Joe Mullins’ creditors were finally able to do what officials in Columbia County have long failed at: the banks have placed his properties under receivership for non-payment of loans, taking Mullins mostly out of the landlord business, at least for now.
Mullins has long faced complaints that he offered “low income” rentals; however, when tenants moved in, they found that over time, when things such as air conditioning would break down, Mullins, as landlord, would refuse to act.
A Columbia County native who now resides in Flagler County, Fla., Mullins refused to hire competent management for his properties and left a trail of unpaid bills in his wake.
With affordable housing being relatively scarce, most tenets were forced to live in unsanitary and unsafe conditions.
Mullins also garnered the reputation for issuing eviction notices to tenants who complained, sometimes forcing tenants to live in squalor by using court actions to his own advantage.
When eviction didn’t work and tenants moved, Mullins was known to file frivolous claims in small-claims court against them.
Officials with Columbia County Zoning made threats, even once threatening to condemn his entire Clara Point Apartments. However, those threats were mostly idle as Mullins would do the bare minimum to keep inspectors off of his back all the while, citing his family’s supposed political connections. Mullins has frequently bragged about his long term relationship with former County Chairman Ron Cross who supported Mullins run for office in Columbia County.
Even when inspectors were alerted to raw sewage flowing into an apartment, the Zoning Department said it was against the county ordinance for them to inspect other units for such damage.
If that is indeed the case, the Columbia County Commission should revisit the ordinances and, if nothing else, find a better way to vet property owners who offer apartment complexes as “affordable housing.”
To the tenants’ relief, Mullins has been stripped of ownership of most of his holdings for not living up to his financial responsibilities.
Deadbeat landlords should not be tolerated to operate anywhere in the CSRA, and a person’s well-known last name should never give anyone the ability to shirk their responsibilities.
