Sunnyside, South Park Neighborhoods Fight Gentrification
Style Magazine Newswire | 2/20/2017, 2:15 p.m.
Tianca Gilliard's home she recently inherited after her grandmother passed away.
(Photo: KHOU 11 News)
HOUSTON -- Houston's real estate market may be booming, but one local group is encouraging homeowners not to sell.
Activists with the "T.R.I.L.L. Collective" --- which they say stands for Truth, Relevance, Intelligence, Leadership and Love -- urge residents in Houston’s Sunnyside and South Park neighborhoods to hold on to their properties.
"There are a lot of developers and buyers coming in taking advantage," says the group's co-founder, Ezenachi Rasidi. "There's just this big land grab going on with us losing a lot of the property and with that, you lose the culture that exists within the community."
Rasidi says homeowners are being tempted with quick cash offers from investors that are actually lower than what their properties are really worth.
Tianca Gilliard recently inherited her grandmother's home on Thrush Drive. Over the last year, she has received calls from 10 different investors offering to buy the home.
She says none of the offers were worth taking in exchange for the home that has been in her family for 45 years.
"It's a very low offer," said Gilliard. "A lot of the time, that offer is no more than $30,000. It's just quick cash."
Activists are worried many homeowners are taking the quick cash, before researching the full value and financial implications of selling family homes.
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