RE: [Mpls] Affordable Housing: causes-solutions?
-Original Message- From: WizardMarks [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Saturday, November 23, 2002 12:17 AM To: [mpls] Subject:Re: [Mpls] Affordable Housing: causes-solutions? Feldman is right. We do not build more power plants because tenants can not pay their light bills. We should not build more subsidized housing because tenants can not pay their rent. Rent stamps like food stamps would be much cheaper for everyone. concerned. Steven Meldahl WM: One of the problems with rent stamps, a.k.a. Section 8, is the bureaucratic requirements which make it one tricky business to evict a tenant for cause. Enter the non-profit. They specialize in moving paperwork around to suit the parameters of federal money. They have special software and everything. They have rules to which they hold tenants accountable. They never assume that of course people know how to live in a house. Commercial landlords/ladies really are not set up to handle that type of workload. WizardMarks, Central --- Mel's reply Rent Stamps and food stamps should be interchangeable this would give renters choice... Renters could then rent less expensive apartments and purchase more groceries with the difference. This would be a godsend for those who need or want a healthy diet. Renters, landlords and taxpayers would have one less needless bureaucracy to deal with and support.. .Taxpayers would get tax relief... Landlords could retain thier rights to evict... Renters with more choice and less bureaucracy could then rent almost anywhere. Mel Gregerson CAPS Private Afforable Housing Provider Whittier 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 ___ 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 ___ 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 ___ 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
Re: [Mpls] Affordable Housing: causes-solutions ? AFFORDABLE OWNERSHIP
The sad truth is that Wizard is correct, and Steve Meldahl is correct. Steve is acting in a responsible manner in leaving his apartments open if a suitable person does not apply. The neighborhoods have requested, begged and threatened to get other rental property owners to act as responsible as Steve indicates he is doing. Landlords have been vilified and their property confiscated on a wholesale basis if they did not aggressively screen. They have to, or see their building taken. How could anyone possibly object to that action? Steve is also correct in stating that there is no longer a housing shortage in Minneapolis for people, who could pay the rent, and who you could rent to without endangering your economic investment in the building. What are left are 1) some fine families with 8, 9, and sometimes 10 kids attempting to rent two bed room apartments, 2) people with so many unlawful detainers, 3) those engaged in criminal lifestyles, and 4) sadly those mistaken for those previously mentioned. There are for rent signs all over south Minneapolis. Houses and duplexes from private property owners regularly rent for less than 75% of what Non-Profits charge for rents on two bedroom apartments. The most draconian and least sympathetic land LORD a renter will ever encounter is a Public Housing or Quasi- Public Non-Profit Housing providers. Look at the real rents they charge (renter's plus subsidy) and their treatment of renters. Private rental property owners cannot enforce the draconian methods that Public Housing and large Non-Profit quasi public housing providers can. The courts have shown that they will crucify any private landlord who attempts to be half as aggressive in enforcement. Private landlords are threatened with loss of their investment if they do too much, or if they do too little. Non-profits also regularly allow buildings to continue to be rented with crime problems so bad that a private provider would have his ownership of the building threatened. When was the last time a large non-profit such as PPL was dragged into court for their ownership of a problem property? NOT IN THIS LIFETIME! As is usually the case, City government is attempting to, at present, deal with the horse after it left the barn two years ago. Neighborhoods, on there own, have already dealt with the issue of rental shortages for those who qualify to rent apartments. Ventura Village has already approved, (before the present Mayor and City Council) projects that would add several hundreds of housing units. More than all units supplied in year 2000 by MCDA, even if you count the shelter beds as they did. This List has been replete with discussions of the millions of tax dollars the past City Government spent on housing with their developer buddies, and is not even touching the millions for Non-Profits. The new Mayor and Council will take credit for them, but there were already thousands of units of market rate and Affordable housing in the works before they took office. We beat up on Sharon and Company not because those things were not in the works but because they waited to long to do it and gave the development projects to their buddies. What RT and the Council have missed is the AFFORDABLE HOMEOWNERSHIP. Sustainable affordable housing by necessity includes mostly ownership status. Rental Affordable Housing is simply not Sustainable. It is a continual drain on the resources of the family and the public, where after 20 years of investment the family is still in poverty and the public coffers are drained. Most communities are talking about this when they say we need more affordable housing. Opportunities need to be created for poor people and minority people to own their housing. It is the way you stabilize family life, (especially large families) and you stabilize communities. A common heard social service lament is that there is not enough minority involvement in neighborhood activities. Well the reason is that there is not enough minority ownership in those communities. People of color who regularly attend and strongly participate are not always, but usually homeowners. Marx was correct in at least one aspect; it is the ownership and control of capital resources. If you own you shelter you control a good deal of your life, if you don't you are forever at the mercy of owners as well as life. The mission of Affordable Housing Providers is supposed to be to stabilize families and provide quality places for these people to live. This would be at least believable and the mission would be much more quickly realized if they had programs that created Supportive Home Ownership. Off course this would shortly remove them from being an economic resource for the Non-Profit. You really have to commend Habitat and GMMHC for their realization of this and their incredible work to create long-term sustainable Affordable Housing. Jimmy Carter, nationally, and our own Carolyn Olson understand creating dignity
Re: [Mpls] Affordable Housing: causes-solutions?
