UPDATE: This story has been up to date to incorporate data on the taxes for the Towar Ave. rental property.
MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WLNS) – Landlord points led a girl to spend 1000’s of her personal cash to repair her dwelling. Now, she says she’s being evicted.
Overgrown panorama, pipe issues, and no entrance door are all issues Kelly Holey mentioned she has needed to repair. Her landlord, Christian Nwobu, is at present being sued by the Metropolis of Lansing for housing code violations. Courtroom information present Nwobu is making an attempt to evict tenants, even those that stay in a few of his red-tagged properties. That is precisely what Holey says is going on to her.
The house earlier than repairs had been made. (Kelley Holey)
The house earlier than repairs had been made. (Kelley Holey)
The house earlier than repairs had been made. (Kelley Holey)
Holey mentioned that Nwobu agreed to place the cash she spent fixing up the house in the direction of her hire, however didn’t honor that. Now, she says she has till the top of the month to maneuver out, saying she does not know the place she’ll go subsequent and that Nwobu ought to by no means have had somebody residing there within the first place.
“Empty promises the whole time,” mentioned Holey.
The renter mentioned that the day after she moved into her Meridian Township rental dwelling in July of 2024, there was an inspection and the home was red-tagged. A pink tag meant she could not stay there, however with no lease and nowhere else to go, Holey mentioned she reached out to Nwobu.
“His response was ‘Just don’t make any noise around the neighborhood and you can just stay there,'” Holey mentioned.
So, Holey says she started fixing her place up, hoping to get the pink tag eliminated and take away her concern of being kicked out—or so she thought.
“I had to purchase all new appliances, a stove, refrigerator. We had to replace the pipes, the kitchen sink, the doors, there was no trim in the house at all,” Holey says. “Every time we would fix one thing, something else would break.”
The home, after repairs had been made. (Kelley Holey)
Meridian Township officers confirmed that the pink tag was eliminated in August 2024. Holey says she invested round $3,000 into the home, cash that she mentioned Nwobu advised her may come out of her hire—till that modified.
“The second month, he said ‘Don’t worry about it, you’ve done plenty of work,'” Holey says. “But after that, he was like ‘I need rent money’, and I was like, ‘We’ve put a couple thousand into it, so that’s still about 4 months’ rent.’ Then, I never saw him.”
Holey says that after that, an organization represented by Nwobu evicted her. She went to courtroom and says she has till April 30 to maneuver. Holey does not suppose Nwobu must be allowed to handle properties anymore, and by no means desires one other particular person to have an expertise like this.
“He doesn’t do anything, and it just makes the whole neighborhood look bad,” mentioned Holey.
6 Information has reached out to Christian Nwobu by cellphone and by knocking on his door, however was advised he was not out there.
Information present Nwobu is chargeable for 42 properties within the Metropolis of Lansing, and earlier this month, town sued him over housing code violations. He could have a listening to on these eight lawsuits on Could 12.
District Courtroom information reviewed by 6 Information present he’s suing two tenants for again hire and possession of the rental properties, together with a 3rd tenant for possession of the property. But all 3 are red-tagged, which suggests these houses are unsafe to stay in.
Ingham County Treasurer Alan Fox tells 6 Information Investigates by textual content message that Nwobu, by means of a restricted legal responsibility firm, Manfred Woelfel Rental Properties, owes taxes on the Towar Ave. property for 2023 and 2024. Fox says to convey the property taxes up-to-date, Nwobu must pay $9,328.99 by the top of April. He paid the 2022 property taxes on March 19.
