Resident settles house conflict

Mathis Winkler

Thursday, Sept. 6, 2001 | 11:51 a.m.

A North Las Vegas homeowner will pay the city $35,000 because he didn't stick to the terms of a $50,000 city loan he received to buy a Walker Park home.

City Council members accepted the settlement offer at their meeting Wednesday.

Ronald G. Anderson received the money in 1996 to allow him to move out of his Windsor Park home. Houses in the neighborhood near Martin Luther King Boulevard and Carey Avenue had been sinking for three decades because of poor soil conditions. The city obtained money from the federal government to help Windsor Park homeowners buy new houses elsewhere.

While the loans to 240 families will be forgiven after 10 years, the residents have to live in their new North Las Vegas homes for at least five years. If they move out earlier, they must pay back the loan in full.

Anderson's neighbors complained to city officials in April that he breached the deal by living in Las Vegas instead of his new home. City investigators later confirmed that claim.

As a result, council members asked City Attorney Sean McGowan to begin foreclosure proceedings, and a notice of default and election to sell was recorded in June. That prompted Anderson's settlement offer.

At the meeting, the council also approved a $50,000 loan to Windsor Park residents Ellis and Patricia Blackmore to buy a new home. The Blackmores will receive an additional $1,050 to help pay for the move.