A presentation I am going to show tomorrow at my Foreclosure Mediation hearing. Baltimore at its best :-(

1. Would you pay $185,000 to live here?
PRE-FORECLOSURE:
1701-03 Frederick Avenue
Baltimore 21223
“List Price $191,498
Estimated Value $67,219”*
* http://www.realtytrac.com/propertydetails/md/baltimore/21223/frederick-ave/50710792

2. To Whom It May Concern:
I purchased 1701-03 Frederick Avenue on December 8, 2006 for
$125,000. The previous owner paid $17,000 for it in September of 1990,
thus realizing a profit of $108,000. He was running a furniture restoration
shop in the building. Besides the $125,000 purchase price, SunTrust
loaned me another $50,000 for renovations. I pitched in another $25,000
when that money ran out.
The fair market value of this property is closer to the $17,000 figure paid
in 1990 than to the $187,000 currently owed. The 2006 selling price of
$125,000 was an inflated value produced by the real estate bubble. The
value of 1701-03 Frederick Avenue, like the real estate market, plunged
soon after I purchased it. Given the conditions of the neighborhood
surrounding this property, it is unlikely that it will ever be worth
$100,000 again, much less the $187,000 owed. At best, it will be many
years, probably decades, before the value ever rises anywhere near what I
have invested in it.
In 2009, during the previous loan modification, I brought this to
SunTrust’s attention and requested a reduction in the principle. I had a
market assessment done which explained why the value was, at best, half
the amount owed. SunTrust refused to consider reducing the principle.

3. The conditions surrounding 1701-03 Frederick Avenue continue to
deteriorate. While the 2000 census tallied 31, 016 residents in zip code
21223, by 2010 the tally had fallen to 14, 343 in 2010. West Baltimore
Street, which used to be a thriving business corridor, is a ghost town today.
Crime has increased since the 2008 recession, as has the number of
abandoned buildings. I dare not walk around at night, and even daytime
can be dangerous.
I could have paid the outstanding balance due in January of this year
when I received $17,000+ in student loan money to begin a Masters
Degree in Instructional Systems Development at UMBC. I chose not to.
After years of struggling to keep this house, I have finally accepted the
reality that paying $187,000+ for this property is foolish.
So today I am prepared to lose my house unless SunTrust reduces the
basis, reduces the total principle owed, to reflect the fair market value of
1701-03 Frederick Avenue.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Joseph Roberson

4. 1701-03 Frederick Avenue
1708 Hollins Street $38,500
1706 Hollins Street $38,900
116 South Mount Street $37,101
9 South Fulton $39,900

5. 1706 Hollins Street
FORECLOSURE (Bank Owned)
Under Contract
for
$38,900
1706 Hollins St was last sold on
08/2006. The price of the
property when it was last sold
was $199,000.

6. 1708 Hollins Street
Potential Short Sale
$38,500
http://www.thefoxteam.net/idx/mls-ba8062099-
1708_hollins_st_baltimore_md_21223

7. 116 South Mount Street
Sold for $37,101
March 15, 2013
http://www.cbmove.com/property/details/818663/MLS-BA7912109/116-Mount-
Street-Baltimore-South-Baltimore-MD-21223.aspx

8. 9 South Fulton Street
for sale $39,900
“INVESTOR ALERT! WIDE UNION SQUARE
ROWHOME WITH 4 FINISHED LEVELS OF LIVING
SPACE! Light renovation needed - main level w/ living
room, kitchen, half bath, & laundry area, 2nd & 3rd
levels w/ 2 large bedrooms & 1 full bath on each,
finished basement w/ family room & possible 5th
bedroom. Sold As-Is! Seller will make no repairs!”*
http://www.currierandlazier.com/9-s-fulton-ave-baltimore-md-21223-MzExNzM1MTAzMg==.html

9. 202 Homes for Sale in 21223,
including:
• 2013 Hollins $13,500
• 1708 Hollins $38,500
• 1430 Hollins $80,000
• 1708 Lombard $49,900
• 336 S Mount $24,900
• 1725 Lombard $36,750
• 1714 Pratt $49,000
• 1624 Fayette $14,000
• 1626 Fayette $15,000
• 2563 Hollins $5,000

10. Recently Sold in 21223:
• 1917 Frederick Avenue $2,000 (5/7/2012)
• 2124 Hollins Street $3,000 (8/3/2011)
• 439 South Gilmor Street $700 (12/13/2012)
• 204 South Fulton Avenue $730 (9/28/2012)
• 317 South Fulton Avenue $1,000 (2/8/2013)
• 1731 West Pratt Street $1,450 (5/21/2013)
• 217 South Gilmor Street $1,600 (1/21/2011)

11. Why any real estate market
recovery will not
significantly increase the
value of 1701 Frederick
Avenue...

12. SanctuaryYoga
• I conducted yoga classes here for several
years. But after having two guns pointed at
my head not far from my front door, I could
no longer endanger my students.

