ParkhouseGate: The Movie

"An emotional tour de force! I laughed. I cried. I registered to vote."

Montco using Open Space as a piggy bank

The following is the full text of my latest letter to the editor, which has so far appeared in the Intelligencer.

There was a time in recent memory when the term Open Space meant something in Montgomery County. It meant that land was set aside to preserve it for future generations to enjoy. It meant that the community where it was located would be protected from overdevelopment. It meant that towns and municipalities could plan their neighborhoods with intelligence and foresight.

It used to mean all of that. For thirty some years, Montgomery County has been accumulating open space for all of these reasons. In fact, in 2003 Montgomery County voters overwhelmingly (78%) voted in support of a referendum on the ballot supporting higher taxes to the tune of $150 million earmarked for the purchase of Open Space.

One bad investment later and Open Space is nothing more than a piggy bank to be raided in order to bail out the County budget. The Commissioners have tried but failed to provide a compelling reason to sell the Parkhouse Geriatric Facility. They have not even attempted to make the case for the sale of 220 acres of Open Space.

The Montgomery County Commissioners are trying to pretend that they still value Open Space by splitting legal hairs over the definition of what is and is not considered Open Space. This not only ignores the spirit and intent of the Open Space program, but more importantly, it ignores the Montgomery County Planning Commission documents that clearly define the property surrounding Parkhouse as Open Space.

I can understand the argument for privatizing the geriatric center, but there is no need to include the land if, as the County says, they simply want to get out of the geriatric business.

In August 2012, Dr. Scott Rifkin of Mid-Atlantic Health Care sent an e-mail to Commissioner Josh Shapiro to express his interest in purchasing the Parkhouse facility and grounds. Six short months later, in February 2013, the Montgomery County Commissioners took the first official step required to sell the Parkhouse by voting to issue the County’s RFI. After an evaluation of all bids was conducted by a working group consisting only of county employees hand-picked by the Commissioners, this process ultimately concluded with the Commissioners agreeing to sell Parkhouse to none other than Mid-Atlantic. As the Logan Square Studio Center began sliding towards its inevitable bankruptcy and the consequences of that poor investment began to become apparent, one must wonder if the Commissioners’ sudden interest to exit the geriatric care business was sparked by Dr. Rifkin’s e-mail to Josh Shapiro.

Dr. Rifkin himself told Upper Providence Township that the $3 million line item for the land on the County-distributed Terms of Sale distributed on October 8, 2013 is simply a place holder and not reflective of the actual value of the land. Furthermore, he told Upper Providence Township that he was asked by the County to increase his original bid because of all that he was getting. One must wonder why Mid-Atlantic, an organization that maintains it is not in the land development business, would allow the County to drive up the price on the deal based on the inclusion of land that Mid-Atlantic claims it doesn’t need or have any “set plans” for.

Meanwhile, the County continues to insist that the Parkhouse sale is a “done deal” while simultaneously refusing to release the terms of the sale because the sale has not been “finalized.”

All of this, while proclaiming at every turn that this process has been “transparent.”

There was a time in recent memory when words used to mean something in Montgomery County, too.

Lisa Mossie
Vice Chairman, Board of Supervisors
Upper Providence Township

How the Grinch sold Parkhouse

Commissioners, why? Why are you selling our open space? Why?

At the end of November, Dr. Scott Rifkin, the principal of Mid-Atlantic, contacted me requesting a one on one meeting. For a number of reasons, I thought that a meeting of this nature was a bad idea, not the least of which is that I believe that the last thing that would be beneficial for Upper Providence in a transaction that has been characterized by a lack of transparency is yet another meeting behind closed doors. I suggested instead that Dr. Rifkin attend a public meeting of the Upper Providence Township Supervisors where the public could attend as well. Citing concerns that a large public meeting would seem too much like a "political event" where citizens would get caught up in their emotions and that large public forums "lend to grandstanding and posturing," Dr. Rifkin insisted on a much smaller delegation. Dr. Rifkin was particularly concerned about the press being in attendance and insisted in more than one correspondence that the press should NOT be invited because of "political posturing and grandstanding."

As a compromise, I offered for our first meeting the Upper Providence staff meeting, which is a typically a lower-key, but still publicly advertised meeting where all three Township Supervisors would be present. I also insisted on having one or two members of the public present as well. Dr. Rifkin agreed to come to our staff meeting on December 18.

