Slummin'

**nco**

I live on a nice quiet block, for the most part. The house at the very end of my street is ALWAYS a problem. I've lived here for 5 years, and it's the only house that's had multiple police visits, fights, drug deals, you name it. It's had at least 3 different tenants in the time that I've lived here. I did some research, found out who the landlord is, where he lives, what businesses he owns, but now I'm stuck. I'm pretty sure he's just renting out section 8, and doesn't care who's there, as long as he gets a check.

So, short of calling his house every single time something happens with his tenants, how do the rest of the people on the block work on getting this fixed?

**thoth** · Today, 10:20 AM

Classic problem, not really any good short term solutions. Check if he's behind on taxes. If the property is ill-maintained or there are more people residing there than it is zoned for, call L&I. Honestly if all that stuff checks out, you'll probably have an easier time going after the tenants, at least as far as official channels go.

Let your local police district know for roll call, although if the property has had as many police responses as you inferred, it's probably already on their radar. Call the police for every disturbance and encourage your neighbors to do the same.

Beyond that, all you can really do is track the guy down and start harassing him for leasing to crappy tenants. That's not necessarily illegal in and of itself.

**StrangeTanks** · Today, 11:56 AM

You can call the section 8 office and give them the address to verify if it is in fact subsidized housing. If it is, you can file a complaint with them.

**nco** · Today, 02:29 PM

Originally Posted by thoth

Classic problem, not really any good short term solutions. Check if he's behind on taxes. If the property is ill-maintained or there are more people residing there than it is zoned for, call L&I. Honestly if all that stuff checks out, you'll probably have an easier time going after the tenants, at least as far as official channels go.

Let your local police district know for roll call, although if the property has had as many police responses as you inferred, it's probably already on their radar. Call the police for every disturbance and encourage your neighbors to do the same.

Beyond that, all you can really do is track the guy down and start harassing him for leasing to crappy tenants. That's not necessarily illegal in and of itself.

Thanks for the ideas. We might start with L&I, since I'm pretty sure there's way more people living/staying there than it's zoned for, and I'm guessing that it's probably not up to code.

I was able to track down the owner's name, home address, business, and phone number too. The next time I have 10 people screaming and fighting on my block, threatening to kill each other at 2 in the morning, I'm thinking this guy might enjoy getting woken up in North Wales to enjoy the experience too.

**nco** · Today, 02:35 PM

I forgot to add....this is so annoying, since this is such a quiet, nice block to begin with. We're on a side street, with a pretty diverse group (Black, White, Asian, Pakistani, gay, straight, younger, older, kids...etc). Everyone gets along, takes care of their homes and respects one another. These d-bags ruin the whole atmosphere.

**loveisnoise** · Today, 02:40 PM

I always love threads like this. You went through all the trouble to snoop around and see who the landlord is, want to investigate about 'section 8' status, etc.-yet fail to do the simplest thing in the world... call the landlord!

Landlords are not psychics, there's no proof whatsoever that it is section 8, and no landlord is going to be there to know what a tenant is like on any given day. Call them and tell them what is going on. Maybe the landlord is the nicest old man in the world-you don't know. If you call them and they are apathetic? THEN f' with them online and through government channels.

**thoth** · Today, 02:53 PM

Originally Posted by nco

I forgot to add....this is so annoying, since this is such a quiet, nice block to begin with. We're on a side street, with a pretty diverse group (Black, White, Asian, Pakistani, gay, straight, younger, older, kids...etc). Everyone gets along, takes care of their homes and respects one another. These d-bags ruin the whole atmosphere.

Yep, that's pretty much how it works. We have the same issue with an "affordable housing" unit on our block, so we don't even have a single landlord to go after. It's frustrating either way.

Since your legal recourse is somewhat limited, I would highly recommend finding the guy in the suburbs and confronting him about his tenants. I also read some neighborhood groups around Boston had success in "shaming" absentee landlords by buying ads in the landowner's suburban newspaper that publicly named them as slumlords. A lot of these guys think of the city as an anonymous cesspit, but their balls shrink pretty fast when their friends and neighbors start realizing how they're paying off the mortgage on their McMansion.

**GStanza** · Today, 07:20 PM

You live on a section-8 block - in a section-8 neighborhood. This is something you want to consider BEFORE moving in a particular area! Funny what happens when the housing bubble fallout settles on transplanted egos.....

Your solution: MOVE

good day

**GStanza** · Today, 07:26 PM

You cant subjectify the GHETTO! "OH SNAP! I live next to section-8!" LOL! That just doesn't sneak up on you one day... the fact is it was ALWAYS THERE, you just didn't notice it during 2005-2008is cause there was a housing bubble and you were more concerned with your 'home equity' and 'property value' rather than the ghetto you transplanted to.

Now that the bubble hath burst, there's ALOT of reality checks going on!

If people prioritized their environment over MONEY then they wouldn't complain about 'the one section 8 house on the block'...

sheeeiit -- the FIRST thing one should look at when moving someplace is the environment -- but nope, not the sheeple, to them the first thing they consider is $$$$$ ie how much is the house 'worth'... how cheap is the rent, how much will I make/save...etc...

**StrangeTanks** · Today, 08:40 PM

Originally Posted by GStanza

You cant subjectify the GHETTO! "OH SNAP! I live next to section-8!" LOL! That just doesn't sneak up on you one day... the fact is it was ALWAYS THERE, you just didn't notice it during 2005-2008is cause there was a housing bubble and you were more concerned with your 'home equity' and 'property value' rather than the ghetto you transplanted to.

Now that the bubble hath burst, there's ALOT of reality checks going on!

If people prioritized their environment over MONEY then they wouldn't complain about 'the one section 8 house on the block'...

sheeeiit -- the FIRST thing one should look at when moving someplace is the environment -- but nope, not the sheeple, to them the first thing they consider is $$$$$ ie how much is the house 'worth'... how cheap is the rent, how much will I make/save...etc...

What a jerk. I think G has a grudge because he's looking at his house price falling the same way a day trader saw his qualcomm stock putting him in the pooper.

Last I heard, you could have bought the nicest house in the nicest neighborhood and end up with lousy neighbors moving in at some point. That includes section 8, there is no restriction on neighborhood. We all fight some quality of life issues living in a population dense city.

Maybe G should find a nice island somewhere where he can be supreme ruler and make up his own rules about how everyone in his general vicinity should behave. Now that the bubble hath burst I'm sure you can get some spectacular deals on 50M+ properties where the included staff will deal with any problems that might arise.

Slummin'

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Slumlord?

Slumlord?

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Saturday, February 25, 2012

Slumlord?

Slumlord?

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