Business First of Buffalo
by Jodi Sokolowski Jack
Business First

"Flipped" is making its way to Cleveland Friday.

The Buffalo documentary is about buying inexpensive homes usually at foreclosure auctions then reselling them after little or no improvements with devastating consequences to the neighborhood and financial institutions.

"I guess flipping is becoming a problem (in Cleveland) too, and they want to nip it in the bud quickly," said Michele Johnson, a Buffalo Housing Court liaison for the Broadway Fillmore district.

She reported on her Web site, www.broadwayfillmorealive.org, that the Cleveland Housing Court Judge Raymond Pianka asked the "Flipped" crew to show the film and talk to officials in Cleveland about ideas to combat flipping. The crew includes Johnson, Buffalo Housing Court Judge Henry Nowak, Buffalo Housing Inspector Tracy Krug and Cindy Cooper, an attorney who is Judge Nowak's assistant.

Nowak said he and Pianka have been talking and exchanging ideas for a couple years about different housing court programs. They've also employed each other's programs such as Buffalo implementing Cleveland's receivership program and obtaining funds to help homeowners with improvements while Cleveland applying orders to vacate and addressing quality of life issues.

"We've had a free exchange of information all along, so I (wasn't) too surprised to get the call," he said. "I'm honored and excited to share some of our strategies with Cleveland and hope to learn from the experience and bring things back to Buffalo that might improve our neighborhoods."

Johnson added it has gotten the attention of the Cleveland press since Marc Odien, owner of Nickel City Media & Entertainment that directed and produced the film, was contacted by a newspaper reporter in Cleveland Wednesday.

"We thought it would be 10 people but now all of a sudden it's gotten to the point that they can't let anyone else in," Johnson said about it being shown at the Cleveland courthouse for housing court members, common council members, magistrates, attorneys and the general public.

The documentary features commentaries by Krug, Buffalo Common Councilman Nick Bonifacio, Nowak, along with Johnson and residents from the East and West sides, where flipping is most predominant in the city limit.

"The mayor's Anti-Flipping Task Force has been recognized here locally, and now we're getting recognized nationally that we're trying to combat the issue of flipping," Krug said. "We're just trying to get everybody up to speed and get people to know about property flipping."

Johnson said she has gotten several local requests to show the documentary again and plans to on the West Side in October.

She reported for the past two months eBay listings for Buffalo properties are down about 30 percent.

"This is really good news," Johnson said, adding the in rem auction last year had allegedly fewer known flippers than in 2003 and 2004. "Let's hope flipping is slowing down."

For more information, visit www.flippedmovie.com.

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