Section 8 Homes: How to Deal With Them?

[colin]

I wish there was a blog section just for discussion of Section 8 houses. We had 3 of them in our neighborhood and they just about destroyed it before 2 of the "families" (I use that term loosely) were arrested for various crimes and sent to prison.

What's maddening is the obsure,conflicting or outright misleading information we've gotten from the police, court system, social workers, Charlotte Housing Authority and the absentee landlord. One example: At a neighborhood association meeting the police firmly declared that a person convicted of a felony could no longer receive Section 8 funds. But when I talked to the compliance officer at the Charlotte Housing Authority, he was quick to point out that the SECTION 8 TENNANT HAD TO COMMIT THAT FELONY IN THE SAME NEIGHBORHOOD HE WAS LIVING IN BEFORE ANY ACTION COULD BE TAKEN AGAINST THEM.

The deck appears stacked against homeowners. Our tax money is being used against us, and it seems like the only way to deal with these tennants who constantly break the law with impunity is to break the law ourselves when dealing with them. There has got to be a better, more effective way than this.

[Guest]

I feel your pain.

I had a Section 8 nightmare next door to my townhouse in south Charlotte. The landlord is an absentee owner who bought the unit new, couldn't sell it, and turned it into a Section 8 rental. The tenants were finally busted for selling drugs out of the residence, and, I presume, were forced to move.

After that nightmare, I tried to figure out if there is a system that maps the location of Section 8 rentals. I wondered if other such units exist nearby. Of course there isn't such a mapping system, because CHA doesn't want such a system. They want their tenants to be anonymous.

Owning property in a nice area is no guarantee that the "hood" won't come to you.

[jebemt]

Section 8... such Fun housing... I am in Sedgefield and have a section 8 property right beside of me. It is Easy Money for the owner/landlord. I am for section 8 mostly, but it needs to be limited or controlled or something. The police do not care about it. Or much else for that matter. I am amazed at how things are done here in Charlotte. Section 8 is typical government, no answers and no one cares about anything.

[Freddy]

Although, I understand the concern for not wanting section 8, it is a needed system and probably will be needed more in the next few years. It is becoming more apparent to me lately that the polarity between "rich and poor" is becoming very wide. Not everyone can afford to have a 500k house in south charlotte. Even with a college degree, nothing is a guarantee anymore. Most people coming out of college are making <25k. In 50 years, China will have our place in the global economy and we will be downgraded to a second rate economy because of this ever increasing ga between the haves and the have nots.

[RMU]

To say there will be an increased need for Section 8 is undoubtedly the truth, but I think that rather than encouraging it we need to focus on how it can be avoided in the long run. I am having a tough time thinking of anyone I know who is just out of college and making less than $25,000 per year, but then again I work in the business world so maybe my perspective is off. I just hate to see such a dim perspective on a college education because from my point of view education is the only hope we have for diminishing the gap between rich and poor. Even if college is not in every person's fate, there are other ways we can prepare people to make it in the world without Section 8. For example, there is a public high school in the Raleigh area where a two year degree is paired up with the high school diploma. Its progressive and not at all traditional, but the times are changing and we must adapt accordingly. Poor parenting is the main problem behind repeat generation welfare living, but if at some point in time education could over-power lousy parenting for the majority then we might eventually end up with a more proud and productive class of people. I do not think it helps at all to keep adding Section 8 housing.

[Say No To Section 8]

Although I'd love to live in a $500k home in south Charlotte, I can't afford one. That doesn't mean, however, that I feel I am entitled to have the government put me in one, just because I want one and can't afford that lifestyle. I'd like to drive a better car, too.

When the the entitlement mentality runs its full course, you end up with programs like Section 8 housing.

Section 8 is unfair because:

1) Section 8 tenants have no vested interest in the property they inhabit, and therefore no vested interest in its upkeep;

2) The Section 8 program places an unfair burden on neighboring property owners;

3) It often puts individuals with little or no knowledge of home maintenance into often remotely located properties;

4) It perpetuates a cycle of dependency where a victim/tenant is sustained by the government;

5) Many landlords see Section 8 as a last resort option, and let the properties fall into disrepair; and

6) So many of the landlords are absentee, so the properties become eyesores.

[NATE]

RMU said:

To say there will be an increased need for Section 8 is undoubtedly the truth, but I think that rather than encouraging it we need to focus on how it can be avoided in the long run. I am having a tough time thinking of anyone I know who is just out of college and making less than $25,000 per year, but then again I work in the business world so maybe my perspective is off. I just hate to see such a dim perspective on a college education because from my point of view education is the only hope we have for diminishing the gap between rich and poor. Even if college is not in every person's fate, there are other ways we can prepare people to make it in the world without Section 8. For example, there is a public high school in the Raleigh area where a two year degree is paired up with the high school diploma. Its progressive and not at all traditional, but the times are changing and we must adapt accordingly. Poor parenting is the main problem behind repeat generation welfare living, but if at some point in time education could over-power lousy parenting for the majority then we might eventually end up with a more proud and productive class of people. I do not think it helps at all to keep adding Section 8 housing.

I graduated from UNCC in May 2006 with a BS in Accounting and I know several others with the same degree that were offered nothing better than 25k

[truth]

Welcome to the REAL WORLD. It takes work and experience to make more money. But do you need Government Housing?

[RMU]

Hang in there Nate. I hate to hear that you're having a tough time. Along with the degree takes experience and networking. I am an accounting major not done with my degree yet, but I make twice that much due to experience and major networking efforts on my part. Off the subject of the original message in this post, but here's some advice... UNCC has a great career center for alumni and current students. You should utilize it and attend the career fairs and such. Good luck!

[george]

As it turns out the two officers killed over the weekend were responding to a call at a Section 8 apartment complex (Timber Ridge).

I wonder what percentage of all calls for service come from Section 8 housing units.