Paterson councilman Shahin Khalique’s properties, including his residence, were in foreclosure in 2019, court records show
By Jayed Rahman
Published: January 24, 2020
Councilman Shahin Khalique’s residence on Sherwood Avenue was in foreclosure in 2019, according to court records.
Two other properties under Khalique’s name were in foreclosure as well. Records show 195 Sherwood Avenue and 78-80 Wayne Avenue in Paterson and 1415 Ratzer Road in Wayne were in foreclosure last year.
195 Sherwood
A lender sought to foreclose on Khalique’s residence on Sherwood Avenue after he stopped making payments on the $200,000 loan issued by the Home Point Financial Corporation of Farmers Branch, Tex. The 30-year mortgage was issued to Khalique and his wife on Nov. 20, 2017 at an initial interest rate of 4.5-percent, records show.
Khalique had to pay $1,013 per month in interest and principal. He stopped making payments on the mortgage on Dec. 1, 2018.
78-80 Wayne Avenue
Khalique executed a $93,750 mortgage for 78-80 Wayne Avenue with the United Mortgage Corporation of Melville, NY on Nov. 29, 2017. Interest rate on the 30-year loan was 5.2-percent. He had to pay $518 per month. He stopped making payments on Oct. 1, 2018, according to records.
1415 Ratzer Road
Before moving to Paterson to run for a City Council seat, Khalique resided at 1415 Ratzer Road in Wayne. He executed a $350,000 mortgage on the property from NJ Lenders Corp. on Jan. 9, 2015, according to records. He had a 4.7-percent interest rate and had to pay $1,826 per month on the 30-year loan. Khalique defaulted on Oct. 1, 2018, according to records.
Why does it matter?
Khalique has cultivated a public image over the past nearly four years on the City Council as a fiscally responsible politician. His private finances and defaults are at variance with his carefully cultivated public image as a fiscal hawk.
“None of them are on default,” said Khalique on Thursday when reached for comments. When asked if wants to provide a more detailed response to the public given the contrast between his public image and private finances, he said, “Like I said none of my properties on default.”
Khalique has reached settlements with two of the three lenders. He reached a settlement with the lender in the Sherwood Avenue default in Jan. 2020. For the Wayne Avenue property, Khalique reached a settlement with the lender in Aug. 2019, according to records.
Records show the Ratzer Road foreclosure remains “open.”
Khalique is running for re-election in May. So far two men – former councilman Mohammed Akhtaruzzaman and Frank Filippelli — have picked up petitions to potentially challenge Khalique for the 2nd Ward seat.
“He can’t even take care of his own finances. How’s he going to run the city’s finances?” said Akhtaruzzaman. “Why’s he buying these properties if he can’t afford them?”
Khalique, who ran as a successful business man in 2016, sits on the City Council’s finance committee.
Akhtaruzzaman said Khalique has created an image in the community of being flushed with cash. “Everybody thinks he has money,” said Akhtaruzzaman.
Akhtaruzzaman had to deal with his own foreclosure issues in the past. His homes in Totowa and Paterson were both in default in 2016, according to Paterson Times records. He too had settled with lenders.
“I’m not interested in talking to the media,” said Filippelli when reached on Thursday.
Khalique had prevailed against Akhtaruzzaman in the 2016 municipal elections. Both men were involved in a bitter campaign that triggered a lawsuit that lasted for a year. Ultimately, a judge ruled in Khalique’s favor.
Three months ago a report revealed Khalique owed more than $27,000 to the Paterson Public Schools for using the John F. Kennedy High School building. Khalique said the debt was owed by a nonprofit that ran a tutoring program out of the high school. But school officials said Khalique entered into a payment plan to payoff the owed amount.
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