This is a rather unfocused rant, as I’m still digesting the information and wondering what to do.
We live in an attached home which shares one wall – with the only below market rate (BMR) home in our neighborhood. For four years we had a great neighbor - a single mom with a handicapped son. She moved out a month ago, and she told us that the city’s department of housing had approved another single mom with a young adult daughter to move in next.
Well, a mom and daughter moved in as promised, but also the mom’s gangster-y boyfriend, another unidentified adult woman, and this woman’s two year old child. They have rapidly proved to be the much-dreaded Neighbors From Hell, what with blasting their stereo at all hours, parking junker cars that block the sidewalk and protrude into the street, entertaining an endless stream of creepy guests who look like they just got out of jail that day, etc.
It occurred to us that if they lied to the department of housing about the number of residents and how much money the household pulled in, they would be over the amount necessary to qualify for a BMR home. So I called the housing department, and was told that they don’t care how much money the residents make AFTER they move in. WTF? So this means anyone, under false pretenses, can purchase a home through them at about 1/4 the price of surrounding homes, and immediately start a boarding house and the department of housing doesn’t give a damn!
Does anybody have any insight about our options? BMR housing is there to help people get a leg up, not to encourage this kind of situation! In the meantime, we’re trying to get our HOA involved, as they are quite strict and want to keep the neighborhood safe for the numerous children here.
Damn damn damn damn damn. I HATE this! Why do we seem to be magnets for Hell Neighbors?
Have you tried contacting the newspapers, TV news stations, radio stations, etc. in your area? These media outlets salivate at this kind of story, if there’s a chance they can catch a government agency violating rules. Good luck.
Good idea, medstar. I just clicked off an e-mail to a reporter in our local rag. I just hope that they don’t take it up and play it from the other angle - “How BMR housing helped us into a snooty neighborhood: how to blow off all the rules, piss everyone off and beat the system!”
Another thing about this that pisses me off: this prevents a truly needy single mom or lower income couple from getting help in owning a home.
Man, abuse of the system pisses me off. Have you contacted your local political hacks? Maybe they can make the Dept. of Housing (aptly put as D’oh!) listen more atently.
Pugluvr-Do you know if it’s HUD subsidized? Sounds like it might be. Contact your county HUD office of County Housing Authority. First make a verbal contact, follow up in writing making note of how many unauthorized people are staying there (physically describe them, basically list all of the shenanigans going on over there. If it takes 10 letters and calls to get results, do it! You can do so anonymously. Keep calling and writing until someone takes action! You have a right to live peacefully and not be aggravated in your own neighborhood!
You should take a giant plus sign “+” and burn it on their lawn to indicate that they have too many occupants. “This place is over capacity!”. You should do so while wearing white robes and hoods to indicate that you are clean and have good hygene and therefore should be listened too. Also should at them in a Southern accent, because people from the South are friendly.
I’m glad it’s working out for you. When the housing department’s head starts getting unwanted publicity from the local media, that’s probably when the workers will spring a “surprise” inspection, something they should have done earlier.
I also didn’t see any explicit indication that the new neighbors were of a persuasion for whom an interesection of two burning lines would be an especially potent form of intimidation, although such an item should be intimidating to anyone.
Um, I think you may have overestimated the earning power of these…inhabitants. Also, the grungy boyfriend and other housemate could have been unforseen by the single mom when she applied. I mean, it could be a new boyfriend or one that lost his residence just before she moved in. Dittto for the housemate. Maybe the three of them put together can only bring home enough to barely cover the bills?
You know, anything’s possible.
An ex-friend was busted for welfare fraud for doing something like this, applying for government subsidised housing, saying she was a single mom, and then moving her boyfrind in. I know they were forced to move, I believe they had to pay a fine as well.