SitemapA property management company out of South Carolina that was allegedly using fraudulent contracts to get people to buy uninhabitable houses in Youngstown has finally agreed to settle.
In October 2018, Community Legal Aid Services sued Vision Property Management for selling what it called illegal contracts for dilapidated houses.
Earlier this week, Legal Aid received the settlement check of $260,000.
“Oh, I mean, we’re ecstatic. I mean, this was a great outcome,” said Legal Aid executive director Steve McGarrity.
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The issues with Vision Property date back to 2017, when allegations first surfaced that the company was buying and selling dilapidated houses in the city of Youngstown under what Legal Aid claimed were illegal lease-to-own contracts.
“They engaged in really slimy tactics to get people to sign these contracts thinking that they were going to get the dream of homeownership and really, what they were ending up with was a financial nightmare,” McGarrity said.
The settlement involves nine homeowners for a total of $260,000. Each homeowner will receive between $5,000 and $50,000.
“We went into mediation and were able to settle the case for our clients and restore our clients all the money that they lost in the case plus some additional funds to them,” McGarrity said.
When the allegations against Vision Property became public, groups like the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation put pressure on the company to stop. They even traveled to South Carolina to protest outside the homes of the people running Vision Property.
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