Can anyone help?

Sorry but there is nothing you can do short of buying the house yourself.

You can go to the Lauderdale County personal property tax link and enter the address of the house and find out all kinds of things, like who the current owner is and when the house was last sold.

What a shame, but thank you

My street does not even come up on that website?

Oh, try putting in the first few letters instead of the whole street name and scroll til you find it. Don't out in the street number. You can find it listed after you find the street. I had the same problem finding my street to begin with.

If the renters are causing so many problems then then it is probably a big headache for the landlord too. If the majority of your neighborhood feel the same way about the house you might try pooling together and making an offer on the house and try to resell it to someone that would fix the place up and make a good neighbor. Another option might be to remove the house and make a neighborhood park.
I once for a very, very brief time tried my hand at renting out houses and quickly found it was not a business I wanted any part of. If police are being called and the outside appears in disrepair then the tenants are probably trashing the inside so the owner might very well wish to unload the property at a reasonable price.

Once you find the landlord, you and your neighbors could get together and ask him to take it off section 8. There aren't nearly enough rentals available in this area and I'm sure he could find a renter who doesn't need to be on that program. Is it a bigger house or a smaller house? If it's a bigger house, there is a high demand for them. Most people need more than two bedrooms and more than one bathroom.

It is a smaller house, my guess is 2-3 bedrooms with 1-2 baths. (Basing it on the size of mine and other houses on the street.) There is also a converted garage apartment behind it.

Oh, THANK YOU for the help on the website--I now have an owner name!

If the landlord/owner is Tim Rhodes-as in Tim Rhodes Electric-you are screwed. I live in one of his apartment complexes and getting them to do ANYTHING is next to impossible. They are only interested in one thing...MONEY.

You and all your neighbors should file complaints with section 8. People on this program must adhere to certain guidelines or they lose their section 8 status.

Please let us know if you get anything done. We have 3 section 8 houses in my neighborhood - two of them have had very nice tenants -however, one house is HORRIBLE. A woman lives there with her nine (yes, 9!!) kids and they cause all kinds of problems in the neighborhood. She has several boyfriends who are always getting into fights and beating each other and sometimes her and her children. The police are over there regularly. Big pieces of sheetrock are thrown out on the curb regularly - I'm surprised if there are any interior walls left intact.

I've been told that section 8 is appealing to owners because they get more rent than the house would normally go for without assistance. Maybe someone on here can explain how it works.

quote:

Originally posted by lynnblount:
Please let us know if you get anything done. We have 3 section 8 houses in my neighborhood - two of them have had very nice tenants -however, one house is HORRIBLE. A woman lives there with her nine (yes, 9!!) kids and they cause all kinds of problems in the neighborhood. She has several boyfriends who are always getting into fights and beating each other and sometimes her and her children. The police are over there regularly. Big pieces of sheetrock are thrown out on the curb regularly - I'm surprised if there are any interior walls left intact.

I've been told that section 8 is appealing to owners because they get more rent than the house would normally go for without assistance. Maybe someone on here can explain how it works.

Sounds like a terrible place to have to live. Must suck livin in the ghetto.

Section 8 properties are subject to property inspections and have a relatively tight set of rules to comply with. Some of these rules have to do with lead paint and other safety issues.

A property can be ruled ineligible for the section 8 program if these are not met/maintained.

This 20 page HUD form is not an easy read, but does list the property specs in detail.

This is gonna get long, but I will list some:

Windows and Doorways

* You must be able to access and maintain your rental property without trespassing

* The windows must not be damaged or missing

* All ground floor windows must come with locks

* All windows must have screens or curtains

* All doors leading to outside must come with locks and deadbolts

Flooring, Ceilings and Walls

* The flooring, walls and ceilings must not have any serious defects such as serious bulging, sagging, large cracks, loose surface or other major damages

* The flooring must not have any serious damages and cracks that will cause someone to trip and fall

* The ceiling and roof must not have any leaks. Stained ceilings are often a tell tale sign of leakage

* The paint on the inside walls of your rental property must not be peeled or chipped


Plumbing and Sanitation

* Your rental property has to contain a fixed water basin, flushing toilet and shower / bath tub

