The Delta Apartments are going up on the auction block in two weeks after foreclosure by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The low-income, 100-unit complex on Browning Road will be sold at 11 a.m. Jan. 27 at the Leflore County courthouse, according to a classified ad.
Bidders must put up a $150,000 deposit and will be required to operate according to HUD requirements, which are not specifically stated in the ad.
Further information about the sale is hard to come by. Representatives of HUD and the firm handling the foreclosure — who are listed as contacts in the public notice — could not be reached for comment.
The Delta Apartments were built in 1972. Delta Associates LTD bought it in 1983 with HUD as an insurer on the mortgage. Delta Associates went into default in 2007, and the property turned over to HUD.
In 2009, the Southeastern Affordable Housing Management Association took over as managers while HUD sought a buyer. It’s not clear if they’re still involved. Company representatives could not be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, the apartments have fallen into disrepair. Leflore County declared an emergency at the site in April because of the health risk posed by high grass and piled up trash. It’s since been cleaned up.
County plans to get involved ended in September when supervisors voted 3-2 not to enter into a contract with HUD to rehabilitate the apartments.
HUD promised Leflore County could transfer ownership immediately to a private developer and wouldn’t incur any liability. However, HUD refused to put those terms in the contract.
The county could have been put on the hook to spend within two years an estimated $4.3 million to rehab the complex plus other costly obligations. Those included paying into a HUD-controlled capital improvement fund for 25 years.
County Administrator Sam Abraham said Thursday he wasn’t familiar with the foreclosure sale but hopes someone will fix the apartments up so the county will have more affordable housing. He added that he hopes HUD won’t place the same restraints on bidders that it tried to put on the county.
• Contact Charlie Smith at csmith@gwcommonwealth.com.
