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A few months after Ernestine Young returned home from a hospital stay last year, she found herself on the basement stairs of her apartment building sobbing.
Her building had recently been bought by a company tied to Youssef "Joe" Berrada, a native of Morocco who has quickly and quietly become a force in the Milwaukee rental business — and the county eviction court.
Berrada is known as "the boulder guy," since his companies frequently put boulders on the lawns of their properties. In all, Berrada companies own 292 properties with more than 3,600 units in the city. Berrada says his organization owns 8,000 rental units nationwide.
Housing advocates in Milwaukee say the companies sometimes run roughshod over tenants and that they are using small claims court as a collection agency. The approximately 75 firms owned by or linked to Berrada — most of them limited liability companies — were behind more than one out of every 10 eviction cases filed last year in the county, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel analysis found.
RELATED: Landlord Games
Soon after a Berrada LLC bought Young's building on the 5300 block of North 29th Street, the company began renovation work. When Young went to the basement to check her belongings kept in a locked storage area she was shocked to see just how aggressive the workers had been.
Everything was gone, Young said.
Among the vanished belongings: The urn containing the ashes of her infant granddaughter, Miracle Young.
'He'll evict you in a minute.' Landlord quietly becomes a force in Milwaukee rental business...and eviction court
Ya, this guy is going to own everything there. Even his ex tried to run him over.
Her building had recently been bought by a company tied to Youssef "Joe" Berrada, a native of Morocco who has quickly and quietly become a force in the Milwaukee rental business — and the county eviction court.
Berrada is known as "the boulder guy," since his companies frequently put boulders on the lawns of their properties. In all, Berrada companies own 292 properties with more than 3,600 units in the city. Berrada says his organization owns 8,000 rental units nationwide.
Housing advocates in Milwaukee say the companies sometimes run roughshod over tenants and that they are using small claims court as a collection agency. The approximately 75 firms owned by or linked to Berrada — most of them limited liability companies — were behind more than one out of every 10 eviction cases filed last year in the county, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel analysis found.
RELATED: Landlord Games
Soon after a Berrada LLC bought Young's building on the 5300 block of North 29th Street, the company began renovation work. When Young went to the basement to check her belongings kept in a locked storage area she was shocked to see just how aggressive the workers had been.
Everything was gone, Young said.
Among the vanished belongings: The urn containing the ashes of her infant granddaughter, Miracle Young.
'He'll evict you in a minute.' Landlord quietly becomes a force in Milwaukee rental business...and eviction court
Ya, this guy is going to own everything there. Even his ex tried to run him over.
