I too wondered about the real impact of Section 8 housing. I read in the paper this morning about a government housing project that is being torn down in 3 stages. The people have to move so that tear down and new construction can begin. When finished over 5 years, the 300 or so homes will be roughly 700; reported number not quite clear.
But in the report, the cover story was about a family who has lived there for 14 years (on Section 8) and have to move out until construction done, then they get to move back to a ‘new’ unit.
I know and hear of the Section 8 for life type of people who always want that free living arrangment, but is there a condition (peril) that would necessitate someone to live in a government subsidized housing for 14 years or even longer?
I have driven in a local housing area and saw many nicer/newer cars/trucks (better than mine and mine are 10 years old) and it struck me as odd that someone who has some impeding functionality that prevents them from providing for themselves, can have a nice car. My wife hates seeing a Tundra Truck in the housing area since that is her dream truck, and I tell her we cannot afford a 40k truck right now; yet has to see those trucks in neighborhoods where supposedly there is no money for basic living.
I was wondering if anyone knew of a good location on line with information about section 8 housing. I would also like comments from anyone who has leased to section 8 tennants. I’m mainly trying to find out the various benefits and disadvantages.
My experience in two cases has been similar. Both families dealt with the in & out boyfriend, lover, dad, etc. The result was after the guy changed his mind about staying or going. Well the agency found out and behold changes were made to adjust for the change in income of the household. This process does not happen overnight, and the payments, which were automatic, came to a complete halt! The longest stop payments period lasted for 6 months! The agency would not be of much help in getting this resolved leaving me & my wife with an addtional mortgage payment which we did not anticipated in our budget. Eventually, due to financial hardships, the families , in both cases, had to live with relatives. Not sure what the purpose of having an agency like this in our community for?? I thought it was supposed to help those going through life’s perils?
Re: Information on Section 8 - Posted by Scott (GA)
Posted by Scott (GA) on August 08, 2003 at 16:25:46:
Jared,
I suggest you locate the website for your local housing authority in Dallas. That should provide you with plenty of information - in fact, they may offer landlord sessions that you can attend.
I recommend you also do a search in the archives for “section 8”. That topic is discussed quite frequently here.