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New York City’s Most Famous Rent Stabilized Tenant – Parts III & IV
August 31, 2009 by Neil · Leave a Comment
Rep. Charles Rangel claimed on mortgage papers that a Harlem brownstone was his principal residence — even though he was living elsewhere at the time. When the Democrat — who is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee — took out the mortgage in 1990, he said the property on West 132nd Street was his “principal residence,” records show. But Rangel has been living since the 1970s in Harlem’s Lenox Terrace apartment complex, where he improperly amassed four rent-stabilized properties. State law requires that rent-regulated apartments be the tenant’s residence. “I will reside in the Property (on 132nd Street) for at least six (6) months of every calendar year,” read Rangel’s mortgage contract with Citibank, which is on file with the city. The terms of the $60,000 loan appear to be normal for that time, but lenders say claiming principal residency when you live elsewhere is a serious breach. “It’s fraud or a mistake,” said David Reed, an author of several popular books about mortgage lending. “Owner-occupied dwellings — where you hang your hat — always get better interest rates and lower down payments than rental properties or second homes,” Reed added. “That’s because if a borrower goes south, you’re likely to dump your vacation home or your investment property first.”
Source: NY Post, Charlie’s Mortgage Bares Home Untruth, Charles Hurt, New York Post, 8/31/09
Representative Charles B. Rangel failed to report hundreds of thousands of dollars in income and assets on his financial disclosure forms for 2002 through 2006, including tens of thousands of dollars in rental income from a Harlem brownstone he sold in 2004, according to records filed this month with the clerk of the House of Representatives. Mr. Rangel, who is facing investigations by two House subcommittees into his personal finances and fund-raising, filed amended financial disclosure forms on Aug. 12 acknowledging that he had omitted an array of assets, business transactions and sources of income. They include a Merrill Lynch Global account valued between $250,000 and $500,000; tens of thousands of dollars in municipal bonds; and $30,000 to $100,000 in rent from a multifamily brownstone building he owned on West 132nd Street. The forms require members of Congress to indicate a broad range for an asset’s worth rather than a specific amount, so the exact value of the unreported assets could not be determined. The latest filings come on top of an amendment to Mr. Rangel’s 2007 disclosure form reported this week showing that he had failed to list at least $500,000 in assets. A spokesman for Mr. Rangel, a Democrat who has represented Harlem since 1971, issued a written statement saying the errors were inadvertent.
Source: Rangel Failed to Disclose More Income and Assets, Form Shows, David Kocieniewski, New York Times, 8/29/09
For Part I, click here.
For Part II, click here.
