Would you buy a house near a "sober house"??? (Dallas: for sale, foreclosures)

[Blind Sniper]

Anyone else here catch the story about the profit driven, unlicensed, non-permitted halfway house / transitional living / sober house that was covertly slipped into an HOA neighborhood?

I would like to hear from actual qualified licensed addiction counselors as to what their thoughts are on this type of operation being started up by someone who was six months out of their last stay in rehab, who then left town and left the house in the care of someone who had been clean for fourteen months, who also did not have any formal qualifications.

Link here:Homeowners seek to ban transitional living house in FW neighborhood | wfaa.com | Dallas - Fort Worth Local News

[loves2read]

That would creep me out if someone tried to do it in my neighborhood--
frankly because of the cost to buy a home I think the neighborhoods most likely to be hit are the ones with foreclosures and less expensive homes

There is house for sale in that neighborhood now listed for 118K--that is pretty cheap monthly mortgage

Doesn't a business like that have to be zoned by the city?
This is exactly why HOA as not the buggabo that people complain about most of the time--
but how it slid by for year and half w/o someone getting up in arms I don't know
maybe because people were not getting outside or the neighbors were just minding their own business--

[Blind Sniper]

Originally Posted by loves2read

That would creep me out if someone tried to do it in my neighborhood--
frankly because of the cost to buy a home I think the neighborhoods most likely to be hit are the ones with foreclosures and less expensive homes

There is house for sale in that neighborhood now listed for 118K--that is pretty cheap monthly mortgage

Doesn't a business like that have to be zoned by the city?
This is exactly why HOA as not the buggabo that people complain about most of the time--
but how it slid by for year and half w/o someone getting up in arms I don't know
maybe because people were not getting outside or the neighbors were just minding their own business--

Some of us have been up in arms for quite some time, close to a year. The majority of the neighborhood knew something wasn't right but did not know exactly what was going on until a stink was made at the annual HOA meeting. Then, it spread like a wild fire through the rest of the community.

[JesusFreak2011]

Here's the deal: IF it was zoned properly, and in a non-HOA location, there would be nothing any person or group could do. Addicts and alcoholics are afforded the same protections that are provided by the ADA. However in this case, it seems that this guy doesnt have a license thru the city, isnt a non profit, and to top it off, isnt paying taxes? Im not an addiction proffesional, per se, but I have stayed at one of these places, in Ft Worth. The difference was, the directors had 24 years of sobriety between them, she was a licensed counselor, and they were like, a ministry. This is a total scam...I know a lot of people who stayed at both, and you wouldnt believe the horror stories. Benny has quite a track record, and from what I hear, should probablly still be in jail. Yes, loves2read, you have to be zoned as a community home. I wasnt there when they went thru the process, but I heard it took like, 4-5 months, and a ton of paper work.

[Neighbor so sad]

This has been so stressful. We have had so much theft and break ins lately. We used to never have any of that. The house will be shut down its just a matter of when. Everynight I leave the house I wonder if I am going to come back to a break in from my drug addicted neighbors who are stacked 15 deep in a 17 sqr foot home. Ben Patterson is running a flop house and taking adavantge of these broken men. He say no he will not allow violet crimes but Ben Pattersonw as charged back in 97 for crimminal homicide. He is career crimminal. Good luck neighbors do not give up

[Neighbor so sad]

You can do a crimminal search and see this guy has a bad history. Remember when him and just his wife lived there and his wife ran over the kid. He used drive like a crazy person too. I hope been waks up a realizes the path of destruction he leaves behind him.

[Across the street]

DiD you see all the city ordiance vechicles out there they were taping something on the door? The city is not playing around with this guy. If I was him I would move everyone out an sale the place. It would probably go along ways to cooling the city jets. You cant fight city hall.