I asked for two volunteers from the community to be present at the staff meeting. Ray Emrich and Joe Haney volunteered. In the days leading up to the meeting, I heard from several additional residents who wished to be included in the meeting, but, as I explained in my responses to them, I had given my word to Dr. Rifkin that this meeting would be limited to two members of the public. As this was our first meeting with Dr. Rifkin, I thought it was of the utmost importance to establish this relationship in good faith by honoring my word and I did not want him to feel "ambushed." Our complaint, after all, ultimately is not with Dr. Rifkin, but with Montgomery County. Every member of the community I spoke with agreed that this was the best way to proceed.

Dr. Rifkin showed up one hour late for the meeting, explaining that he got lost on the way to the Township building, which is literally 1.4 miles away from Parkhouse and on the same road as his proposed $39 million investment.

Below is the update I sent to the community regarding the December 18 meeting:

-----Original Message----- From: Lisa A. Mossie To: XXXXXX Sent: Wed, Dec 18, 2013 5:04 pm Subject: Parkhouse Update

Hello Everyone,

Township staff and Ray Emrich met with Dr. Scott Rifkin today. I feel that we gained very little new information today, but did establish a working relationship with Dr. Rifkin and by association, Mid-Atlantic Healthcare. Dr. Rifkin suggested that a small committee be designated to meet on a regular basis to discuss the Parkhouse land going forward. More on that in the coming days as it takes shape. I would like to have one or two representatives from the Community included in this group.

Dr. Rifkin’s remarks centered upon Mid-Atlantic’s ability to run Parkhouse at a profit. He gave us a lot of background on his operations and the history of his company and some contacts we could call to gather information on Mid-Atlantic. He emphasized that he is not a developer. He stressed that it was important to him to have a good relationship with the Community he serves.

Dr. Rifkin gave us assurances that Mid-Atlantic has no current plans to develop the land, and he says that they are at least a year or two away from even considering doing anything with it. His immediate concern is addressing the operations and efficiencies of the senior center. Some intriguing ideas were tossed about for the land, most of which involved the preservation of the majority of it as open space. The concern I expressed to Dr. Rifkin was the public’s loss of access to the land once it comes into private ownership. Dr. Rifkin acknowledged this concern and until his development plans are finalized, expressed only one reservation regarding allowing continued public access to the land, and that was one of liability insurance, which I agree, is a legitimate concern for Dr. Rifkin once he owns the land.

When asked directly, Dr. Rifkin stated that the land was NOT critical to maintaining the ongoing operations of the senior center and that he had no plans to “flip” the land once taking ownership. I asked him if he did end up selling the land, would he consider giving he Township the right of first refusal, which he said he probably would.

Dr. Rifkin did state that the purchasing agreement with the County has been signed and that he personally saw no reason why the county would not release the terms of the sale, but he could not give us those details as it was proprietary of the County. Dr. Rifkin says he purchased the land because the County did not offer the purchase of the facility without it.

I told Dr. Rifkin that while I believe it is important that we establish the group to work with Mid-Atlantic going forward, the Township’s position is that the property is Open Space and that we will continue to fight the county to keep the land in public hands. The county and the township have both designated and assumed the land around Parkhouse would remain open space; the Township’s comprehensive plan, which has been widely recognized for its excellence, will be essentially nullified if this 220 acres of open space is developed.

Ray, please feel free to add your impressions or anything you think I may have missed.

Lisa Mossie

It came as a somewhat unpleasant surprise to me and several members of the community to have the following email arrive in our inboxes on Christmas Day:

To the Lower Providence Community

It has come to my attention that a rally regarding the Parkhouse land issues is planned for this week. This seems to be more motivated by political career building than to any attempt to solve substantive issues.

On December 18, I met with the entire leadership team of the township in a meeting. The tone of the discussions were positive and there was an open discussion of the community's interests regarding Parkhouse and the associated land. I found the discussion to be positive and the tone to be congenial and aimed at finding the best possible outcome for all parties. The elected officials as well as staff and local residents attended.

At the meeting, I made it clear that Mid-Atlantic Health Care is a provider of high end skilled rehabilitation and nursing home care. Our focus is on patients not development and that we have no set plans for the land. We also offered to meet with an ongoing committee from the community to plan together how the land is best used. We even offered to keep the land available for public use if the township could help us solve legal liability issues. I walked away from the meeting believing we had agreed on these first steps and that we would work together on these issues.

