Wow. Why are there so many boarded up row houses ?? (Baltimore: neighborhoods, tax)

[gps29070]

The problem with redoing vacant properties also lay with house insurance. There isn't a company who will insure a row home where the house next to it is vacant and if there is one vacant house on your block, your premiums are tripled if not more.

Baltimore's rowhouse problem started to happen in the 50s with a practice called blockbusting. Google the term. Basically greedy land investors would overpay for a single house in a white neighborhood, move blacks into it, which then caused the entire block of sell off within months due to fear for only a fraction of the value. Then the real investors would either resell them to blacks at predatory terms or if simply rent them out at high prices without any maintenance. Whites and blacks got ripped off bad. Hustlers made billions.

Another plight is real estate investors will buy vacant houses for almost nothing, then "flip" them using depreciation tactics on income taxes without doing any actual work on the house.

A lot of the rowhomes built for working families (West Baltimore) were built of brick but very cheaply built everywhere else with no steel support beam. That means the floors would eventually buckle due to the cheap wood but the first thing to go was the roof.

Also downsides of owning a rowhome. Who is responisble for the maintenance of the shared firewall between homes? Then there are parking issues, houses were built before people had cars, so you have 10 foot wide rowhomes with people driving 20 foot cars. If you go into gentrified areas of Baltimore rowhouses, you will discover parking is a real put off. Barking dogs at night, poorly lit alley ways, etc and you get the idea.

http://www.slumlordwatch.com/ shows how people make money off selling these abandoned homes.

[Infinite_heights77]

Its a great city with great people

Yeah, whatever?!! LOL!

Originally Posted by Popfizz

Its a great city with great people . What most stood out to me was the number of vacant, boarded up row homes thru out the city. I have seen abandoned homes but never so many , all next to each other in such large numbers. I saw very few ones that were rehabbed.

When did this all happen ?

There were whole blocks deserted with one or 2 homes with tenants (how must they feel?) and the rest boarded up. Only to see an alley way with more covered doors. People walking , hanging out or just "gettin' money"

There is absolutley nothing for toddlers or little kids to do. They hang out in the corners like they see the adults do.

How would this area change if there is little to no commerce in these neighborhoods ? There is no activity but barbershops, liquor store, chinese food joints, corner stores ? Orleans ave. , west baltimore

The people in these areas are also pretty cool individuals ( not everyone duh).

How much would one or block or rowhouses cost to buy ??? Would this area change eventually?

Its kinda sad because many of these kids are having kids which continue the cycle of poverty. Does the local gvt care about this or trying to do something about this ??

[Infinite_heights77]

This is what I mean....everyone was really nice and not rude or mad.

*Interesting, the perspective is that of a white Latino, not a darker skinned Dominican or Boriqua. "Nice and not rude" does not quantify a people being GREAT or doing GREAT things. Baltimore has many mad and rude characters, you've have lived in the city long enough to experience this as of yet. And, I'm not someone who buys into this stereotype that New Yorkers are ALL rude, mad and bat s*^t crazy (some of ya'll are), but that is too be expected with a city with a population of 8.5 millions.

Originally Posted by Popfizz

I went to get crabs in Orleans St. area and walked in to a liquor store to the ATM. I couldn't find it and one guy told me it didn't work but told me there is one around the corner. AS i was very scared and walked across the street aimlessly ( I didn't see the hidden store) he came and showed where it was.

When i bought the crabs , the lady kept smiling at me and saying that I reminded her of her grandkids and we started a conversation.

As I was waiting for the crabs, a young black couple came in and were asking me where did I get my new jordans that are "so hot" . I told them I am from NYC and my friend is a sneaker seller and if they want I can tell him to ship it to them for free. I gave them the info and 3 days later they bought a pair.


This is what I mean....everyone was really nice and not rude or mad. It helps to be open minded.

Keep in mind I am latino and do not look black in any way so I did stand out

[Infinite_heights77]

How well do you know Baltimore's history?

Originally Posted by gps29070

The problem with redoing vacant properties also lay with house insurance. There isn't a company who will insure a row home where the house next to it is vacant and if there is one vacant house on your block, your premiums are tripled if not more.

Baltimore's rowhouse problem started to happen in the 50s with a practice called blockbusting. Google the term. Basically greedy land investors would overpay for a single house in a white neighborhood, move blacks into it, which then caused the entire block of sell off within months due to fear for only a fraction of the value. Then the real investors would either resell them to blacks at predatory terms or if simply rent them out at high prices without any maintenance. Whites and blacks got ripped off bad. Hustlers made billions.

Another plight is real estate investors will buy vacant houses for almost nothing, then "flip" them using depreciation tactics on income taxes without doing any actual work on the house.

A lot of the rowhomes built for working families (West Baltimore) were built of brick but very cheaply built everywhere else with no steel support beam. That means the floors would eventually buckle due to the cheap wood but the first thing to go was the roof.

