By Tara Hark and Max Wagner
Bengal News West Reporters
A new family searches Buffalo for a perfect home to
start their lives in, finding one sitting on the corner of Grant Street and
Lafayette Avenue. They go to the bank and to their excitement, they’re approved
for a Federal Housing Administration loan and are right on their way to a brand-new
house and life on the West Side.
But sitting on the
lawn is a big red sold sign, signaling that the house was purchased before that
family even got the chance to step foot on the sidewalk. The buyer gave a cash
offer, trumping the FHA buyer and leaving them once again searching for their
home.
 |
| Realtor Naomi Lasco |
“Cash
will just come in, put a lower offer in, maybe asking price, take it as is, and
call it a day,” said Naomi Lasco, a West Side real estate agent for Keller
Williams Realty and West Side resident. “In a situation where there are several
offers on a house; FHA offers are always at the bottom. Cash most always wins,
because it’s quick, up front, and involves much less work for the seller. There’s
no appraisal, no inspection, just some paperwork.”
Lasco, on the impact of cash real-estate deals:
This
problem is rampant on the West Side for an FHA buyer because the homes are generally
older and in need of renovations. Sellers are choosing cash buyers because they
don’t want to pay for all the repairs required, real estate agents say.
“The
reason why FHA or conventional loans are not as desirable to sellers is because
they have a reputation for nitpicking houses and requiring them to do certain
repairs in order for the buyer to get approved for the loan to buy the property,”
said Lee Tringali, Metro Real Estate agent and investor on the West Side.
Besides
FHA buyers being shut out of the market, cash buyers can be problematic for
renters on the West Side.
Lasco
explains a history of cash buyers neglecting their obligations to the tenants
of their properties and squeezing as much value out of the home without putting
in work.
“A lot of
the time cash buyers are not occupiers, they are investors. So, then we run
into sometimes having people who do not maintain the property, and just keep it
as is or it deteriorates,” said Lasco.
The issue
of neglectful landlords in Buffalo was so expansive that the city implemented
the Rental Registration Program in 2005 to specifically identify problem
properties, absentee landlords, and the quality of life for Buffalo tenants.
“We have
many, many out of town landlords, and it is a problem. Some are even out of the
country,” said Sam Fanara, director of rental registration for the City of
Buffalo.
Lasco
mentioned her own neighbors on Congress Street, who are Somalian, Burmese, and
from Sudan, who all rent from an absentee landlord. The tenants were bringing
out cupboards filled with water due to poor plumbing and roofing issues.
“Renters
need to know their rights, and be able to voice them, which is difficult when
there is a language barrier,” said Lasco.
Both City
Hall and realtors explained that although the issue exists, it has improved in
recent years.
The West
Side property value has increased exponentially in the past few years, reducing
the negligence of out of town owners, Tringali said
“A lot of
the buyers are people who want to live there, and they take care of their
property as such. People in New York, the younger generation love the West
Side, and are willing to pay for it,” Tringali
said.