I've read the posts concerning Section 8. Twenty five years of participating with the program has taught me a few things.
1. For legit to discussion to occur, everyone has to understand and agree that about 95% or better of the landlords who do business in the city are law abiding and solid business people. Failure to grasp this knowledge, makes discussion useless. 2. Good landlords are defined by their tenants. Good tenants are defined by their landlords. 3. Bill Cullen points out the higher vacancy rate right now. It's come to my attention that the rate is actually higher then that. Throw in the free rent and bonus' being given, and the rate is even higher. Bill also notes the pure amount of units available. I've said it many times, there is no shortage of housing. That issue is over. Take those precious resources and spend them somewhere else. Henn County should shut down it's newly created housing department before it grows roots and stays forever. 4. There are 10,000 plus units avail in the metro right now, with over 3,000 on-line for occupation in 2003. Those who say "those are too expensive and luxurious to help out" are not paying attention to econ 101. The financiers of the new place will not allow the owners to lose money. They will force the A+ (new bldg) owner to fill her building with tenants. Take them from A- or B buildings if you must. The B building owner then chases C building tenants and so forth and so forth. End result, rent is going down, not staying even. The same report from GVA says rents are staying about even. Not true, the posted rent is staying even, but if you give a free month away, the rent just fell by one month or 8.5 percent. This is looking like 1988-1993 all over again. Great time to be a renter with bargaining position. 5. Bill Cullen asks if landlords are discriminating. Section 8 is a voluntary program. Regardless of tenants advocates protestations. The program is voluntary. 6. Bill Cullen asks if applicant's histories are preventing them from renting. YES. The city, county, state have made renting to "high risk tenants" ( Julie Sabo's term not mine) a potentially dangerous proposition for the small part time landlord. BTW it is the small part time landlord that has the most desirable units for families. Duplexes and houses. 7. Bill's final point is apt. Let's understand the problem before we start proposing solutions. 8. HUD is now again requiring full year leases as Keith has pointed out. HUD seems determined to never address this issue until 10's of thousands are in such desperate situation. Month to month leases are the only way management can deal with a situation that has gone bad. Mr. Meldahl points out, rightly so, that most Sect 8 renters are judgment proof. 9. Winning a judgment isn't easy, it's a pain in the a--! For those of you on the list who have gainful employment with no projected end date or desire to leave, you will never risk a judgment if you know your in the wrong. Those who have nothing to lose, or un-reliable income have nothing to fear. I.E. renting to someone with a rock solid income for 12 months or more at a crack is sensible. 10. Paper work, paperwork, paperwork. Oh and btw, don't let a Sect 8 Administrator say something like " the rent's guaranteed, or it's simple, or they just don't know what their talking about". It doesn't wash. Ask the landlords. I refer you to item #2. Landlords and tenants decide if Section 8 is a good program. Not the administrators. Most of the landlords just hate it, I'll bet a large majority of the tenants wished there was a better way. 11. Jason Sittko asks two questions. Two answers. 1. The landlords are not professing more of it will cure the housing problem. More units solves the problem. His question number two I refer all to my point #1 12 Mr. Meldahl points out that there is higher maint cost on sect 8 units. Someone professed that older less maintained buildings are more likely the cause. Sect 8 certificates and vouchers go to any building, not by date or location. All things being equal and two 2-bedrooms next to each other on the same side of a building. The Section 8 one will likely need more work, a lot more. This is not a guarantee in every situation. But is something I will bet on. Like insurance actuarial tables, the facts just can't be argued. 13 We've played blame the landlord for too long in Mpls for housing needs. We have vacant units coming out of our ears. We have Executive Directors, and govt programs to choke all the kings horses. It's time to pursue completely different directions. Craig Miller Former Mpls Landlord Living in Rogers ----- Original Message ----- From: Bill Cullen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, February 05, 2003 8:10 PM Subject: RE: [Mpls] "No Longer the Giveaway County Board" > > It seems that many of us equate "homelessness" with "lack of housing." This > had merit when housing was tight in 2001, but on 8-Jan-03 the Star Tribune > reported that vacancy rates have increased to 6.6% in the metro area. The > article said "Leasing agents say this is the worst market they've seen in > more than a decade and they're offering a variety of rent specials" to > attract residents. This survey included 124,000 apartments - meaning the > surveyors located approximately 8100 apartments vacant right now. > > This data implies a problem different than availability. Are landlords > discriminating? Is one's income too low to afford rent? Is one's history > (drugs, crime, etc) preventing them from passing a rental application? Is > it something I have missed? > > I certainly don't mean to be callous or point fingers, I just want to make > sure we understand the problem before we propose solutions. > > Regards, Bill Cullen > Hopkins -- Landlord > > > TEMPORARY REMINDER: > 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. > 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. > > ________________________________ > > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