I am, therefore, somewhat surprised that a public protest is scheduled. The purchase agreement has been signed by MAHC and the County. The sale will close at the end of a very short due diligence period. The property, which was never designated by the County as permanently preserved "open space", will be privately held. As the property owner, we care deeply about our relations with the community and have held out the olive branch and asked for planning assistance and a collaborative effort. Other than political career building I can't understand the motivation of the protest organizer. I sincerely think this is an occasion where more will be accomplished with collaboration than with confrontation. I look forward to meeting with the committee discussed at the previous meeting and to working with the solicitor to address liability issues so the land can stay in use. My email is xxxxxxxxx@gmail.com for anyone who wishes to reach out to me directly for further discussion or information.

Have a wonderful holiday season,

Scott Rifkin, M.D. Managing Partner MAHC

Sent from my iPad Sent from my iPad

I received a duplicate email immediately thereafter addressed "To the Upper Providence Community." Apparently, the press-shy Dr. Rifkin also sent his letter to the local media. That evening, the Times Herald posted the following story to their website:

COURTHOUSE — A group led by Upper Providence Supervisor Lisa Mossie will plans (sic) to protest the sale of the Parkhouse facility in Upper Providence outside of the Montgomery County Courthouse Saturday at noon.

Along with protesting the sale of the facility itself, the group is also opposed to the sale of the 220 acres surrounding Parkhouse. Mossie and opponents of the sale say the area is protected open space.

The county maintains the land was never designated as open space and just went undeveloped while the county owned it.

In a letter to the residents of Upper Providence, CEO of Mid-Atlantic Health Care Scott Rifkin said he was unsure why a protest is happening when he’s done all he can to work with the township.

Rifkin also stated he has no plans to develop the land and is trying to work with Upper Providence officials to keep the land open to the public.

“Our focus is on patients, not development, and that we have no set plans for the land,” Rifkin wrote in an email to Upper Providence residents. “We also offered to meet with an ongoing committee from the community to plan together how the land is best used. We even offered to keep the land available for public use if the township could help us solve legal liability issues.”

I responded to Dr. Rifkin the following day:

Dear Scott,

If you wanted to address the residents of Upper Providence, it seems to me that a far better option than emailing people on Christmas would have been to appear at a Monday evening Township meeting as I originally suggested when you first proposed to meet . I’m not sure from whence you have discerned the motives of the rally, which was suggested and organized by one of our residents, but in Montgomery County, where the landscape is littered with the lives and political careers of those who have found themselves on opposite sides of the issues, there are far easier and safer ways to engage in “political career building” than taking on the current County administration.

That being said, I reiterate my remarks that I made to you on 12/18: The land surrounding Parkhouse that you propose to buy is Open Space and should never have been offered for sale by the County. There is plenty of Montgomery County Planning Commission evidence to back this up. I believe that the sale of Open Space by the County constitutes a breach of the public trust and I would prefer to see this land remain publicly owned.

As I recall, I told you I intended to fight for the land and even said that I hoped you wouldn’t take it personally. The rally should not be a surprise to you at all.

Lisa Mossie

Dr. Rifkin's reply to me was:

Lisa,

Thanks for the nice note. Not taking it personally.

I am working with the assumption that the sale will go through and that I will need to work closely with the township leadership to find common ground. Contracts have been signed.

I appreciate the offer to participate in a Monday night meeting but find that such meetings rarely solve issues. There are just too many folks to take the time and attention to detail needed to solve these issues. However, once we have worked together on the issues and found common ground then I'd be happy to go hand in hand with leadership to discuss that common ground with the public.

Lisa, as for the Christmas email, that may not be great timing by our folks but I don't think anyone had to open it on that day. I am Jewish and must admit that I have received many an email from some non-jewish person on a high holiday. I simply wait for the holiday to be over. I'm never offended as I don't assume that Christians pay much attention to our holidays.

I am eager to meet with you and the Township staff whenever you are ready to discuss two basic issues. One, how we keep the land open to folks who wish to use it in the next few years. Two, how we plan the possible uses over the long term. Your solicitor seemed open to a discussion of liability so we can keep the land open immediately. We obviously don't want someone hunting to shoot someone walking a dog and then be held liable. Let me know when is good to meet.

