- December 4, 2017
Despite the fact that Memphis Code Enforcement Officials deemed an East Memphis property uninhabitable, the landlord continued to lead the property anyway. The landlord, as it turns out, is a former $1 million winner of a Mississippi casino.
Records indicate that KC Rental Properties, LLC of Robinsonville, Mississippi, owns the property in question, which is located at 3253 Nathan Ave. Heather Miller-Tyner, the tenant of the house, showed receipts that verified that she made a $1,200 down payment toward the lease of the house.
Miller-Tyner had to move out of the property just a week after she moved in because Memphis City Code Enforcement had declared that the house was a ‘dangerous building’ and posted ‘KEEP OUT’ and ‘This Dwelling is Unfit for Human Habitation – Must Not Be Occupied’ signs.
“There’s a lot of interior leaks going on. There’s mold inside the house,” Kevin Boone, a Memphis Code Enforcement Inspector said. Boone said the issues found in the rental house were against housing codes.
Miller-Tyner said, “I feel very betrayed. The landlord met me out here after church, showed me the property.” Miller-Tyner said that the landlord told her that the damages in the property were minor, but after speaking with Code Enforcement Officials, Miller-Tyner said, “They don’t seem minor to me. She (the landlord) left a lot out.”
Karen Christian, the “KC” in KC Rental Properties, is the landlord of the property in question. When a local news station searched for story archives, they found that Christian won a drawing at Horseshoe Casino in Tunica, Mississippi. The winnings totaled $1 million.
About the winning, Christian said, “It is truly a blessing, and I believe it was just meant for me.” She made the comment after she won the drawing while she was holding a $1 million check.
Now, Memphis Public Works Division Director Robert Knecht has stated that Christian is a problem landlord and that she is on a first-name basis with code inspectors.
“She has not done what we have asked of her (in repairing her property)”, said Knecht. He also said that Christian was aware of the condition of the property, but refused to do anything about it.
Had Miller-Tyner done some research before signing her lease, she would have learned that Knecht and his inspector have been investigating the property for several months and that they have cited Christian for consistently failing to make the necessary repairs.
Boone said, “As of now, the repairs haven’t been made. She is not going to get it occupied until it is fully approved by code enforcement going forward.”
Upon finding out about the issues with Christian and the property, Miller-Tyner said that she never would have put any money down or signed the lease on the house if she had known previously.
Mold Inspection & Testing Memphis has years of experience performing mold assessments in properties throughout the city. We urge Christian to arrange to have regular mold inspections performed at all of the properties she owns to ensure the safety of her tenants and to ensure that she is compliant with local laws and regulations. To speak with an MI&T representative, call 901.318.3329.
