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Magnulus...affordable housing does not necessarily lower housing prices....but low-income housing ALWAYS (as in 99% of the time) does..unless of course it is being built in an already low-income neighborhood!
I think everyone agrees that AFFORDABLE housing is necessary and serves a critical segment of the community..those in the service industry, retail, and low-paying fields like home health aides, public servants, etc. LOW-INCOME housing (aka the projects) serves primarily as a holding cell for the extremely poor, uneducated, and dysfunctional whom rely heavily (if not totally) on government assistance for survival. There is a HUGE difference between the 2..which is why I say Affordable housing and Low-Income housing are entirely 2 different animals.
LOW-INCOME housing (aka the projects) serves primarily as a holding cell for the extremely poor, uneducated, and dysfunctional whom rely heavily (if not totally) on government assistance for survival. There is a HUGE difference between the 2..which is why I say Affordable housing and Low-Income housing are entirely 2 different animals.
Not everybody in Section 8 is a bum. There are just alot of jobs in Orlando that don't really pay a living wage anymore.
Also, Avalon Park was created by Duany-Platter-Zybek, a New Urbanist urban planning firm that believes in inclusionary zoning, loft apartments, garage apartments, and mixed use developement (they also created Baldwin Park). It is stupid to complain about living next to "poor" people, and yet move into Avalon Park. The only reason that homes are expensive in Avalon Park is because of the housing bubble, not because the homes there are all upper-middle-class.
I think everyone agrees that AFFORDABLE housing is necessary and serves a critical segment of the community..those in the service industry, retail, and low-paying fields like home health aides, public servants, etc. LOW-INCOME housing (aka the projects) serves primarily as a holding cell for the extremely poor, uneducated, and dysfunctional whom rely heavily (if not totally) on government assistance for survival. There is a HUGE difference between the 2..which is why I say Affordable housing and Low-Income housing are entirely 2 different animals.
How many of you know the difference between section 8 and low-income housing? Low income housing is usually neigborhoods like those on Ivey Lane. A setion 8 household can be anywhere as long as the landlord has applied for section 8. Low income usually means that you have low income and your rent is about $100 - $200 a month. Section 8 means you are employed, and you need assistance paying your rent. And I know this because I happen to be on Section 8 and I live in those nice NEW subdivisions right behind Albertsons on Lake Underhill.
And I am not in the service industry, retail or any of those other low paying jobs and I'm sure my neighbors - one of whom happens to be a teacher at WP high school and the other a nurse at Winnie Palmer - aren't poor, uneducated or dysfunctional.
Clearly not EVERYONE on the Section 8 program is a bum anymore than EVERYONE in prison is actually guilty of a crime that they were sentenced for. We are all reasonable people here and no reasonable person would assert otherwise or speak in blanket statements.
However, I think Section 8, i.e. A VOUCHER TO GET OUT OF THE HELL HOLE OF LOW-INCOME HOUSING proves the point that low-income housing is nothing more than a holding cell for those that cannot/choose not to do for themsleves...so this program was created to help some people avoid/get away from the dysfunction that is low-income housing. That being said, if the section 8 program was created to get even poor people out/away from low-income housing, how can you possibly believe/assert that low-income housing built in your backyard has NO impact on the value of your home??
In addition, Avalon Park...and anyother mixed use development NEVER means a mix of rich, middle class, and the homeless/indigent and criminals all living together in one happy community. Mixed use refers to a combination of commercial and residential development, with the residential part including an array of homes that will appeal to different homeowners: single family homes, multifamily, condos, loft-style, garden apts, and AFFORDABLE housing in some cases..but never housing projects/low-income.
Of course I can easily be proven wrong...just provide any of Duany-Platter-Zybek's prior mixed-use developments IN A SUBURBAN AREA like Orlando that advertises housing projects included in the development..please leave out any such exceptions as NYC as that is a whole seperate monster.
Furthermore, your assertion that Avalon Park prices are expensive is because of the housing bubble is just unfounded and without merit. Your rhetoric and lack of real estate knowledge and experience is responsible for your misunderstanding of Avalon Park, it's residents, and low-income housing.
NatalyJones..my prior post demonstrated that I do in fact know and understand that Section 8 is a program to avoid people from going to/or staying in the projects. This voucher system has helped many people out of these housing hellholes...and it has had some success.
That being said...I personally do not accept section 8 tenants, and tell people not to accept them either. Why? It is not worth the hassle or the risk. Why would I choose a section 8 tenant that comes with government bureacracy, inspections, and a host of other problems (including the tenant), when I can get a free market tenant with good credit, a solid work history, and no hassles? The lure of a "guranteed" rent is just bait..as it is in fact NOT guaranteed, as anyone that has participated in the program can tell you.
Should you fail and inspection (which you often will), they suspend your payments. Good luck trying to get them reinstated or getting back payments...all the while your tenant is only paying their share (if they are ebven doing that). And should your tenant decide, fro whatever reason, to miss her recertification appts, watch as the payments are suspended and you are again left with no money.
