Residents of a West Dallas neighborhood are being forced to buy the home they are renting or move out.
HMK LTD. is co-owned by Khraish Khraish, the property manager responsible for the re-development of the low income neighborhood.
“The new home owners will be recorded owners,” said Khraish. “So these are not rentals anymore. This is the beginning of the American dream of home ownership for each one of these families.”
H.M.K. LTD. owns over 100 properties in West Dallas and will sell 75 of the homes to current renters in June. Another 45 homes will not be sold and could be demolished for redevelopment. Renters of those homes will have the option to purchase a home in another part of the neighborhood. More than 20 tenants are being evicted for not paying their rent on time. Those tenants will not be given the option to buy a home. Each home is being sold for $65,000.
“You’re talking about a $575 mortgage with taxes included versus the average rent for families at $465 a month,” Khraish said.
Some renters in the neighborhood said they pay as less as $300 a month. Tenita Jesse has always lived in West Dallas and now will need to make a mortgage payment to stay in her home.
“The house is worth only $10,000 and they are asking $65,000,” Jesse said. “I make minimum wage so it’s going to take a while but as long as they work with me and they give me a chance then I want to buy the house because I have family in the area.”
Khraish insists the mortgages are affordable.
“I have had nobody claim they can’t afford this,” said Khraish.
According to current tenants, some are thankful for a chance to own a home, while others are left wondering how they will pay for it.
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