Many thanks to Bill for pointing out the very difficult side of this issue for landlords and others involved in housing, not just the very serious problems it causes for tenants. <Shameless Plug follows>
HousingMinnesota (http://www.HousingMinnesota.org) has been working on this issue both locally and nationally. The Chair of our Steering Committee, Stephen Seidel of Habitat for Humanity, had a letter to the editor published in the Pioneer Press on this very subject. http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/editorial/8959859.htm You can take action to be heard at our web-site, with a link to contacting your representatives in Congress. <end of Shameless Plug> Bill is of course correct in noting that the Saint Paul Public Housing Authority (and all the other PHAs, for that matter) had to decide what to do about a retroactive cut in their support from the federal government. They held a public hearing to talk about cutting the dollars to landlords, but this will likely make it harder and harder for people to find an affordable place to live. (Again, more info on market rates for housing in Saint Paul is available on the http://www.HousingMinnesota.org web-site). The only "soft side" of the rental market here is in the more expensive units. Finding something affordable for a family at even twice the minimum wage is extremely difficult to do. (See for yourself at the HousingLink Private Market Vacancy Report at http://www.housinglink.org/PMVR.htm) Some of our most recent statistics show there are over 25,000 households in Ramsey County earning less than $20,000 per year. Of those that are renters (over 19,000) more than 74% of them are paying over 30% of their income in housing costs. (again, details on the web site). Bill's right, we have a crisis that is looking to get a lot worse. We need help contacting Members of Congress to get this retroactive cut reversed. Steve Boland Selby/Dale --- Bill Cullen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Hey everyone, > > HUD recently cut the budget of St. Paul Public Housing Agency (PHA) by $3 > million. PHA received no warning the cut was coming. There have been ample > articles about this cut in the Pioneer Press over the past few weeks. > > We Landlords were informed by PHA that they are going to cut all landlords > rent payments by 15% across the board. This means that subsidized tenants > will now pay less for an apartment than unsubsidized tenants. For example, > my 2 bedroom apartments rent for $700 per month. After this cut, I will > receive $595 from section 8 for that apartment, while my market rate tenants > continue paying $700 per month. > > I know "landlords" and "slumlords" are equal terms in many of your minds. > But, the reality is very different. 30% of the housing in St. Paul is > rental housing and most of us landlords run a great business and are proud > of the service we provide to the community. > > Also, contrary to perceptions, most landlords don't make a ton of money. A > typical apartment building spends 45 - 55% of their income on expenses > (utilities, taxes, insurance, maintenance, legal, administrative, etc) and > 40%+ on debt service. That leaves us with about a 10% margin for profit and > capital improvements. PHA's proposal is the equivalent to asking landlords > to FURTHER subsidize section 8 tenants. > > I believe PHA has chosen the route of cutting landlords rent solely because > the rental market is soft. This is short sighted. The rental market is > soft, but rapidly improving with the economy. (According to GVA Marquette, > St. Paul's rental vacancy rate was 6.5% in 1Q04 down from 7.6% in 4Q03). > > Prediction: As the rental market continues to improve, landlords with > quality properties will move section 8 tenants out in favor of tenants that > pay full rent. Most of the 4000 voucher holders will move in the next 12-18 > months. We might be on the cusp of the worst affordable housing crisis St. > Paul has ever seen. > > Question. The feds have spent over $330 million on Housing 5000 and the > city has spent over $70 million (1). With so much money available for > housing, why did the feds cut St. Paul PHA $3 million? > > Regards, Bill Cullen. > East Side Landlord > President, St. Paul Association of Responsible Landlords. ===== Steve Boland [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - Send 10MB messages! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