Thanks and hope your Christmas was wonderful,

Scott

Dr. Rifkin has insisted on several occasions that he is not a political man and has no desire to get in the middle of a political battle. Nevertheless, it appears that is exactly where the County has put him. The insistence that the resistance to this sale is about political career building and not about the loss of precious Open Space, and the County Commissioners' breach of the public trust in selling it, is a canard that I have heard several times. It's insulting and hurtful to the residents of Upper Providence, who deserve to have their concerns taken seriously and not spun into a media message in an attempt to pretty-up the ugly facts about this sale.

My advice to Dr. Rifkin, in this somewhat "open letter" to him, would be that he should stop taking political cues from One Montgomery Plaza. Recognize that the outrage over the County's betrayal of the taxpayers is real. When one sends an email with the subject line, "Parkhouse" on Christmas day, understand the community's emotional connection to this property, recognize that most people get their emails on their phones (or iPads) and know that they will open that email immediately.

The residents of Upper Providence understand that there would be no "issues to resolve" if the land remained in the hands of the public. Their complaint is not with Mid-Atlantic or Dr. Rifkin; it is with the County Commissioners who should never have put Open Space up on the auction block.

CBS3 picks up the Parkhouse story

Story below from CBS3:

By Steve Patterson

ROYERSFORD, Pa., (CBS) – Montgomery County Commissioners say they’re in finalizing plans to sell a large nursing care facility, while opponents are getting vocal on worries about privatizing care and how the company will use the land around the site.

County officials want to sell the Parkhouse, a nursing home that houses some 500 residents, employs nearly 700 people and sits on about 200 acres of land. The deal is set at $39 million from the private Maryland company: $36 million for the facility and $3 million for the land.

“The fear is that if it goes into private hands, we wont be able to guarantee it remains this pristine space,” said Upper Providence Township Supervisor Lisa Mossie. She is leading the opposition charge for the County to provide more reasoning on their decision and more assurance about what happens when the property changes hands.

“My concern is that the motivation of this sale is not so much to privatize this, as it is to fix a budget problem that Montgomery County already has…. to plug a hole,” she said. “And when that is your motivation, then I question everything about it. You have to.”

Upper Providence Resident Sharon Gehman placed her mother in the facility 13 months ago and is now worried about how care will change when the facility becomes privatized.

“We’re being assured by the commissioners and Mid Atlantic that nothing will change,” she said. “My fear is that the quality of care will change. The staff here is exceptional and you always have to worry that when something’s being privatized, something will change. These assurances don’t feel real.”

County Commissioner Josh Shapiro says a private company will only improve care, resolve debt and ease the burden on taxpayers.

It’s a very small minority that’s misconstruing the facts purposefully to try and create hay where there is none,” he said. “At the end of the day, our residents are going to be better off, employees will be protected and the community will benefit from having this back on the tax rolls.”

The finalized date is currently set for January 31st.

Timeline of Significant Events in the Parkhouse sale

February 21, 2013 The County's RFI for Parkhouse was issued. It was "exploratory" in nature and no mention of the surrounding land was included in the original RFI posted on Montco's website:

The County of Montgomery is soliciting proposals of interest from qualified individuals or entities in the private sector (not-for-profit or for-profit) to purchase, lease, or form a public/private partnership for the County owned and operated nursing care and rehabilitation facilities known as Parkhouse, Providence Pointe, Riverview Adult Day Health Services, and Montgomery Meadows Independent Living Suites.

March 2013 Upper Providence learned of the possible sale of Parkhouse via various news reports about the County's issuance of a "Request for Information" ("RFI"). At the time, the Township Planning Commission was working on various "cleanup" of zoning ordinances, including the Institutional Overlay ("IN") and the designated open spaces in our Township, both of which apply to the Parkhouse parcels.

March 26, 2013 Two Township applications were initiated. One to update Upper Providence's zoning map to include several parcels of Township-, County-, and State-owned land in the Open Space Conservation ("OSC") district and another to clean up several housekeeping issues with the IN institutional district.