* There must be no plumbing and water leaks

* There has to be hot and cold running water in both the bathroom and kitchen

* The bathroom must have either a window or exhaust fan

Lighting and Electrical Fixtures

* There has to be at least 1 working light each in the kitchen and bathroom

* All electrical outlets has to be working and equipped with cover plates

* There must be a working heating system for your rental property

Structural and Fire Safety

* There must be a working smoke detector for every rental unit and on every story of your property

* If there are any stairs and railings, they must be secure



You should be able to have a field day with this.

quote:

Originally posted by shadowofcapote:
My question is……can a neighborhood petition to have a house removed from Section 8 qualification? I have attempted to research the answer myself, but, to no avail. I worry about the effect of the resale value and worth of my home because of this one “bad seed”. Is it possible for a house to have this effect?

I feel as though I should not have to be scared in my own home, for either the safety of myself or the safety of my neighbors. Can anyone help me with this?

Petition to remove the poor people from your neighborhood? Scared because poor people live nearby. Maybe you should get a better job so you can live in a more expensive neighborhood. Then you won't have to worry about the poor people down the street scaring you and making your property value go down.

There is a certain "lady" that owns a good many Section 8 rentals in the North Florence/7 Points area and, take my word for it, she has ruined many a neighborhood. She doesn't care who she rents to: thugs with Pit Bulls chained all over the yard, drug dealers with cars coming and going at all hours, single moms with 6 kids and abusive, drunken boyfriends, and other assorted riffraff.

She is making a fortune. Why? She can charge 700 a month for a two bedroom, one bath crackerbox. Her tenents pay 75 a month rent while the government, excuse me, the taxpayers - you and me- pay the other 625. So what if the place is trashed? After one batch of tenents move on, the government pays her the money to fix the house up again to rent to another batch of lowlifes. It's the biggest scam in the world. And all I know is most of us in the neighborhood are afraid to even walk past some of these homes.

One thing you may try is to get a petition up in the neighborhood and take it to the owner. It might help and then again, he/she might laugh in your face.

I was hired by a slum lord in that area who sent me to what looked like a section 8 property. I had to walk away from it because I couldn't attach my name to the sorry work that was left by the unlicensed person who installed the system. I offered to fix the installation problem but she would not agree to pay for legitimate work!

quote:

Originally posted by Moose:

quote:

Originally posted by shadowofcapote:
My question is……can a neighborhood petition to have a house removed from Section 8 qualification? I have attempted to research the answer myself, but, to no avail. I worry about the effect of the resale value and worth of my home because of this one “bad seed”. Is it possible for a house to have this effect?

I feel as though I should not have to be scared in my own home, for either the safety of myself or the safety of my neighbors. Can anyone help me with this?

Petition to remove the poor people from your neighborhood? Scared because poor people live nearby. Maybe you should get a better job so you can live in a more expensive neighborhood. Then you won't have to worry about the poor people down the street scaring you and making your property value go down.

Are you saying that all poor people trash their houses and create enough ruckus for the police to have to be called on a regular basis, because the OP sure didn't.

Moose, you have "somehow" managed to completely misinterpret my question. Please don't mix words--they are right there for you (and everyone else) to read. Thank you.

Moose = troll. Pay it no mind and it'll go away. No one thought that's what you were saying, shadow.

quote:

Originally posted by Maynard J. Keenan:

quote:

Originally posted by lynnblount:
Please let us know if you get anything done. We have 3 section 8 houses in my neighborhood - two of them have had very nice tenants -however, one house is HORRIBLE. A woman lives there with her nine (yes, 9!!) kids and they cause all kinds of problems in the neighborhood. She has several boyfriends who are always getting into fights and beating each other and sometimes her and her children. The police are over there regularly. Big pieces of sheetrock are thrown out on the curb regularly - I'm surprised if there are any interior walls left intact.

I've been told that section 8 is appealing to owners because they get more rent than the house would normally go for without assistance. Maybe someone on here can explain how it works.

Sounds like a terrible place to have to live. Must suck livin in the ghetto.

Why did you write the ghetto comment (above) in the color white so it wouldn't show in your original post? I didn't notice it until I clicked on the quote icon - haven't known you to be so shy or coy with your remarks, Maynard. (For the other forum members, you'll have to look closely at the pale white print that follows the sentence "Sounds like a terrible place to live'. Look closely, it's hard to see.)

