Stevem Ellis - Lawsuit Filed - In Default 2025
From: Thomas Lopez-Pierre <LiveUptownHarlem@aol.com>Date: December 10, 2025 at 1:33:36 AM ESTTo: Steven Ellis <sellis.brsg@gmail.com>, "Derek Warner Esq." <derek@warnerlaw.org>Cc: info@urbanrealestatefund.comSubject: Re: 163 Grafton
December 10, 2025
Steven Ellis:
Due to pending litigation, please email any proposals you would like the Urban Real Estate Fund, LLC (the “Fund”) to consider with regard to its ownership interest in 163 Grafton Avenue, Brooklyn, NY to:
Derek Warner, Esq.(718) 689-0633derek@warnerlaw.org
Sincerely,
Thomas Lopez-PierreFund ManagerUrban Real Estate Fund, LLC
CC:
Derek Warner, Esq.UREF Management Committee
Sent from my iPhone
On Dec 9, 2025, at 11:06 PM, Steven Ellis <sellis.brsg@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello Thomas,
I have been working on bringing this project to a close so your loan from BREF Fund can be paid back as we are aware it is in default. As you know the property is pending foreclosure which I have been working on all options with the loan company to delay any foreclosure sales. I am working on a possible sale to 2 different interested parties. They are aware of the 2nd loan on the property that I received from BREF. I understand one party spoke with you today. He said you told them you are one of the partners of 163 Grafton and you are not interested in selling? What did I miss in the loan contract? At what point did you become part owner of 163 Grafton and believe you can block our sale of the property? The sale is the only way the fund will be able to get its loan back in full at this point. We are not going to let it foreclose.
RespectfullySteven Ellis
December 10, 2025
Steven Ellis:
Due to pending litigation, please email any proposals you would like the Urban Real Estate Fund, LLC (the “Fund”) to consider with regard to its ownership interest in 163 Grafton Avenue, Brooklyn, NY to:
Derek Warner, Esq.(718) 689-0633derek@warnerlaw.org
Sincerely,
Thomas Lopez-PierreFund ManagerUrban Real Estate Fund, LLC
CC:
Derek Warner, Esq.UREF Management Committee
Sent from my iPhone
On Dec 9, 2025, at 11:06 PM, Steven Ellis <sellis.brsg@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello Thomas,
I have been working on bringing this project to a close so your loan from BREF Fund can be paid back as we are aware it is in default. As you know the property is pending foreclosure which I have been working on all options with the loan company to delay any foreclosure sales. I am working on a possible sale to 2 different interested parties. They are aware of the 2nd loan on the property that I received from BREF. I understand one party spoke with you today. He said you told them you are one of the partners of 163 Grafton and you are not interested in selling? What did I miss in the loan contract? At what point did you become part owner of 163 Grafton and believe you can block our sale of the property? The sale is the only way the fund will be able to get its loan back in full at this point. We are not going to let it foreclose.
RespectfullySteven Ellis
163 Grafton Street, Brooklyn, NY
$150,000 Line Of Equity Capital In 2024$75,000 Profit Payment In Default As of May 16, 2025
Investment #3 - In Default
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Thomas Lopez-Pierre of the Black Real Estate Forum, LLC/BREF Fund I, LLC (now Urban Real Estate Fund, LLC) and Real Estate entrepreneur Steven Ellis in Brownsville, Brooklyn, NY.
In 2021, BREF Fund I, LLC (now Urban Real Estate Fund, LLC) invested $50,000 with Steven Ellis into 163 Grafton Street, Brooklyn, NY (a gut-renovation of a three-family property for rental income).
In 2022, the Fund invested an additional $50,000 with Steven Ellis.
In 2023, Steven Ellis paid $100,000 ($50,000 investment income and $50,000 in principal equity capital on a $100,000 equity investment).
In 2023, the Fund invested an additional $50,000 with Steven Ellis.
In 2024, the investment was rolled over for the second year at $150,000 due to a delay in the renovations of the property because of the challenges with the utility company connecting the building to the power grid. On May 16, 2025, Steven Ellis FAILED to close out the investment with a $225,000 payment.
Over the last six months, Steven Ellis has refused to have a telephone or in-person conversation with Thomas Lopez-Pierre.
The Fund holds a 33% ownership interest in the property.
The Fund plans to file a lawsuit in Brooklyn Supreme Court to secure its $225,000 payment (and legal fees). As of 2024, the Fund no longer invests directly in any property with Black real estate entrepreneurs (the Fund now requires Black real estate entrepreneurs to provide a secondary property as collateral to help ensure repayment of investments).
In 2023, Steven Ellis paid $100,000 ($50,000 investment income and $50,000 in principal equity capital on a $100,000 equity investment).
In 2023, the Fund invested an additional $50,000 with Steven Ellis.
In 2024, the investment was rolled over for the second year at $150,000 due to a delay in the renovations of the property because of the challenges with the utility company connecting the building to the power grid. On May 16, 2025, Steven Ellis FAILED to close out the investment with a $225,000 payment.
Over the last six months, Steven Ellis has refused to have a telephone or in-person conversation with Thomas Lopez-Pierre.
The Fund holds a 33% ownership interest in the property.
The Fund plans to file a lawsuit in Brooklyn Supreme Court to secure its $225,000 payment (and legal fees). As of 2024, the Fund no longer invests directly in any property with Black real estate entrepreneurs (the Fund now requires Black real estate entrepreneurs to provide a secondary property as collateral to help ensure repayment of investments).