‘Homeless Hotel’

USA Resorts and Hotels Group B LLC, whose sole member is Alvin Peh, purchased the Magnuson Hotel, 6501 S. Pennsylvania Ave., in September 2012 on a land contract. The hotel has been in the news because 91 residents were threatened with eviction so renovations could be done.

Ingham County Treasurer Eric Schertzing had listed UN Michigan LLC as being solely responsible for the taxes in his annual report on the 10 biggest delinquents.

The contract requires Peh’s LLC to pay “all property taxes and special assessments assessed on the Premises and the Personal Property,” as soon as it became due and “before they become subject to penalties.”

Schertzing said it was “not unusual” to find out about a land contract after publishing a foreclosure notice. That’s because Michigan law does not require land contracts to be filed with the register of deeds.

That won’t prevent Peh from potentially being named in future tax foreclosure proceedings on the property, said Schertzing.

“We can add some one anywhere in the process,” he said. “We will add anyone we think has an interest in the property.”

In a Dec. 21 story on Schertzing’s annual list, City Pulse reported that the attorney for UN Michigan LLC, Joseph Poprawa, had said in an interview that the taxes were owed by Homeless Angels, a private nonprofit organization. Poprawa, a member of the law firm Grewal and Associates, is the agent for UN Michigan.

In a letter dated Dec. 22, Poprawa disputed City Pulse’s report. As a result of his complaint, City Pulse discovered the land contract obligating Peh’s LLC for the property taxes. There is no indication that Homeless Angels is responsible for the taxes.