BTW, just because a neighborhood has a couple of section 8 houses in it doesn't mean it's a ghetto, or a terrible place to live. Two of the section 8 homes in my 'hood' are very well kept houses with very nice tenants. You're assuming that because a neighborhood has some people in it that qualify for section 8 that the entire neighborhood is a ghetto. My neighborhood has one bad apple - who just happens to be a section 8 tenant - but that doesn't make the whole neighborhood bad. I don't "have to" live where I do - I choose to stay here because it is a great family -oriented neighborhood - very peaceful (with the exception of the one house) - and thankfully, my house will be paid for in full in only 5 years (yay!!)

I have many close friends who live in some of the wealthier neighborhoods in the area and several of them have to deal with some horribly crappy neighbors, too. Jerks cross all socioeconomic barriers.

Ooooh, secret handwriting, eh? Now I guess we're going to have to go look at the rest of Maynards posts! I never knew you could do that.

if the neighbors cause drama and have the cops called out on a regular basis , then i would call the cops on them everyday till they are arrested for violating your neighborly rights

quote:

Originally posted by shadowofcapote:
I live on a clean, quiet street in the Florence city limits. Well, that was until one of the houses was sold, re-bought, and classified as Section 8. With each new tenant, they seem to leave the house in deeper disrepair than the last. The local police are normally called to the house several times during a tenant’s stay-for various reasons. (With the majority being for violence, domestic disturbance, and abuse.) I have inquired about the actual owner of the home, but have not been able to find out that information. The only “silver-lining in the cloud” is that no one seems to stay there for more than 3-5 months at a time before they split. Unfortunately, I have learned not to get my hopes up about anyone responsible moving in--the same story just plays itself out again--over and over.

My question is……can a neighborhood petition to have a house removed from Section 8 qualification? I have attempted to research the answer myself, but, to no avail. I worry about the effect of the resale value and worth of my home because of this one “bad seed”. Is it possible for a house to have this effect?

I feel as though I should not have to be scared in my own home, for either the safety of myself or the safety of my neighbors. Can anyone help me with this?

You have three options:

1) Move to a neighborhood that has strict zoning laws. You know, the type of neighborhood where one must get permission to so much build a utility shed.

2) Move to a place far far away from other people.

3) Stay where you are and start minding your own business.

Don't blame everyone else for your decision to move to a neighborhood that does not have strict ordinances. I wish I could live in a mansion in Beverly Hills where I could have pool parties with a bunch of Playboy models. Unfortunately, since I am poor, I must put up with looking out my window and seeing my fat and pasty neighbor out there with his shirt off.

quote:

Originally posted by Moose:

quote:

Originally posted by shadowofcapote:
My question is……can a neighborhood petition to have a house removed from Section 8 qualification? I have attempted to research the answer myself, but, to no avail. I worry about the effect of the resale value and worth of my home because of this one “bad seed”. Is it possible for a house to have this effect?

I feel as though I should not have to be scared in my own home, for either the safety of myself or the safety of my neighbors. Can anyone help me with this?

Petition to remove the poor people from your neighborhood? Scared because poor people live nearby. Maybe you should get a better job so you can live in a more expensive neighborhood. Then you won't have to worry about the poor people down the street scaring you and making your property value go down.

You say "Moose, you have "somehow" managed to completely misinterpret my question. Please don't mix words--they are right there for you (and everyone else) to read. Thank you."

But sir, you said in the first post: My question is……can a neighborhood petition to have a house removed from Section 8 qualification?
That is petitioning to remove poor people from your neighborhood. Else where do you think they will live? Somewhere else? Well, then that is not in your neighborhood, now is it?

Then you said:
I feel as though I should not have to be scared in my own home, for either the safety of myself or the safety of my neighbors.
You stated that you are scared of the poor people, living in Section 8, nearby.

How do you imagine that I could have misinterpreted your words? I did not. You simply do not like the fact that I called you out on being prejudice against people that you deem to be in a lower socioeconomic bracket than you. If you look in the mirror, and outside your front door, you will see that you and they are no different. I am sure that is upsetting to you, and I am sorry that it bothers you.