Ex-Met, Red Sox 1st Sacker Snags Control Of 14 Dilapidated Bronx Apt. Houses In Foreclosure Limbo As Fannie Dumps Delinquent Debt Secured By 416 Units

In The Bronx, New York, Crain's New York Business reports:

• A collection of 14 deteriorating South Bronx apartment buildings have been snapped up by a real estate development company led by former New York Met first baseman Maurice “Mo” Vaughn in a foreclosure auction, the city announced Wednesday. The properties were owned by entities of the Ocelot Capital Group, which abandoned them, let them fall into disrepair and eventually defaulted on their mortgage.(1) Omni New York, the winning bidder, purchased the collateral for the current loan portfolio of 14 buildings—consisting of 416 units, with a mortgage debt totaling $23.8 million—from Fannie Mae and Deutsche Bank at a discount. The sale price was not disclosed.

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• “The sale of these buildings to an affordable housing developer with a track record as strong as Omni's is a home run for the residents, the neighborhood, and all of New York City,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg, in a statement.

For more, see Ex-Met bags Ocelot buildings in foreclosure (Maurice "Mo" Vaughn is the winning bidder for 14 decaying South Bronx apartment buildings; will rehab and manage the 416 units).

See also, The New York Times: New Landlord Is Chosen for Troubled Bronx Buildings:

• The mortgage debt on 14 of Ocelot’s 25 original buildings was put up for bid. On Wednesday, officials announced that Omni New York had been selected as the winning bidder. [...] Tenant advocates say they believe that the bids by several qualified developers, including Omni, did not exceed $5 million, a significant step in stopping the cycle of overleveraging.

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In a related story on failing predatory equity real estate investment deals in New York City, see Crain's New York Business: Bronx is burning over failed deals (Overleveraged buyers of rent-regulated apartments create one big mess throughout city).

(1) For other posts on the Ocelot Capital "predatory equity" real estate investment fiasco, see:

• Fannie Left Holding The Bag On Dilapidated Bronx Apartment Buildings - Now Asked To Fork Over $320K+ To Repair Structurally Unsafe Conditions;
• Schumer To Private-Equity Landlord That Abandoned 19 Bronx Buildings: "You Are The Lowest Of The Low!" - Also Slams Fannie For Facillitating Bad Deals;
• NY Senator To Fannie: Stop Online Horse Trading In Delinquent Bronx Building Mortgages As Deteriorating Conditions May Force 500+ Families Onto Street;
• Fannie Backs Down On Plans To Use Online Auction To Dump $29M Mortgage Portfolio Secured By Rundown Bronx Bldgs; Will Search For Responsible Landlord.