A Delaware-based investment company says it has taken ownership of 11 apartment complexes across the Tulsa metro and Bartlesville that were previously owned by Vesta Realty.
The Tulsa properties are 23 East, Barcelona, Lakeside Place, One Eton Square, Riverpark at Kensington, Shoreline, The Villas at Midtown, and Village Creek at 67th. The other complexes are 727 Lofts and Thrive, in Jenks, and Lexington Commons in Bartlesville.
However, Vesta Realty owner Marc Kulick disputes that claim and is telling tenants not to pay rent until a court determines who owns the properties, creating confusion for residents who are receiving conflicting instructions.
Tenants told News On 6 they have heard from both Vesta Realty and YSA Investments, with each claiming to be in control of the apartment complexes. Some residents said they hope whoever ultimately owns the properties will make long-overdue repairs, saying conditions inside their complexes have deteriorated.
Residents received messages stating that “a company called YSA is claiming control of this community” and instructing them not to pay next month’s rent, adding that no late fees would be assessed.
YSA Investments says tenants should continue paying rent.
“They need to pay their rents. We are the property owner. Those rents are used to fully repair those properties, get people back into habitable living conditions, and we have all the rights as a property owner,” said Parker Detweiler, a consultant for YSA.
The dispute follows a legal battle over second mortgages YSA placed on the properties after the company says Kulick defaulted on his loan obligations. Kulick filed suit seeking to remove those mortgages, but a Delaware judge recently ruled in YSA’s favor.
Kulick argues the ruling only upheld the validity of the second mortgages and did not transfer ownership of the apartment complexes.
“She does not award them damages, she does not award them debt, she does not award them properties. All she had in front of her was a simple question of whether the second mortgages are valid or not,” Kulick said.
Kulick also alleges YSA improperly took control of the properties.
“They changed locks when we weren’t there. I don’t think that’s legal,” he said.
YSA disagrees, saying it has legally obtained title to the properties and has begun bringing in new management.
“We have titled the properties and decided to bring in new management so that the properties can be properly run and have repairs and maintenance done properly and get tenants under better living conditions,” Detweiler said.
The company says it is also offering jobs to employees who were instructed by Kulick to leave the apartment complexes.
Kulick says he is awaiting another court ruling that he believes will determine ownership of the properties. Until then, YSA says it will continue operating the apartment complexes as their owner.
Kulick said he hopes to have more definitive legal answers for tenants within the next few weeks and plans to comply with whatever the court ultimately decides.
This article was originally published by KOTV. You can see the original story here.