Seeking: LONG TERM RENTAL HOME (not just "housing"): Single/Disabled/Adult in S Mpls (Uptown Preferred) - w/ S8 Voucher (Minneapolis: section 8)

[think.reciprocity]

Hello City-Date Family:

Many of the long time regulars on this site know "of me". Even if you don't agree w/ my politics I feel safe in "assuming" that you know me to be respectful, intelligent, considerate, & many other good things that contribute in a positive way.

I moved back to MN from CA in 2008 (my much talked about move outta Minneapolis) because of family crisis w/ my son & grandson & my need to be near them (break up between him & his long-term girlfriend & mother of his child as I was on my way to CA & ensuing chaos that comes w/ such - especially for those their age - now both 21 years old & doing MUCH BETTER).

This is now my 3rd year on a Section 8 Voucher that I received because I am a disabled adult. My first 1 year lease was with a very reputable mgmt company that owns large complexes in the suburbs. This city gurl moved to the 'burbs. It was like living in the worst neighborhood in the city - I KID YOU NOT.

Mgmt kept turning over. Used condoms, garbage left in the hallways, liquor bottles, cigarettes, trash everywhere. People urinating in the stairwells. From the immediate look outside these apartments looks like condos - screened in balconies & everything - HUGE kitchens. BUT - It was a nightmare!

I moved back into the city upon moving back to MN from CA & asked my old mgmt company (from prior to S8 - when I lived 2 blks off of Lake of the Isles) if they'd rent to me again & reduce their rent to meet S8 guidelines - which they did.

(I looked elsewhere first - as I wanted s/t more like home - to stay long term, to have my grandbaby visit, & to have a place for my very inactive Service Animal to have an opportunity to run & get some exercise - but this proved unsuccessful especially w/ the degree of energy it took to do all that searching while my health was not very stable.)

So, I moved to the place (I have a 1 bdrm voucher) I am in right now. I live in a nice area of Uptown Minneapolis. Lyndale Avenue is EXTREMELY LOUD - people often asked me, when I am on the phone, what this or that noise is - it varies from people passing on the sidewalk having a conversation to music in people's cars, etc. It's just a loud, busy, city street. I LOVE THE CITY - but this truly is a bit TOO loud for me.

My apartment bldg was build in '61 - it is BEAUTIFUL w/ a HUGE bedroom w/ LOTS of closet space. It is also apparently built out of sturdy tissue paper. I hear my neighbors sneeze & MORE. The man upstairs give me the full cursing commentary on every sporting event televised.

I LOVE AFRIKA - everything about it (yes, I realize how I spelled it) - EXCEPT for whatever the fish celebratory meal that my downstairs neighbors cook whenever all their family are coming over to enjoy some festivities - it is the kind of smell that penetrates your furniture, my hair, EVERYTHING - it sends me into immediate intractable migraine! It doesn't go away for days (the smell or the migraine). I mention this only because I believe we all only suffer this smell because of the quality of the building & ventilation. (again, beautiful building, but what's up w/ how it was built?)

We're a multi-cultural society - hell, I'm a multi-cultural individual who only happens to look completely lily-white... lol! I'm just kinda letting it all hang out here. Those same neighbors didn't quite appreciate my friendly neighbor version of "please, you can hear everything through the walls, floors, & ceilings, PLEASE at least try first to turn your bass off or way down - things are literally falling off my walls"... I ended up having to call the police MIDDAY after I resorted to pounding on the floor w/ the broom handle & they proceeded to continue to turn it up louder & louder.

(this all after MONTHS of this music/noise drama s/t's as early as 7am on a Saturday morning)

The police showed up (after much convincing on the phone - my telling the non-emergency dispatcher the situation & that I needed, according to the landlord, proof that it was unreasonable. I asked if they'd come out, tell me if I was being unreasonable & if so, I'd figure out on my own how I'd resolve it & not bother anyone else again)... then they arrived they said to me they had no idea how I dealt w/ it so calmly & rationally for so long - that they'd have gone crazy... As they noted the things shaking on the walls & the floor vibrating beneath their feet.

The above two dramas (football guy upstairs & music folks downstairs) are 90% better (as I wrote a lovely & well thought out letter to the man upstairs explaining things, quoting a few specific things he had said that I could only know if I was there in his apartment or if it was truly THAT loud. I acknowledged each of our needs to live peacefully & w/out trepidation in our own homes & gave him my number & email address to contact me if he'd like to talk further - I have panic disorder amongst other things - so another "knocking on the neighbors door" was not going to happen.

Well, then there was the young arguing, loud music playing, drug dealing, STABBING each other couple downstairs but not beneath me - we had the crime lab here. IT WAS CRAZY. They are just now gone.

We still have loony lady upstairs who's keyed my car to the tune of over $2000 (no, I have no proof, but the series of events would likely win me a judgment in conciliation court). I have assigned parking due to my disabilities - she's free to park anywhere in the lot she wants - she stays parked very near to me - until very recently - as close as she can get to make life all that more difficult on me.

I was warned when I moved in that the couple upstairs & across the hall had been having some trouble w/ her over their dogs (this is a pet building) - but that everything should be fine especially seeing as we don't even live on the same floor to run into one another.

She hates my WELL TRAINED SA who happens also to be a 45 pound Standard Poodle. Hates her. By association, hates me & anyone associated w/ me - including my 2 1/2 year old grandson.