13. Crimes at 1701Frederick Avenue
• Robbery at gunpoint by gang of youths (2 guns at
my head)
• Theft of tools from inside (2x)
• Theft of catalytic converter (2x)
• Theft of license plates
• Theft of motorcycle cover (2x)
• Theft of jumper cables from motorcycle paneers

14. I don’t need aTV
show to tell me
about life on the
street. I watch it
everyday from my
window.

17. Crime in
21223
March 27-
May 27, 2013
• 05/23/2013, 11:01 PM, Shooting, 1800 BLOCK OF HOLLINS ST,
Shooting/Stabbing. BPD investigating a male shot in the
arm, transported in unk condition.
• 05/18/2013, Theft, 1500 BLOCK OF HOLLINS ST, Larceny- AUTO
• 05/25/2013, 04:44 PM, Shooting, 300 BLOCK OF S. POPPLETON ST,
Shooting/Stabbing. BPD os of an officer involved
shooting. Unk conditon of the victim.
• 05/25/2013, 03:00 PM, Shooting, CROSS STREET AND CARROLL
STREET,
A startling scene in Pigtown on Saturday afternoon, a shooting suspect
wrapped in a white sheet was wheeled in an ambulance. Just before
three o’clock in the afternoon, police responded to Cross Street near
Carroll Street. A man was shot several times
outside a market
• 05/21/2013, Shooting, EDMONDSON AVE.AND N,
• 05/21/2013, 09:20 PM, Shooting,W BALTIMORE ST AND N
WARWICK AVE, Shooting/Stabbing. BPD Southwest District detectives
o/s adult black female shot in back.
• 05/18/2013, 12:40 PM, Shooting, 1200 BLOCK OF GLYNDON
AVENUE

18. 1800 Frederick Avenue
Jim Reeves lived here. Jim poured concrete
floors and installed windows for me during
the renovation. Some weeks after finishing,
Jim called and asked if I could pay the
remainder due. He seemed anxious.
”I owe some people money,” he explained.

19. A few weeks later, I heard Jim was murdered.
When I asked Norris who killed Jim Reeves,
his answer was
“You know I can’t tell you that.”

20. A stroll around my
neighborhood...

21. Parking my 4Runner up against the side of my
building was the only way I could prevent theft
of the catalytic converter (again). I had to park
it back on the street after I got ticketed.
Wayne’s Auto Repair busin
conducted entirely on the street and sidew

22. Wayne’s Garage
How is it Wayne never gets ticketed on street
cleaning days?

23. I finally got the city to remove Wayne’s
old junk tow truck that had not moved
in two years. I also called the police
several times to complain about paint
fumes wafting in through my windows.
Norris came to my door one day to
deliver a ‘friendly’ warning:
“Joe, stop calling the police.”

24. 1701-03 Frederick Avenue
Originally a carriage house attached to 1703
Hollins Street, 1703 Frederick Avenue was
later combined with 1701.The plywood
covers the old swing-out doors. I boarded up
my bedroom windows above to block out the
noise and paint fumes from the garage.

25. John lives at 1707 Frederick
Avenue. He fabricated and
installed my alley gate.
At all hours of the night I hear a
woman’s voice yelling “John!
John!” Sometimes she adds “John!
I don’t want no drugs. Just open
the door. Please! John! Please,
John! Open the door!”
I wish John would install a
doorbell.

26. My block is a triangle. This property is opposite my
building, at the point where Frederick and Hollins
converge at Fulton Avenue.

27. I regularly see a man driving one of these old
panel trucks around the neighborhood. Does
he live in this old gas station?

28. 1718 Hollins Street 1735 Hollins Street
Across from the gas station

29. 1712 Hollins Street
1612 Frederick Avenue was propped up like this
before it collapsed onto the sidewalk.

30. Frederick Avenue & Mount Street (opposite corner
from 1701 Frederick)

31. 1612 Frederick Avenue
Fell into the street in April, 2013.
This attractive new fence was installed
after the city removed the rubble.

32. Looking across to 1600 Frederick Avenue
from the Salvation Army building.
2012 Demographic Data for 21223:
9,495 households
4,550 vacant buildings*
* http://www.century21.com/property/1708-hollins-street-baltimore-md-21223-REN009161419
1701 Frederick Avenue

33. John owns this building and the house next
to it.
This is where he does his welding.

34. In mid-May 2013, this house burned.
Many firetrucks and firefighters converged on
the scene, including a ladder truck.
Ambulance workers with stretchers stood by.
The renter’s car was parked by the front
door.
1701 Frederick Avenue

35. Luckily, no one was actually inside.

36. Zip code 21223 population:
31,016 in 2000
14,343 in 2010

37. This Salvation Army building stands at the foot
of Frederick Avenue, at the intersection of
Baltimore and Gilmor Streets.
It has a dome on top– visible in the next
photo.

38. In 2003, 7.15 percent of the homes
in Baltimore City were vacant,
up from 5.5 percent in 2000.
How many in 2013?

39. 1600 block of West Baltimore Street
16,000 vacant or
abandoned buildings
in Baltimore City.

40. 1701 Frederick Avenue.
West Baltimore & Mount

41. West Baltimore & Mount
1701 Frederick Avenue.
“Rows of dilapidated houses stretch onward like
abandoned monoliths and signs of life are scarce...”

42. 100 South Mount Street
No, this isn’t a trailer for the latest episode of The Wire;
this is my neighborhood...

43. Currently in Baltimore, there are 360 buildings condemned
every year.
100 South Mount Street

44. 1701-03 Frederick Avenue
Baltimore 21223
Would you pay $187,000 to live here?

45. Position Statement
1. If Suntrust reduces the principal to the fair market
value, then I am definitely interested in retaining the
property.
2. If Suntrust allows me to resume paying the
current monthly mortgage payment, adding all
missed payments, legal fees, et al, onto the principle,
then I may be interested.
3. If Suntrust requires payment of all missed
payments, legal fees, et al, as a prerequisite for
avoiding foreclosure, then I am definitely not
interested.