these questions and said they had no additional information.

In its press release regarding the Signature sale, the federal agency said, “The FDIC has a statutory obligation, among other factors, to maximize the preservation of the availability and affordability of residential real property for low– and moderate–income individuals.” The agency said it is reviewing commercial real estate loans for rent stabilized multifamily housing. “For this portion of the portfolio, the FDIC plans to reach out to state and local government agencies, as well as community–based organizations, to inform them of the FDIC’s efforts and to seek their input as the FDIC develops its marketing and disposition strategy,” the release says.

Colin Kent-Daggett, community organizer with St. Nicks Alliance, a nonprofit community development organization, said he has been organizing letter-writing campaigns to the FDIC with a group of apartment buildings that have Signature Bank mortgages.

Some of the buildings are in Bushwick and are owned by Ink Property Group, a company that was sued by the state Attorney General last August for violating the law as it deregulated units. The attorney general also accused the company of lying on its loan application by claiming the buildings it purchased had more tenants and higher rents to reassure the bank of its profitability. (As the result of the settlement, Ink Property was ordered to pay $1.75 million to a state affordable housing fund and $400,000 directly to tenants; those who lived in hazardous conditions created by construction received $2,500 each.)

Kent-Daggett said that there’s hope among tenants that the Signature sale could lead to reforms of some of the industry’s lending practices. “I think the tenants I’ve been working with have been really excited about the chance to have a say in that process,” he said.

In a letter to the FDIC shared with Motherboard, the Bushwick-based 308 Covert Street Tenant Association, which is organizing with St. Nicks Alliance, requested to be “included in discussions about the future of the loan on our building” including the terms of any agreement between the FDIC and the borrower, Ink Property Group.

The tenants wrote that, after Ink Property purchased the building for $1.1 million in 2015 and took out a loan from Signature, the landlords did not use the funds for maintenance, instead engaging in the tenant harassment and buyouts detailed in the attorney general’s lawsuit. “Only two long-term tenants remained, and it took years for Ink to renovate and re-rent the other apartments. In the meantime the units sat empty and filled with garbage, and we eventually discovered that the debris once filling the apartments had simply been stuffed between the floors of the building during construction when a bathroom ceiling collapsed into an occupied,” the tenants wrote. 

When Motherboard reached Ink Property Group’s offices for comment by phone, an employee immediately hung up.

Source: Vice