Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Mahmood Khan, Two Doors Down



Guest post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman

This blog has reported on issues with Mahmood Khan in the past, and recent emails have been circulating about 2222 4th St N coming up at a hearing at the city tomorrow. First things first, if anyone has comments they would like submitted, send them to jskrenes@hawthorneneighborhoodcouncil.org. If public comments are being accepted, I will bring them forth and have them on record.

Now, about that house. One resident said that they had been in the property recently, and the layout was very odd...

The living room and kitchen are on the first floor, and the bedrooms and more living room space is upstairs. According to this resident, however, the crazy part is what you have to do to get from one floor to the next. You have to go out the back door--that's OUTSIDE, mind you--and then back in another door. Can you imagine what it would be like in the wintertime to get your kids dressed for bed? 

ADDENDUM: Subsequent information proved this belief by residents to be apparently false, click here. 

I went around the property and looked inside as best I could, and this person's story appears to be true. I couldn't see another staircase visible from any of the first floor windows. Of course, Mr. Khan will have a chance to tell folks at the city if this is true or not at the upcoming hearing.

And just a few houses away, Khan owns another gem at 2135 4th St N:



On top of just plain exuding slumminess, I found this to be rather interesting:



Because when you go around back, what do you see?




Yes, I called it in to 311.

In the comment threads of a previous post, someone came forward and tried to defend Mahmood Khan. I publicly stated that I would take Mr. Khan up on that offer to tour the properties he has that are supposedly "nice." I am rescinding that offer. Mr. Khan, you have two houses in a very close area in my neighborhood that are in a state of disrepair that my residents find unacceptable. I believe that if I do my own examination of your properties throughout north Minneapolis, I will find many in similar conditions. I will also state that the truth in sale of housing report for 2135 4th St N has a required completion date of November 5, 2008, and compliance has not yet been recorded.

So if you want this blog to say that you're a good landlord who's just misunderstood, then comply fully with the TISH reports for EVERY SINGLE property you own in Minneapolis. In ninety days; you've had plenty of time by now. Then we'll talk.

I should also point out that this would be a whole lot easier for neighbors to keep track of if we could research properties with owner names as a search criteria.

7 comments:

Kevin said...

2135 4th clearly shows something I've been meaning to ask you to address for a long time.

Note the tiny windows in the front - both downstairs and upstairs. These were once porches which have now been converted to bedrooms. Mr. Khan didn't do this, since I knew the previous owner, but in any case this type of conversion always makes properties more desirable to rental property owners: More bedrooms = more $ in rent and in particular more $ in rent from Section 8. It looks like sh%$ in my opinion, but that's how a lot of rental property owners think around here. Screw the aesthetics and concentrate on the potential income.

Anonymous said...

If you want a real laugh here is the original rehab plan.

http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/2009-meetings/20090109/Docs/2222-4th-St-N-RCA.pdf

I will bet that Mr. Kahn didn't spend $125,000 on that dump. I love the pretty landscaping he had proposed.

What did he do? Buy some cheap shrub, plant it in the middle of the yard and not water it all summer. I am sure it will be dead next spring.

1915bung said...

Yup, we are working against ourselves.

Perhaps if the city wasn't so willing to pay the rents for dumps like this with subsidized public funds, renters would be more discriminating about what they where willing to shell out for a "home".

It is obvious that the profit potential for these rentals has clearly driven someone to ravage what was probably a very attractive single family home that contributed to the community.

Why can't our elected officials see what is happening and change the incentives that cause this?

Anonymous said...

I was supposed to move in to one of his property's he got the guaranty for his deposit then he told me I'm still cleaning. It up give me a week!me and my kids are in a hotel with a moving. Truck with all are stuff un it but I called. And told him ima need two three days to come up with the rennt been I've been paying hotel fee so I call him after a few days about the house in suppose to be renting he tells me he rented. It out already! But he signed the shelters form with that address on it saying. I moved in 21st of last month! Not only that he said I will find u something fast he had me look at some dump on 25th & 3rd that still had people living in and said I would just be there. Till he gets something bigger or something. Eles open! told me to go there in the morning he will have it cleaned out for me asked me to help him clean it but he will have my keys and lease!? I called when I got there he said he would be there soon I sat there. With my moving. Truck and my kids he never shows up I sat for three hours come to find out the people never new they was moving anless there other place was available and that would be the property that he was getting my deposit for he was moving. Them to the house I was getting. And us in a peace of house that's trash! Yeah the one property that he told me he rented out already so I go bye that house and its very much so empty so I've been getting. The run a round still paying At a hotel and were I was suppose To move has been empty The hole time! There's gotta. Be sometime I can do because this isn't. Right at all

Anonymous said...

4:02, is there someone at the City or your previous residence (shelter?) you can call? I saw you posted earlier but no one responded. The problem is you are dealing with a Grade A slumlord. Even worse, someone the city has dragged their heels to get rid of. I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume if you are renting from him and are a single parent of a few kids, you probably won't get a lot of sympathy from many of the people who read this blog. Unfortunately this neighborhood has been saturated with the out-of-state poor. And some of the poor (not all) bring in serious criminal element that ruins the neighborhood, which leads to people not wanting to help out the poor for fear of bringing in more trash. That's probably why you are on your own on this. Good luck to you and your children.

Anonymous said...

Please don't rent from that man. I don't think any child should live in one of his disgusting fire traps. He is like a thorn in my side and he needs to be removed from Nomi!I hope you can find another place. If he is doing this now imagine what he will do when the heat goes out or something. Don't do it.I need a shower just by looking at his houses.

Anonymous said...

What kind of a shelter does business with Khan anyway? Would they also encourage renting from H.H. Holmes??