MiddleTown Property Group Reportedly Retaliates, Plans to Evict Elderly Woman

    

    VBN continues to follow this developing story. Scroll down for a complete timeline and links to related coverage.

    CORRECTION: While a prospective tenant was supposed to tour Alysson Fergison's mother's apartment on June 7th at 9am, no one arrived.

    MUNCIE, Ind. - "We just received a text message that MiddleTown Property Group intends to show this unit to a prospective tenant tomorrow."

    Yesterday, MiddleTown Property Group--which has also branded itself as MiddleTown Living, MiddleTown Rentals and BSU Rentals--reportedly was supposed to show the home of an elderly, disabled woman to a prospective tenant at 9am. However, no one showed up.

    Reportedly, MiddleTown plans to evict her.

    "They are literally trying to rent my mother's home right out from under her, even though they have been duly informed that a lawsuit will be filed imminently and have been aware for months now that there is an active Attorney General investigation into their egregious behavior toward her," shared Alysson Fergison.

    Fergison shared her mother is "paying more than the listing price of this unit on their website," and that MiddleTown is "continu[ing] to refuse to let her" renew her lease.

    "This is the textbook definition of retaliatory housing discrimination," Fergison said. 

    Fergison's petition, "STOP MiddleTown Property Group from evicting the elderly, disabled widow of a Vietnam Vet," shared her mother has lived in the home before MiddleTown managed it. 

    "My mother is completely blind in one eye and suffers from debilitating heart & breathing problems that require her to use a walker, even to get around her own home," Fergison shared. "Her current home checks off every box when it comes to the accommodations required, allowing her to navigate throughout the unit and access & maneuver in the kitchen and bathroom with ease."

     Fergison called out MiddleTown as a monopoly, sharing "[t]hey own and/or manage thousands of units and have created a de facto housing monopoly on & around Ball State campus."

    "Forcing my mother out of her home in retaliation for engaging in legally protected activity will not only cause her immense physical and emotional distress—putting her life at grave risk—it will also cause her an incredible financial burden, forcing her to go thousands of dollars in debt to fund a move she not only doesn't want to make, but is terrified will kill her," Fergison shared.  "My mother is a Ball State alum who graduated in the '70s.  She's lived on Bethel Ave, right on the edge of campus, for more than 30 years."

    Fergison shared on Facebook that her mother is being evicted as retaliation "for fighting for things like WORKING HEAT, HOT WATER, and MAIL DELIVERY."

    Other tenants have reportedly experienced problems with MiddleTown. In 2023, WRTV reported the Attorney General's office reprimanded the company for negligence, sharing they "must do the following to remediate the negligence claims[:]"

• Issue credits and refunds to consumers totaling $35,000 as well as a payment to reimburse the Homeowner Protection Unit for $10,000 in investigative costs.
• Cease the use of the BSU Rentals unregistered trade name on all marketing materials. 
• Make affirmative changes to all current and future residential leases requiring reasonable notice prior to entry of leased units by these companies or their agents. 
• Cease the use of a “redecoration fee,” which had the effect of charging tenants for a preexisting legal duty to deliver leased units in a safe, clean and livable condition. 
• Remove “as-is” language from all the companies’ leases and agree to abide by the landlord obligations found in Ind. Code § 32-31-8-5; and
• Participate in compliance monitoring requiring the companies to issue quarterly reports to the Homeowner Protection Unit for a compliance period of two years running from Sept. 1, 2023, to June 1, 2025. 

    In 2022, CBS 4 reported some Ball State students who've rented from MiddleTown encountered "homes that were dirty and in disrepair, despite the fact that they paid a fee to have the home cleaned." 

    One student, who remained anonymous to CBS 4 out of fear of retribution, shared how both her and her roommate "paid a total of $500 as a cleaning fee to the agency." However, "[t]he student said she also found piles of ash in her basement, the toilet seat was broken and just about everything was dirty."

    "It’s just disappointing because I know it’s happening to other people," the student said to CBS 4.

    VBN has contacted Fergison via Facebook Messenger, MiddleTown via email, and The Office of Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita via AccessGov for comment. This story will be updated with any additional information.

Coverage Timeline 

Coverage timeline is ordered from oldest to newest. Click here to read all related articles from newest to oldest.

• June 8th 2025 at 10:10am - Vivian Bostick published her article about Alysson Fergison's mother, who is reportedly being retaliated against by MiddleTown. Bostick contacted Fergison via Facebook Messenger, MiddleTown via email, and The Office of Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita via AccessGov for comment.
• June 10th 2025 at 3:50pm - Bostick called Rokita's office on the phone. Bostick was transferred to the press secretary, who was unavailable at the moment. Bostick left a voicemail.
• June 12th 2025 at 3:38pm - Fergison answered Bostick's questions via email. Fergison also shared her own article with Bostick, sharing that MiddleTown threatened to call the police to forcibly remove her mother, then changing the lock on her apartment door while they were at a hotel.
• June 12th 2025 at 5:52pm - Fergison invited Bostick to a Facebook group, named "BSURentals/Middletown Mgmt Complaints." The group, created 3 years ago by Melissa Bass, has just under 2,000 members. Bostick is awaiting approval, and plans to reach out to other tenants.
• June 12th 2025 at 7:15pm - Bostick published Fergison's answers. Bostick included the 2022 incident in the article.
• June 12th 2025 at 9:26pm - Bostick was approved in the "BSURentals/Middletown Mgmt Complaints" Facebook group.
• July 15th 2025 at 9:00pm - Bostick published her article regarding the Muncie Liberation Studio and United Front's planned protest against MiddleTown at their office on Walnut Street.