WM: One of the problems with rent stamps, a.k.a. Section 8, is the bureaucratic requirements which make it one tricky business to evict a tenant for cause. Enter the non-profit. They specialize in moving paperwork around to suit the parameters of federal money. They have special software and everything. They have rules to which they hold tenants accountable. They never assume that of course people know how to live in a house. Commercial landlords/ladies really are not set up to handle that type of workload. I don't have a solution and I don't know that what we have presently is anything more than a bandaid. It is a problem looking for solutions. WizardMarks, Central (CM) Section 8 has taken a step backward recently. One reason Section 8 Tenants were unable to get apartments throughout the early-mid-to late nineties was the one year lease requirement. Plain and simple, the landlord had to sign a one year lease with the resident. As Wizard has pointed out, getting someone out for violating the lease under Sect 8 is 'tricky'. That is an understatement. Well a few years ago, Sect 8 seeing the crisis decided to offer month to month leases. This was good news. Most of us landlords started to rent to those on Sect 8 again. If the tenant screwed up, you gave them notice. That simple. 30 days was the most you had to put up with. Now, It is my understanding that Sect 8 is going back to one year minimum. This indicates two things. 1. The affordable housing crisis is over. 2. The Feds believe that enough landlords will take the risk on a one year lease. They need their apartments rented. It will cause many landlords to quit Sect 8 again. That's too bad. Why must Section 8 insist on the one years lease? It's counter productive. Craig Miller Former Fultonite [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ 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
[Mpls] Affordable Housing: causes-solutions?
In today's Strib, Mike Meyers draws attention to a recent report on affordable housing by an economist at the Minneapolis Federal reserve. The report, The Affordable Housing Shortage: Considering the Problem, Causes and Solutions by Ron Feldman, concludes that 'policymakers should recognize that government financing of new housing units is unlikely to be a cost-effective response to low household income.' Shortage of money, not housing, puts homes out of reach by Mike Meyers http://www.startribune.com/stories/417/3448518.html Ron Feldman's complete report, is available on the Minneapolis Federal Reserve website in pdf format, 43 pages including bibliography, tables and charts: http://minneapolisfed.org/pubs/bsdpapers/housing.cfm More fuel for the discussion. Michael Hohmann Linden Hills www.mahohmannbizplans.com ___ 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
Re: [Mpls] Affordable Housing: causes-solutions?
