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The occupation of this white house, seen at center, is being argued as a public housing issue. A real estate company that purchased the property in July is asking that a group of women illegally living in the home be evicted.
lessPhoto: Google MapsThe occupation of this white house, seen at center, is being argued as a public housing issue. A real estate company that purchased the property in July is asking that a group of women illegally living in the
... more
The occupation of this white house, seen at center, is being argued as a public housing issue. A real estate company that purchased the property in July is asking that a group of women illegally living in the home be evicted.
lessThe occupation of this white house, seen at center, is being argued as a public housing issue. A real estate company that purchased the property in July is asking that a group of women illegally living in the
... moreThe Oakland property at the center of a legal tug-of-war between a group of homeless mothers and a Southern California-based real estate company has revealed an extensive network of homes owned by the business, according to an investigation by NBC Bay Area.
Wedgewood Inc is the owner of the vacant West Oakland three-bedroom home that was illegally occupied by the homeless women back in November; the group was served an eviction notice by the company, but is currently fighting the eviction in court, arguing that housing is a human right. The women have since organized as the group "Moms4Housing" and they are looking to call attention to the housing crisis in the Bay Area.
In its investigation of the company, NBC Bay Area identified at least 98 LLCs owned by Wedgewood that operate in the Bay Area. It "owns at least 125 properties across eight Bay Area counties" — not including Solano County — with 31 of its LLCs owning property in the Bay Area since 2015. The company specializes in buying homes on the cheap, renovating and flipping them. The 125 homes only reflects the number of houses currently owned by the business, not the number of properties it has taken on in total over the years.
READ ALSO: Bay Area population growth rate lowest in 15 years
Moms4Housing called Wedgewood a "displacement machine" and that "investor-owned properties should be given back to communities who have been displaced by soaring rents," Mother Jones reported.
"[Moving into the vacant property] was an answer to a desperate need," Dominique Walker, one of the occupants of the West Oakland home, told the magazine. “It should be illegal to have vacant houses and have people sleeping on the streets. I feel like there’s a moral crisis. There’s a profiteering crisis … I think that’s where the crime lies.”
According to the magazine, the West Oakland property had been unoccupied for two years before Wedgewood snapped up the property in July. The property remained vacant until Walker and another mother began squatting at the home. By the magazine's estimation, there are 4,000 "vacant parcels" in Oakland, about the same reported number of homeless individuals living in the city.
"We feel like we have a right to this space and this home," Walker said to Mother Jones. "This home belongs back in the hands of the community from which it was taken."
RELATED: Owners of occupied house tell Oakland councilmembers to encourage women to leave
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Patrick McKinney said at a Monday hearing that he would rule on the eviction case at an unspecified later date, saying, "I want to carefully consider the issues that have been raised."
Wedgewood has rejected all suggestions that the company should negotiate to sell or give the property to the two women, stating in a letter issued Sunday that, "We will not meet or negotiate with the squatter's organization that broke into our house and is illegally occupying it."
To read more about Wedgewood and its Bay Area properties, along with other states the company operates in — and lawsuits filed against the company — head over to NBC Bay Area.
Dianne de Guzman is a Digital Editor at SFGATE. Email: dianne.deguzman@sfgate.com
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January 01, 2020 at 11:03AM
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Southern California real estate company under scrutiny following legal battle in Oakland - SFGate
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