History repeats itself; sadly, even the mistakes are bound to repeat themselves. Take for example the housing market: more and more landlords have properties whose debt is higher than what their properties are worth. And 10 Bronx apartments are now falling in the very same pattern.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced at a tenant rally that an unknown buyer will be taking over the crumbling properties. The said buyer is not only adopting the properties but all the debts attached to it. And with the “deal” he is agreeing to, the tenants may be in the losing end – the properties can only be profitable if the places are left to their already decrepit conditions.

The properties of 548 apartment units, previously managed by Milbank Real Estate, are definitely overvalued. The units have over 3200 outstanding housing violations. The deal will push the buyer to pay large investments, leaving no budget for repairs. This is unwelcome news for the current tenants, who are already complaining that their units have seen better days.

Joe Cicciu, who collects rent and allocates the collected money for repairs, says that bringing the place up to code will take around $10 to $15 million. Though $250,000 is already spent on monthly repairs, this amount is not enough to rectify the root cause of the problem: decaying properties. Money is never enough since one fourth of the units are vacant and some tenants are shying away from the responsibility of paying.

LNR Partners, which holds the mortgage on the properties, are keeping mum about the identity of the buyer. They assured the city though that the buyer is well aware of the $35 million debt and will take full responsibility over paying it. Real Capital Analytics senior market analyst Ben Carlos Thypin speculates that this might mean the new owner won’t be spending more than $10 million to better the abhorrent conditions the tenants are living in.

There are other reasons for frowning at the Bronx sale: it would ultimately mean an overthrowing of the court action forcing LNR and other creditors to pay for property repairs. Quinn, though, promises that inaction will be dealt with severely.

Many of the tenants are not too excited by the promise, though. They have heard good things in the past months but nothing has happened, save for the coming-and-going of hundreds of house inspectors giving their units failing marks.