- Amber Bursley says she signed a lease and a land contract for her home on Regent, but there was one problem - it was red tagged.
- City officials say the home was red tagged in September 2023.
- Watch video above to see what the city has to say about the situation.
Helplessness is an emotion that Amber Bursley says she feels a lot nowadays, while sleeping in a tent and car, outside of what she hoped would be her home on Regent Street.
“In the back of the car you could see my bed made in there right now,” Bursley said.
Bursley said the situation began back in March, when the owner of the home, George Nicolopoulos, allegedly agreed to pay her and her boyfriend a fee for fixing the house. She said she signed a land contract in April and a rental lease in May and admits she knew the property was red tagged when she signed those documents.
“I didn't know it was illegal to live in a red tagged home,” Bursley said. “I had never dealt with code compliance.”
According to city guidelines, red tagged properties are deemed "unsafe" meaning they can't be
We reached out to Nicolopoulos and his attorney told us they did not want to speak on record about the situation. We also took Bursley's concerns to the city.
“Our office in September of 2023, tagged the property as unsafe because it lacked the property utilities to be considered safe,” said Rawley Van Fossen, Director of Lansing’s Economic Development and Planning.
Van Fossen oversees Lansing's code enforcement department. He told uswhile it's not illegal for Bursley to have signed a land contract on a red tagged home, it is a violation that she signed a lease for the home, especially given the location hasn't had a valid renter's certificate in years. Van fossen also said she and her boyfriend should not have been doing work on the home, without his office's approval.
City records show Nicolopoulos has racked up nearly 800 dollars in red tagged fees at the regent street home.
“This property is under active investigation by our office and the lasting police department,” Van Fossen said. “Through those efforts we'll be working to collect necessary information and through that information, there may be appropriate legal actions.”
Taking a look at the bigger picture, Lansing is still dealing with its fair share of red tagged properties. According to recent data from the city, there are 780 red tagged Lansing properties.
