Of course some of our local real estate professionals would simply say its
time for such people to move on so we can save these homes through their sales
to new urban not-so-pioneers. And, of course the sellers can find somewhere
else to live and die in poverty.
Perhaps one reason some of the current list-posting-upstarts don't like
SpecialK is because he embodies the compounding of independence with real
social
responsibility, not hide the problem elsewhere.
Has Wendell yet addressed the issue of ethnic and financial community
makeover, or is that something his masters have not authorized in light of the
recent spate of development for $2K to $3K per month housing units?
Ciao,
Craig
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--- Begin Message ---
In a message dated 3/13/2006 2:16:56 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Where are the people supposed to get the money from to pay this
"fair" tax?
It may be true that taxes on homes in our part of West Philadelphia are low
by some standards -- especially when they're viewed in terms of what real
estate prices have been in the area for the past few years. Someone buying a
$450,000 home on Pine Street or Osage Avenue, for instance, not only gets a
good
price relative to comparable amenities in Gladwyne or Jenkintown, but pays
less in total property taxes as well. And individuals like that may be
figuring
taxes will go up but still be able to pay them without getting into a
financial bind. If so, God bless them.
But there are still a lot of people in this area, I'd say they're in the
majority but have no data to back this up, for whom this isn't the case.
They're
people who bought here long ago when prices were cheap (in part because the
folks in the socio-economic-education category of those now moving here were
then following the head lemming into the 'burbs), or who got their parents
house, etc. Many in this category sweated to pay off their mortgages long ago
so don't have that worry to add to things like heating and other utility
bills, taxes, insurance, etc.
The fact that their $10,000 or $25,000 or $40,000 bought-and-paid-for house
is now worth $250,000 as-is or maybe $450,000 with a little upgrading doesn't
help them. Notwithstanding an insensitive (or naive) comment by the Usurper
(Lewis Wendell if I'm being too cryptic) at the first or second Dog & Pony
Show (NID public meeting run by UCD if I'm again being too cryptic), it may not
be an option for folks in this category to take out home equity loans on
their increased property values. Because those loans have to be paid back --
adding to the monthly burden on someone who may be struggling on fixed or
modest
incomes to make ends meet already.
Al Krigman
Left of Ivan Grozny
PS: And, yes, it's true that as a housing provider I can pass increased
costs on to my tenants. At least to the point where I lose them to other
neighborhoods. But don't assume that the money just rolls in so people like me
who
try to make a living this way, and who support not only our own households but
those of our direct employees and our contractors this way, are in a position
to pay whatever freight happens to come along. If you think that it isn't a
struggle for some of us to make ends meet, or you disbelieve that many of us
don't make personal sacrifices to meet our obligations to those who depend on
us, you're mistaken.
--- End Message ---
