Two of developer Basim Sabri’s south Minneapolis apartment buildings are facing mortgage foreclosures because they allegedly failed to make more than $530,000 in required repairs.
Fannie Mae, a mortgage company sponsored by the federal government, on Friday sued to foreclose on Rana Village and Karmel Village.
Fannie Mae is asking Hennepin County District Court to grant the foreclosures and appoint receivers over both properties, which are located on the 2900 block of Pleasant Avenue S.
Sabri said in an interview on Wednesday that some of the biggest repairs demanded by Fannie Mae aren’t needed, and those that were necessary have been mostly completed.
“We could have done better with the maintenance,” he said. “But does this warrant foreclosure? Absolutely not. They are not being reasonable.”
He called Fannie Mae’s $537,000 repair estimate “crazy.”
Sabri, a prominent and controversial Minneapolis developer, is best known for developing Karmel Plaza, where scores of Somali Minnesotans run shops and restaurants.
The Karmel Mall and other Sabri developments take up much of Pleasant and Pillsbury avenues between the Midtown Greenway and W. Lake Street. Karmel Plaza is not party to the lawsuits.