Who knows what it was about this time. Once again, sirens. This time an officer bolting out of his vehicle running and stopping with his gun drawn on the subject. The subject kept running. Perhaps it is was the cold weather, the overweight cop and the winded stoned subject, but after the initial weapon draw, the rest was in slow motion. The subject still running. The officer still chasing. Both in s l o w m o t i o n.
Nick said that the subject they caught was a stoner that comes into Walgreens all the time. (For munchies?) I spoke with an officer and found out they were still searching for another subject. I got on the phone and called the neighborhood into action. Nancy down the street slowly said she should lock her doors. (Should I call her every evening? She should regardless.) Richard further down said that he would keep an eye out and that I should be careful because I could be a target. Note to self: start turning down the media. must lower profile. do the limbo...
NOT speaking of which, I sent a letter to the editor of the Argus regarding their editorial, Plan to Help Neighborhood Needs Fixing of its Own. They stated that the city is throwing these poor low income housing people into the streets by their plans to "redevelop" the area. (Why is gentrification-an otherwise beautiful word-getting such a negative connotation?)
Okay, first of all, the properties the city is speaking of are the run down ones. Most of the housing in the problem area is single-family dwellings converted into multiple units shared by the tenants and their multiple friends and family members. (I think we are getting into exponents now) Initially, I believe that these conversions were allowed to happen in the depression era when homeless people created a market for those with larger houses that needed money. After prosperity returned, the owners could sell these "apartment houses" and buy another single family home or rent out the bottom floor as well. Over time, the practice was grandfathered and not monitored.
When they were inspecting these units, the sheriff's dept. assisted in removing in some up to 30 people that were not on the lease for a single unit. The toilets and sinks were plugged and they were using the back alley as a bathroom. Filth galore.
With the exception of our prosperous drug houses, the tenants are transient. They tend to live in a unit until they are evicted. I have seen it cycle many times. You can surely count the months from occupation to eviction and they are about the same every time. One landlord-couple graciously took me into an apartment where the people had just ditched without paying rent. They left a mess. They left so many things that you would think a person would grab at least on the way out. They left a beautiful couch, a bed, lamps, cough medicine, shoes, clothes, vegetable oil. I asked the landlords if they were sure the tenants were gone, and they said that this is what they are left with all the time. She looked over at him and said, now we can rent it as a furnished apartment. I guess despite the mess they had, they were making the best of it...
I asked them if I could give their names to the press for an interview and they declined. They are an older couple. They rented properties for years. They were the old kind of landlord that cared about the properties and their tenants. They sold their properties to a Columbian man who moved up here and began his history in the rental property business. He fixed up some of the properties quite nicely - in fact, the one that he showed me was redone with ceramic tile throughout!! It was gorgeous! But it seemed that this man wasn't up to the task. He could fix them out nicely, but rented to friends and others who said they could pay him later. No problem. They wouldn't pay. They left. He lost. He lost every property he purchased. But, the loss doesn't end there.
This older couple who sold him the properties purchases some land down south and had a beautiful house. (It was 100 degrees out when I was talking to them and they were working like folks half their age) Tears welled up in their eyes as they said they had to come out of retirement to once again go back to work on these properties. I think they sold them to the Columbian contract for deed. They had reclaimed all but two of the original properties when I spoke with them and were still to go to court for the rest. They were supposed to retire and live a better life, just taking care of their disabled daughter and enjoying their peace. Instead, these properties came back at them with a vengeance and they are starting all over again. They didn't know if they were going to have to sell their retirement property or not. I was in tears when I was done speaking with them, but am a better person for having done so.
Cindy, and old friend of mine, and her husband, purchased an older multi-family house in the neighborhood. I was looking up slumlord information and was surprised to see that she was the owner of this one. I called her after I overcame my shock and asked her about it. She said that she purchased the property from this Columbian guy who made so so many promises. She liked older homes and had dreams of renting 3 or 4 of the units while fixing up 1 or 2 of the others. Unfortunately, she and her husband were in for the ride of their life. They both work full time and spent so much time over at the property fixing things the tenants broke. She went into one unit where a tenant complained that he had a broken window. He was standing there ordering her to fix the broken one while his kid was beating on another one. She told him he would have to have his kid stop breaking them first. They battled tenants in court and ended up losing if not the case, by the legal costs. Some tenants play games with the system. Finally they ended up giving the house back to the bank.
BTW, anyone who wants to buy any of the gorgeous houses in this area that were rentals, I will tip you off that if they are for sale, they are most likely foreclosed on and available for a song. It would be a good investment as long as we are committed to a positive change here - I am.
Off to bed. It's late. I have to put my soapbox away and brush my teeth.
