What Atlanta Can Do To Protect Vulnerable Homeowners From Aggressive Investors

BY STEPHANNIE STOKES, GEOFF HING, APM REPORTS | SEP 14, 2020

“Don’t sell.” That’s been the message from Atlanta mayors to homeowners in the city neighborhoods lining projects like the BeltLine. ... Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms was the latest to deliver it. Speaking on the radio station V-103 in 2018, she said residents on the westside now live in one of the “hottest” real estate markets and advised homeowners to watch out for requests to buy their properties from investors. ... “People are putting fliers in mailboxes, telling people ‘I’ll buy your house. I’ll pay cash, $65,000,” Bottoms said. “Well, you may be sitting on a $400,000 house.”

Former Mayor Kasim Reed gave a similar warning before her. At a press conference about a new city design plan in 2017, he told a room full of westside residents not to give up their homes unless the investor is “talking about triple.”

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With investors overwhelming neighborhoods in south and west Atlanta with requests to buy properties, housing advocates say more will need to be done to protect homeowners and help them realize the potential value of their homes. ... There may be the beginnings of a solution in a workshop already sponsored by the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership, the trail’s nonprofit arm.

Earlier this year, before the pandemic began, about 60 people took seats in a room at the Metropolitan Library until there was standing room only. The crowd was mostly older, veterans hats visible among them. Some relied on walkers for support.

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This story was possible with support from America Amplified, a public media initiative, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It was produced in collaboration with APM Reports, the investigative reporting unit of American Public Media.