May 17, 2013 Upper Providence received the Montgomery County Planning Commission review letter dated May 17, 2013 with comment on the Township's intention to re-zone the aforementioned public spaces. The MCPC letter (linked HERE) recommended re-zoning all County, State and Township spaces, except the Parkhouse parcels, stating that

...the Open Space Conservation District may is not (sic) consistent with current County land use planning objectives. We point out that the R-1 Residential-Agricultural District zoning may be more in keeping IN/R-1 District zoning than OSC zoning, which does not allow development (emphasis mine). Permitted uses in the OSC District include open space preserves, wildlife sanctuaries, forest or woodland preserves, and reforested land

Accordingly, the MCPC recommends that these two particular properties, with its on-site geriatric facility, be removed from this list. We find that classifying the other, remaining County-owned parcels listed in this ordinance as OSC Open Space Conservation is appropriate and consistent with the County Comprehensive Plan.

It should be noted that the County review letter goes on to further recommend that rezoning ALL of the properties listed in the ordinance were found to be consistent with the Township's 2010 Comprehensive Plan Update and the Township's Open Space Plan, both of which were reviewed and approved by the County at the time of their adoption. It is safe to conclude from this letter that the County's objectives for this land changed at some point between July 19, 2010, which is the date of Upper Providence's Comprehensive Plan update, and sometime in 2013.

June 6, 2013 Montgomery County issued the "Request for Proposal" ("RFP"). A copy of the RFP, without the map, was provided to Upper Providence by Montgomery County on July 22, 2013 and that copy is linked HERE.

The RFP states,

The County is willing to consider all proposals, which could include, but is not limited to, the purchase of one, two or all of the Parkhouse facilities and related/other assets, including the land on which Parkhouse is located.

July 16, 2013 Upper Providence Township's first direct contact with Montgomery County. Representatives from the County indicated that they had received several responses to the RFP but did not offer details when asked. Montgomery County officials expressed concern about the Township's pending OSC and IN ordinances.

August 19, 2013 The Township held hearings on the OSC and IN ordinances as part of the regular work session. The Board of Supervisors passed both of these ordinances by unanimous vote over protests from County officials present at the meeting.

October 3, 2013 Upper Providence Township staff met with County representatives to introduce the proposed subdivision of the park from the main parcel west of Route 113. The County questioned a "natural subdivision" by right because of Route 113.

October 8, 2013 Representatives from Upper Providence Township attended a meeting at One Montgomery Plaza where the "Working Group" of County employees assigned to evaluate the bids for RFP makes a presentation to the County Commissioners. A presentation from Dr. Scott Rifkin, of Mid-Atlantic Healthcare, LLC is also included.

October 17, 2013 Montgomery County Commissioners vote unanimously to approve the sale of Parkhouse to Mid-Atlantic Healthcare LLC

November 3, 2013 County representatives meet with the Upper Providence Board of Supervisors and is advised by the Board that a sub-division application should be submitted for the requested sub-division on Route 113. Upper Providence Planning and Zoning is instructed to place the application on the next available Planning Commission Agenda.

November 12, 2013 Montgomery County submits sub-division plan.

November 13, 2013 Upper Providence Planning Commission reviews plans and tables action to December 11, 2013.

Upper Providence Township did not receive any kind confirmation of the intent to sell this land from the County until the RFP was issued in June, however the MCPC letter of May 17, 2013 piqued my suspicions in May. What no one knows at this point, not the public or the Township, is what Mid-Atlantic intends to do with that land now that they have been awarded the bid. To date, despite numerous requests to the County, including records requests under Pennsylvania’s Right to Know Law, the terms of the winning bid have not been disclosed to Upper Providence Township or the public.

Upper Providence's request is simple: if the land is not critical to the successful operation of Parkhouse by Mid-Atlantic, would the parties consider altering the terms of the deal to exclude the land from the sale or offer to dedicate it to the Township? If the land is critical to the successful operation of Parkhouse by Mid-Atlantic, Upper Providence would appreciate the disclosure of the plans for that land.

Most. Transparent. Administration. EVAH.

What follows is the County's response to Upper Providence Township's Right to Know request:

Dear Mr. Skypala:

Thank you for writing to the Montgomery County Open Records Office with your request for information pursuant to the Pennsylvania Right-To-Know Law (“RTKL”).

On November 21, 2013 we received your request. Please be advised that we require additional time to respond to your request, pursuant to 65 P.S. § 67.902.