So for those that feel section 8 tenants are worth the trouble...good for you. I advise not to rent to section 8 tenants. I am sure there are SOME that are great...but why go through the risk and hassle of searching for the proverbial needle in the haystack when I can get a free market tenant with no strings attached??????
NatalyJones..my prior post demonstrated that I do in fact know and understand that Section 8 is a program to avoid people from going to/or staying in the projects. This voucher system has helped many people out of these housing hellholes...and it has had some success.
Actually I think your post did the opposite. But before you post another long post about how people who aren't as successful as you should all live in Holden Heights or Parramore (which is basically what I got out of your "I tell people not to rent with section 8 but to find someone with good credit, no jail record and lil white references" ) my point was how can they build section 8 housing? Isn't Section 8 is a choice that the landlord makes? Is one person building a group of houses and only limiting them to people on section 8?
Or are they building low-income housing? Like those in Pine Hills and Old Winter Garden. There is a difference, and although I wouldn't echo your thoughts on who should and shouldn't be allowed to live in your precious neighborhood, I could understand your concerns as I would not like to live near govt housing either.
I won't check back to read your reply, but just to let you know the Avalon apartments over there are also low income. They call it income restricted but I didn't qualify for a 2 bedroom because I made over $23,000 a year. So if you worried about poor folk living there, newsflash they already do.
My post made no such assertions so do not dehumanize me. I am well aware of the problems people face, as I have faced many as well. The issue is simple: Why should I take a section 8 tenant instead of a free market? Instead of trying to paint me as evil try answering the question.
To answer your questions, there is no such thing as section-8 housing as it is only a voucher program. You can have housing that is filled with nothing but section 8 tenants, but that is just low-income housing or undesireable housing (for whatever reason). And yes I already know that there is low-income housing around Avalon Park...if you read the prior posts before commenting you would be up to speed. The question now is whether they are building more low-income housing.
NatalyJones..my prior post demonstrated that I do in fact know and understand that Section 8 is a program to avoid people from going to/or staying in the projects. This voucher system has helped many people out of these housing hellholes...and it has had some success.
That being said...I personally do not accept section 8 tenants, and tell people not to accept them either. Why? It is not worth the hassle or the risk. Why would I choose a section 8 tenant that comes with government bureacracy, inspections, and a host of other problems (including the tenant), when I can get a free market tenant with good credit, a solid work history, and no hassles? The lure of a "guranteed" rent is just bait..as it is in fact NOT guaranteed, as anyone that has participated in the program can tell you.
Should you fail and inspection (which you often will), they suspend your payments. Good luck trying to get them reinstated or getting back payments...all the while your tenant is only paying their share (if they are ebven doing that). And should your tenant decide, fro whatever reason, to miss her recertification appts, watch as the payments are suspended and you are again left with no money.
So for those that feel section 8 tenants are worth the trouble...good for you. I advise not to rent to section 8 tenants. I am sure there are SOME that are great...but why go through the risk and hassle of searching for the proverbial needle in the haystack when I can get a free market tenant with no strings attached??????
I thank God in heave that there are not more people out there like you. It's obvious you've never been a single mother trying to raise kids on just one income. If every one were like you, kids with only one parent who have to depend on section 8 wouldn't have a chance. I worked 3rd shift for a long time at a factory because it paid 50 cent more an hour, and I could be home nights with my son until it was time for me to take him to his aunts for bedtime. And then in the morning I was there to pick him up and take him to school. How far do you think one person can stretch? Section 8 made it possible for me to put a decent roof over my son's head.
And in the last 17 years, NOT ONCE has my landlord had to go without a rent check. The inspections are done early enough that the landlord has time to fix something if it needs fixed. I only remember one time something didn't pass, and it was not a tough thing to fix.
The ONLY thing I will grant to you is your statement concerning rent not being on time. I did have a landlord that would receive his checks late every now and then. When they were late, they were no later than the 5th of the month.
It's not a perfect system, but I can tell you the amount of trouble I've heard landlords having over tenants who weren't section 8. Being NON section 8 doesn't guarantee trouble free tenants, or tenants that can pay on time.
Section 8 people who are good renters = proverbial needle in the haystack? Sooooo, this isn't racism, it's classism. Stereotyping. Profiling based on financial situation?
Not once has ANY of my landlords had to go without a rent check. I've had 3 (I moved back to IL and then back here). Again, not ONCE in 17 years has any of my landlords had to miss a months check.
You are worried about property values dropping... well, your property value is going to drop anyways because the houses in Avalon Park are overpriced. Alot of Orlando has overpriced housing. Section-8 is the least of yoru worries, now is not a good time to buy anywhere in Orlando. The fundamentals for the area aren't sound enough to support the prices people have been paying for houses.
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