She has run down 3 flights of stairs at almost 11pm (apparently watching out the window??!?!?) after SCREAMING at the top of her lungs at me, w/ my grandson (who I'd just gone to pick up because he was crying for me so badly), as I was getting my dog to potty before bed - IN THE ALLEY (as opposed to in the yard or on her car - as she keeps claiming)!

Her language - I cannot even repeat it. She cared not & told me so, that I had a small, hysterical child with me. I offered that she call 911 or the mgmt company if she had some sort of problem w/ me. Instead, that's when she flew down the stairs in a rage & got in my face & that of my grandbaby, blocked the door from us going in, & threatened our lives.

That was the first of something like 5 incidents w/ her. I've attempted neighbor mediation services. I've documented everything on my own & w/ a police call each time.

The mgmt, while I am grateful for them in many ways, refuses to act.

I have panic disorder w/ agoraphobia - funny, kinda, huh?

It's a bit of a mess & it would seem my best alternative is to find a new place to live. I had a provision written into my new lease (which started Aug 2009) that allows me to break my lease w/ no penalties if it is physician recommended.

I need HOME. I need stability. I need a place I can stay in long term & create a "gramma" (he calls me "Nyanya") environment. I am in a program through SSA trying to get re-training (as I was a mid/high level HR Pro before my injuries/accidents) to GET OFF OF Social Security! In order for this to truly be realistic, I need home to be safe & to be like home.

I'm not "truly" under any time constraints given my lease situation - I can move when I find something. I would love a first floor duplex or a single family home (both of which would likely require an owner who had their property paid off & isn't looking to rake in the cash - merely keep a phenomenal long term tenant in place). Fenced in yard? FABULOUS!!!

I am open to apartments, tri-plexs, double bungalows, four plexs - you get the idea.

Here's what I don't want though:

• Nosey neighbors who are always gossiping & in each other's business - including mine... I have insomnia & sometimes take my dog out at 3am - I am not going looking for a "drug fix".
• I rarely make any noise ('cept when my grandson is here & I don't want him to have to tiptoe as to not disturb anyone). I have "sensory overload" due to my brain injury - so lots of hustle & bustle are not going to be my thing - but I do like an occasional louder playing song (although I don't have a TV signal & I don't have a stereo & my computer speakers don't go very loud - I do want the option to "let loose" every now & again.
• I'd like the option of throwing a get together (in an atmosphere where giving my neighbors a "heads up" is realistic - in case it does happen to be louder than acceptable - which can happen s/t's - here, a party or get together would be utterly disturbing unless it was just a quite family dinner). Realistically, I don't have parties or get togethers - but I would like the option.
• My life is open, liberal, accepting, accommodating, & very multi-ethnic. I rarely have people over but will not tolerate innuendo that I am anything but a responsible neighbor, citizen, tenant - and expect the same of my visitors when they are here. Life happens, I could get upset at my son (when he is visiting) & raise my voice - but that does not have mean there is a domestic violence incident (cause if there EVER were - I'd be the first one to call the police - I do not tolerate this as part of my life).
• I don't want to live or walk on eggshells because I am "being watched" (I have lives in places like that) - I want the best to be expected of me & I can assure you I will always do my best to deliver on that expectation. I can also assure you that I will not always succeed but that I will always be willing to work peacefully through any "conflict".
• I want to be judged by the content of my own individual character. I do not want other tenants to know my business (what my disabilities are, that I am on Section 8, or anything - UNLESS I TELL THEM).
• When I am in my best health, I am a part of a hospitality group & will sometimes have guests stay over a night or two - I'm not interested in having the neighborhood secret service laying in wait - just looking for an opportunity to point out that someone was here for 49 hours rather than an allowable 48 (or whatever). I can guarantee you that no one who has not been informed by me that I have a Section 8 voucher would EVER have a slight inkling that I am a "Section 8 Tenant". I'm the one posting the signs reminding people to take the items out of the door jams that the prior drug dealers were inserting so that they could come & go as they pleased & so could their clientele. I'm an excellent citizen & neighbor & want to be treated as such. I like the idea that if s/t is disturbing you about a guest I may have that you ask me (either through a polite note under my door w/ a way for me to contact you or directly in a kind, considerate manner)
  

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Besides everything previously mentioned - I also offer:

• I come with a pretty impressive list of "letters of recommendation" - from a wide variety of people in our community & from across the country. I am as politically active as I am able to be & I am also extremely respectful of our individual right to freedom of speech/expression/and differing opinions. I have no need EVER to be a "right fighter". Peace is my mantra - of sorts.
• I have a perfect rental history & last I was told (back in June or so of last year) my credit score was 802.
• I do have a bankruptcy from '05, I believe - due to something like $200+ in medical bills from 2 nearly fatal car accidents & 3 insurance companies all refusing to pay the bills.
• I am looking for home. Peace. Quiet but not dictated quiet.
• "Community" would be a wonderful bonus! Neighbors knowing & interacting with neighbors - looking out for one another (as I did when I called 911 on the man trying to break in to the house next door to my apt bldg one night when I was out w/ my dog at about 1:30am - insomnia).

I'd really appreciate it if y'all could keep your eyes & ears open about anything available out there - especially in the Uptown vicinity (which is my favourite "energy" in the city). My son lives downtown & my grandbaby lives Midtown & I go to school @ MCTC - so the location is also perfect for those practical reasons.

Please contact me through City-Data privately if you have any info...

I figure if I could find my dear dear brother after 10 solid (and 20 total) years of searching, through none other than "CITY-DATA" - why can't I also find something far more simple like HOME?


Me... The Thinky Think.R