This right is being asserted for the following reasons:

a. a legal review is necessary to determine whether the record(s) is a record(s) subject to access under the Act;
b. to determine if the request requires redaction of a public record(s); and
c. bona fide staffing limitations (in retrieving and reviewing the record(s) requested).

We presently estimate that a response will be available no later than, December 21, 2013.

Natasha Taylor-Smith, Esquire
Assistant County Solicitor
Montgomery County Solicitor’s Office
P. O. Box 311 Norristown, PA 19404-0311
Ph: 610-278-3033
Fax: 610-278-3069
NTaylors@Montcopa.org

Considering the State Office of Open Records has already directed Montgomery County to release this document to Janice Kearney, you'd think they'd have it pretty close at hand.

"If you like your geriatric facility, you can keep your geriatric facility"

As an Upper Providence Township Supervisor and a resident of Montgomery County, I am troubled by the lack of transparency surrounding the sale of the County’s Parkhouse facility on Black Rock Road. The proposed sale, which the County is rushing to close before the end of the year, includes approximately 220 acres of rolling farmland in my township that has been designated as open space on County planning maps since at least 2005. It was designated as permanently protected open space in the Township’s 2006 Open Space Plan which was then incorporated into the Township’s 2010 Comprehensive Plan.

As a Township Supervisor, my concern is for the future of this property. Once this gem of open space is transferred to a for-profit entity, its preservation cannot be assured. Why hasn’t the County offered to subdivide off the geriatric facility and keep the balance of the tract preserved as open space? On

October 8, the County Commissioners heard a recommendation from the “working group” assigned to evaluate the RFP submissions for the purchase of Parkhouse. This group, made up entirely of County employees, recommended that the RFP be awarded to Mid-Atlantic Healthcare LLC. After only eight days of deliberation and no public input, the County Commissioners voted unanimously to sell Parkhouse to Mid-Atlantic for $39 million. During that meeting, the Commissioners spoke often about the happy employees they encountered during their scheduled tour of a Mid-Atlantic facility and gushed about how nice the facility smelled. At no time during the public information session on October 8 or during the regularly scheduled meeting on October 17, did anyone tasked with evaluating this transaction address the fiscal health of Mid-Atlantic Healthcare, LLC.

Mid-Atlantic Healthcare is a company currently undergoing a rapid expansion, and has, in fact, doubled in size since 2011. Excluding Parkhouse, Mid-Atlantic Healthcare currently owns fourteen facilities in Pennsylvania and Maryland, seven of which have been acquired only within the last two years. They have financed the purchase of at least $106 million for six of these seven homes.

One of the primary reasons that the Commissioners cited for selling Parkhouse was that, according to County Chief Financial Officer, Uri Monson, the facility loses $2 to $7 million per year. Mid-Atlantic’s rosy presentation on October 8 included assurances that care at Parkhouse would not be compromised, employees would retain their level of seniority and salary and the community would continue to be served by this resource. Dr. Scott Rifkin, the principal of Mid-Atlantic, claims he can save money by joining a group purchasing organization (“GPO”); however, it seems unlikely that this strategy will be enough to not only honor Mid-Atlantic’s lofty promises, but cover the losses that Parkhouse allegedly incurs annually and the debt service of $39 million for the purchase.

This raises several additional questions: Has Mid-Atlantic committed to retaining a certain percentage of Medicaid beds, or will they abandon the Medicaid patients in favor of private pay insurance to increase their revenues? Will Mid-Atlantic need to develop the balance of the property to make its numbers add up? And if it was as simple as joining a GPO to save that much money, why didn’t Montgomery County attempt to do that before selling?

On October 30, the site of the once-proposed Studio Center at Logan Square was sold at auction for a meager $8,000, leaving Montgomery County with a gaping budget hole of $24.5 million as second position lien holder on the property. There remain many unanswered questions about the uses of some $61.5 million that was poured into that site for what eventually amounted to the refurbishment of an existing office building. Since no real compelling reason has been given for the urgency of closing the sale by year end, it would be unfortunate to conclude that Parkhouse, and Montgomery County’s most vulnerable low to moderate income aging population who depend upon it, are being sacrificed simply to fill this budget hole.

There remain too many unanswered questions regarding this sale and I would urge that the County Commissioners slow down and honor their commitment to transparency by allowing for a more public vetting of Parkhouse sale before proceeding further.