Also downsides of owning a rowhome. Who is responisble for the maintenance of the shared firewall between homes? Then there are parking issues, houses were built before people had cars, so you have 10 foot wide rowhomes with people driving 20 foot cars. If you go into gentrified areas of Baltimore rowhouses, you will discover parking is a real put off. Barking dogs at night, poorly lit alley ways, etc and you get the idea.

http://www.slumlordwatch.com/ shows how people make money off selling these abandoned homes.

[Alex1484]

I will say from a financial stand point, property taxes are a real killer for Baltimore. The equivalent home in DC or even other cities would be significantly less in property taxes.

[Woodlands]

Duplicate

[Woodlands]

Originally Posted by gps29070

The problem with redoing vacant properties also lay with house insurance. There isn't a company who will insure a row home where the house next to it is vacant and if there is one vacant house on your block, your premiums are tripled if not more.

Baltimore's rowhouse problem started to happen in the 50s with a practice called blockbusting. Google the term. Basically greedy land investors would overpay for a single house in a white neighborhood, move blacks into it, which then caused the entire block of sell off within months due to fear for only a fraction of the value. Then the real investors would either resell them to blacks at predatory terms or if simply rent them out at high prices without any maintenance. Whites and blacks got ripped off bad. Hustlers made billions.

Another plight is real estate investors will buy vacant houses for almost nothing, then "flip" them using depreciation tactics on income taxes without doing any actual work on the house.

A lot of the rowhomes built for working families (West Baltimore) were built of brick but very cheaply built everywhere else with no steel support beam. That means the floors would eventually buckle due to the cheap wood but the first thing to go was the roof.

Also downsides of owning a rowhome. Who is responisble for the maintenance of the shared firewall between homes? Then there are parking issues, houses were built before people had cars, so you have 10 foot wide rowhomes with people driving 20 foot cars. If you go into gentrified areas of Baltimore rowhouses, you will discover parking is a real put off. Barking dogs at night, poorly lit alley ways, etc and you get the idea.

http://www.slumlordwatch.com/ shows how people make money off selling these abandoned homes.

That is a good point.. it likely compounds the problem since vacants likely sit in neighborhoods where the homeowners may be struggling financially anyway not to mention heirs property where the family members may not even live in the City thus don't want to/cant pay taxes, insurance, upkeep/security on a home where the values are declined or depressed assuming they can get a loan to do work in the first place. Most "city" loan programs require an owner occupant to apply.

[Woodlands]

Then there is the pure human nature factor. Even if I could afford a renovated rowhouse with all the bells and whistles granite exposed brick etc I still have to go outside and presumably interact with the people that live around me. This becomes particularly problematic if one has kids who quite naturally are going to want to be outside or in the company of other kids thus prompting most parent to have to interact with the parents of those kids and choose whether they want to be part of the communal part of being in a community.

I have driven through places like Heritage Crossing and a few other infill communities that have been built in "redevelopment" areas. There is one on Pennsy near Ave Market another on the east side near the main post office another over by Arch Bishop Curley and Frankford Estates to name a few. Some have fared better than others. Many are beginning to take on the characteristics of the areas that they were envisioned to replace wth having bars on windows/doors, deferred exterior maintenance , unkept yards etc. I don't know if that is because they were developed by or in concert with the city government or if they were not enough of a catalyst to impact the surrounding areas thus are beginning to succumb and will be the next generation of vacants. Blight is like mold. You can scrape it off but unless you address the underlying causes it will grow back

[james777]

Originally Posted by Woodlands

Then there is the pure human nature factor. Even if I could afford a renovated rowhouse with all the bells and whistles granite exposed brick etc I still have to go outside and presumably interact with the people that live around me. This becomes particularly problematic if one has kids who quite naturally are going to want to be outside or in the company of other kids thus prompting most parent to have to interact with the parents of those kids and choose whether they want to be part of the communal part of being in a community.

I have driven through places like Heritage Crossing and a few other infill communities that have been built in "redevelopment" areas. There is one on Pennsy near Ave Market another on the east side near the main post office another over by Arch Bishop Curley and Frankford Estates to name a few. Some have fared better than others. Many are beginning to take on the characteristics of the areas that they were envisioned to replace wth having bars on windows/doors, deferred exterior maintenance , unkept yards etc. I don't know if that is because they were developed by or in concert with the city government or if they were not enough of a catalyst to impact the surrounding areas thus are beginning to succumb and will be the next generation of vacants. Blight is like mold. You can scrape it off but unless you address the underlying causes it will grow back

Exactly. And the city government has spent billions of taxpayer dollars fighting blight in Baltimore, while never addressing the underlying causes.

[Infinite_heights77]

Baltimore City gubment is NOT to bright!

Originally Posted by james777

Exactly. And the city government has spent billions of taxpayer dollars fighting blight in Baltimore, while never addressing the underlying causes.