Having been in the rental housing business since 1971, I agree with Mr. Feldman's report. All of us in the affordable housing sector are sitting on vacancies in the 10 to 15% range. Landlord friends in the medium to upper bracket rental housing sector are seeing the softest rental market in 35 years There are plenty of rental units available in the market for all levels of renters. In the low to moderate rental market (ie affordable), that myself and the other members of the MPRAC group provide, we can not afford to take the chances on renting to many of the low income families that need the housing that already is available and that we are sitting on. The reason is that our costs have skyrocketed ( my taxes on average will rise 26% next year, insurance rates have doubled in 2 years) and the costs of labor for competant professionals to repair damages caused by these tenants has tripled over the last 5 years. Licensed plumbing, heating, and electrical shops charge between $85 and $105 per hour. A business friend of mine just won a competitive bid for a large management company for their repair work. His was the lowest bid for service - $70 per hour plus twice the cost of materials or supplies needed. If tenants totally trash out a house, the costs take years to recoup. So in the long run it is cheaper and makes more sense to let houses or units sit vacant. Building more housing (with gap financing at taxpayer expense) is not going to solve this problem. Making tenants criminally liable for their damages will help. Knowing that they can be criminally liable for damages that they cause and or their children will change behavior. Then we can start taking chances on these tenants again. The other solution that I have promoted to the Mayor is to have an indemnification fund set up by the City and or County so that if we take a chance on a problem tenant and they screw up, we can seek relief through the fund. Feldman is right. We do not build more power plants because tenants can not pay their light bills. We should not build more subsidized housing because tenants can not pay their rent. Rent stamps like food stamps would be much cheaper for everyone. concerned. Steve Meldahl (Jordan) work - Original Message - From: Michael Hohmann [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [mpls] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, November 22, 2002 10:36 AM Subject: [Mpls] Affordable Housing: causes-solutions? In today's Strib, Mike Meyers draws attention to a recent report on affordable housing by an economist at the Minneapolis Federal reserve. The report, The Affordable Housing Shortage: Considering the Problem, Causes and Solutions by Ron Feldman, concludes that 'policymakers should recognize that government financing of new housing units is unlikely to be a cost-effective response to low household income.' Shortage of money, not housing, puts homes out of reach by Mike Meyers http://www.startribune.com/stories/417/3448518.html Ron Feldman's complete report, is available on the Minneapolis Federal Reserve website in pdf format, 43 pages including bibliography, tables and charts: http://minneapolisfed.org/pubs/bsdpapers/housing.cfm More fuel for the discussion. Michael Hohmann Linden Hills www.mahohmannbizplans.com ___ 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 ___ 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
Re: [Mpls] Affordable Housing: causes-solutions?
steven meldahl wrote: Having been in the rental housing business since 1971, I agree with Mr. Feldman's report. All of us in the affordable housing sector are sitting on vacancies in the 10 to 15% range. Landlord friends in the medium to upper bracket rental housing sector are seeing the softest rental market in 35 years If tenants totally trash out a house, the costs take years to recoup. So in the long run it is cheaper and makes more sense to let houses or units sit vacant. WM: This is such a sad statement. True statement, but sad. Plus, leaving a house vacant opens the owner and the neighbors to vandalism and squatters, neither of which improve the property or grace the block. I've seen beautiful houses, interiors covered in misspelled graffiti); a choking smell of urine, feces, vomit and grease; plumbing removed or so hopelessly clogged that it will have to be removed. Forget the carpeting, it's gone, huge holes in the walls, appliances torn out, screens, windows, and floors destroyed. And just solid grime that you have to get down on your knees with sharp tools, steel wool and chemicals to clean up. It's as though feral animals had dwelled there. In fact, they have. Building more housing (with gap financing at taxpayer expense) is not going to solve this problem. Making tenants criminally liable for their damages will help. Knowing that they can be criminally liable for damages that they cause and or their children will change behavior. WM: I thought so too until I found out that part of the scam is to be able to claim poverty so that the liability is, in effect, only on paper. The landlord/lady is left holding the bag. Future tenants are left holding the bag. Neighborhood too. Taking responsibility for having created the mess by having to work on all the repairs in addition to the liability claim, community court with the affected people, might change some people's behavior but finding solutions is more work than a paper chase. I'm not saying don't do this, I'm saying I don't think this, alone, will give everyone the relief landlords are seeking. So as not to castigate people unduly, I will say that after having lived a largely feral life for any length of time (not living in a house, connected to any community by barely a thread), makes it very hard to live inside a house at first. Homeless folks are on the outside looking in. For an alarmingly large and growing group of people, a feral existance is all they know. Their parents may remember something other, but they have known no other, nor observed any other except on t.v. We would have to look at the work of Hope House and Aftercare Inc. and other efforts which re-inculcate those behaviors. It's a long process. Then we can start taking chances on these tenants again. The other solution that I have promoted to the Mayor is to have an indemnification fund set up by the City and or County so that if we take a chance on a problem tenant and they screw up, we can seek relief through the fund. Feldman is right. We do not build more power plants because tenants can not pay their light bills. We should not build more subsidized housing because tenants can not pay their rent. Rent stamps like food stamps would be much cheaper for everyone. concerned. WM: One of the problems with rent stamps, a.k.a. Section 8, is the bureaucratic requirements which make it one tricky business to evict a tenant for cause. Enter the non-profit. They specialize in moving paperwork around to suit the parameters of federal money. They have special software and everything. They have rules to which they hold tenants accountable. They never assume that of course people know how to live in a house. Commercial landlords/ladies really are not set up to handle that type of workload. I don't have a solution and I don't know that what we have presently is anything more than a bandaid. It is a problem looking for solutions. WizardMarks, Central ___ 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 ___ 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 ___ 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
