Topic: Please take a minute to read this. I work in affordable housing, my waitlist is LONG

Please take a minute to read this. I work in affordable housing, my waitlist is LONG ~~ maybe a year wait! When we work in our field, in Multifamily, we are providing more than an apartment ~~ it is a home. We never truly know what others are going through! Be kind, be compassionate.
   
   

This is the entire premise of the book Evicted and I think everyone should read it.

Happens more than we know ?

While I agree we need better resources for those in need, a few other things also apply besides better access to affordable housing.
Judges rarely evict single moms for temporary setbacks. Sadly, once the falling behind hole is dug, it is almost impossible to catch up. What is the allowed delinquency ? 3,6,9 months ?
I've seen multiple families in 2 and 3 and 4 br homes. Two single moms sharing expenses. Two mom/dad plus kids sharing expenses.
Reduce the # of single mom events. Sorry. It has to be said.
Finish high school. Learn a trade. Gain skills which are value added and rewarded. Again. Sorry. Cashier, floor stocker entey level jobs were never expected to be primary bread winner positions.

Bottomline….be compassionate, openminded and patient. Everyone has a story, struggles, generational traumas, etc. Help where you can. Be genuine and kind.

And we can be a great resource for anyone who comes into our offices. I had to create a resource brochure for older adults at my other job. I keep those and a local housing list on hand along with food resources. We can't make referrals but we can provide resource information particularly for those people whom we may not be able to serve at our sites.

Hey Gerry Hunt, In my 45-Years at Apartment Operations, Evictions were the absolute toughest part for me, as once we had the Writ in hand, the contact from the bailiff was just a couple days away. I did make it a point to personally knock on doors, and speak directly to the Resident being evicted, 100% of the time, so that they knew, The bailiff was coming, and they would be locked out with their belongings on the street. At least that gave them a couple days to react. As a course of business, we never did "Payment Terms", Rent was due on the 1st & late on the 2nd, 7-Day Notices went out on the 5th, and Evictions typically occurred within 45 days. That said, some Residents, many that were being evicted are clueless, mostly because they bury their head in the sand. I will also say, many Evictions are the fault of the management company for poor oversight of the Approval Process as a short term gain for physical occupancy, completely ignoring Economic Occupancy. We clearly have an economic crisis in this country, many folks simply do not have enough income to cover basic needs, Basic Housing Needs are ignored, and are becoming a luxury of the Rich,.........

While this is true we must remember it's called survival of the fittest. That's when you get a second job or work your ass off to move up etc. Been there done that.

I’m in Denver with a property that has a 6 figure delinquency. I have never seen so many people abuse the system like I am now. The same people get $5-20k for months worth of back due rent in rental assistance only to immediately default the very first month again and just repeat the same cycle. The general public wants to gripe about food stamp or SNAP usage while I watch the same lazy entitled destructive people syphon tens of thousands in rental assistance because they don’t want to work. So many of these people have point blank asked me to my face to file eviction on them so they can collect the money from assistance. Denver ran out of funds in October, over $30 million worth. I try to keep a positive thought towards the people who genuinely need it. But the abuse of our support systems is rampant.

Thank you ms gerry. I needed to read that today

I agree, it's really sad, it's hard to make it in the real world when you have kids no child support, no one to help you. When you have been in this business for a long time, you have that one person that messes it up. You hear every excuse in the world that's not true. Then you have that one person that does everything they are supposed to do, and they get that $600.00 light bill. Working with HUD Sec 8, affordable. You do for one you have to do for everyone. So you can not help, or give extra time to get it back on.

You want affordable housing, look at your balance sheet and see where cities can help. Taxes, Utilities, Insurance, Pay Roll, Loan Guarantees. There’s lots our elected officials could do, but don’t - because you Mr. Owner are one vote and for the most part, renters generally don’t turn out for elections. So we offer little benefit, and the neighbors who do vote don’t like apartments.
At the end of the day, we have to operate a business. Most of us are compassionate, no one wants to put a single mom or a family out on the street. But this is a two-way street.
Rule No. 01 for my residents - Call me when a life changing event occurs (loss of employment, job change, divorce, death). I will gladly work with you to keep you in your home and or help you locate new housing. Some follow that rule, and it always seems to work out. Those that don’t, think I’m just some greedy bastard, trash my buildings because of their own despair - out you go.

I actually agree with you Chris. It takes a lot to get all the way to the point of being in front of a judge. What did the tenant do in the meantime when they realized that they couldn't pay for the high bill? There are ways to work with the electric company before it gets shut off. There are community services that can help you cover high utility bills. Hell, contact the landlord and say what is going on and see if there is something that can be done before the utilities get shut off. Not after the fact. At the end of the day, if the tenant can't fulfill their obligation to pay the rent and keep the utilities from being shut off, then they need to leave at the move-out date. If they don't, they are now stealing from their landlord. They should be evicted. Am I just a greedy bastard? Nope! I am running a business.....and have experienced homelessness, mental health issues, job loss, being a single mom, etc. When I lost my income, I moved into a shelter and got help from the right resources. There are empty beds as we speak across the US, I promise you. Not in every city and you might have to find them in other areas, but having a roof over your head should be top priority before all else. This is an an adulting issue for the tenant, not a greedy landlord issue. Lets have some perspective.

Could not agree more on learning a trade and moving on from entry level jobs.