At PHA auction, woman buys childhood home

At the Philadelphia Housing Authority's auction of vacant properties Tuesday, Laverne Simms did not just buy a house, she bought her childhood home.

Simms, of Claymont, Del., grew up in a two-story brick rowhouse on narrow North Etting Street in North Philadelphia.

Her 92-year-old mother raised four of her 11 children there and moved out seven years ago.

Simms, 50, who works for an insurance company in Philadelphia, heard from her daughter that the empty property was on the auction block.

She drove up Sunday to inspect it, registered for the auction, and beat out two other bidders to buy the house for $9,000.

"This has sentimental value," Simms said. "Hopefully, it's not in too bad condition."

She plans to renovate the house and rent it to a family. After signing a contract with PHA, she called her mother to tell her the news. "I can't wait to get her back there," Simms said.

More than 400 people attended the PHA auction, the third in two years. PHA wants to reduce its vast inventory of unused scattered properties and sees the auctions as a swift way to do it.

This time, PHA sold 191 vacant houses and lots. Some went for a few thousand dollars; at least one got more than $100,000. The agency plans to use the money to finance its "6 in 5" initiative to develop 6,000 new units of affordable housing in five years.

Max Spann Jr., whose company ran the auction, said demand for the units, which are boarded up, was strong. "The economy seems to be improving," he said. "There's a hint that interest rates might rise, prompting people to get off the sidelines before it's too late."

Many of the bidders were investors hoping to find bargains among the PHA castoffs.

Michael Young, who was interested in an empty lot for a Catholic school, said the auction was a streamlined way to acquire vacant property. PHA already has clear title to the property, and there are no tax liens to worry about, he said.

"It's a much, much cleaner way of doing it," Young said.

Meraris Melendez, a mother of six who lives in PHA's Richard Allen Homes, said she had saved her money and wanted to buy a rowhouse in the 600 block of Cecil B. Moore Avenue. She thought it could be her ticket for moving out of public housing.

"Being poor, I only have so much money," Melendez said.

But the house, near the overheated Temple University real estate market, went for $40,000.

Kelvin Jeremiah, PHA's president, said the agency owned an inordinate number of rowhouses, many not inhabited. "It's difficult to manage," he said.

One of the successful bidders was Jess Meyers, a 28-year-old self-professed squatter who took over a PHA house in the 5100 block of Funston Street eight years ago.

Meyers tried to get the authority to take the property off the market and turn it over to her.

Jeremiah, however, was unmoved by her appeal. "Squatters offend my sensibility," he said. "They haven't paid rent or water bills or taxes. It's private property."

Meyers launched an online crowd-sourcing campaign and raised $3,000. She borrowed $5,000 from a property owner who often hires her to do odd jobs.

With only one other bidder, Meyers got the house, signed a purchase agreement with PHA, and says she plans to upgrade the interior.

Up until now, she has had an open-door policy at the house, inviting friends and "travelers" who were just passing through to crash there.

That will change now that she's a property owner. "I'm still going to allow people to stay," Meyers said, "but there will have to be money involved."