I am no expert on homelessness -- I hope my comments are constructive. As a private real estate investor, I do have a lot of experience in housing. It surprises me that landlords are often seen as the problem and not the solution. As one poster said, 95% of the landlords are good citizens.
Some posters recommend we continue building new units. This will not solve the homelessness problem � we already have 1000s of vacancies and homeless families. I worry that increased vacancies might push some landlords to accept any tenant just to pay the bills. This would be costly to many neighborhoods in Minneapolis. I hope our government leaders are aware of the damage an oversupply of housing has on their neighborhoods. Many posters have portrayed section 8 recipients as bad. Certainly I have had my share of bad section 8 tenants. It hurts because a judgment against them is seldom paid. However, I have rented to many excellent section 8 tenants and still do. It is all in the person�s history. Screen everyone. I agree with Mr. Meldahl�s assertion that a problem is lack of good paying jobs. I was at the Minnesota Multi-housing Association conference in Downtown Mpls about a year ago. Mayor Kelly told a story about how an employer friend of his was frustrated because none of his employees could afford housing. One attendee interrupted Mayor Kelly with �why doesn�t he pay them more?� Mayor Kelly appeared surprised by the response. Housing affordability has two sides to the equation. I hope our homeless advocates will increase their focus on creating good jobs, increasing vouchers (section 8, wilder Roof, etc) and helping tenants with behavioral problems. I believe this will help more than increasing our housing oversupply. This paragraph sums up my agenda in this thread. Finally, some people have asked personal questions of me. Quick answers: I am not a politician. 188 of 190 of my apartments are in Mpls and St. Paul. The majority of my apartments are near Eat Street in Mpls and in East St. Paul. I currently have 15, 3 & 4 bedroom units, but have had up to 42 at one time. Check out www.cullenhomes.com for more info. My comment of turning around problem properties drew some criticism. I know buildings don�t cause problems. Residents, and landlords that don�t deal with problem residents, do. The location I referred to was 1 of 32 problem properties featured in the �Chronic Problem Properties in St. Paul� written by Marcia Moermond. The location is no longer a problem. I appreciate your time. I hope I have made my point and will go away for a while. Regards, Bill. 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
