Problems with section 8 tenant

I like to believe people will improve themselves.  Most of my section 8 people (and I have had 4 tenants on section 8)  do there best.   They have fallen on hard times.  It is difficult to acquire the section 8 voucher.  The waiting list is over 3 years here in Ada County and they are not accepting new applicants.  When one thinks about this it is very scary.  Someone needed help 3 years ago and they still need it. I would imagine that many people have solved their problems by the time they are off the wait list.

About 1.5 years ago I met a pleasant single mom of three kids who just got her voucher.  She was particularly excited because the hovel she was living in was in foreclosure.  I approached the landlady and it was indeed a hovel and it was in foreclosure.  The landlady didn’t want to short sale so I wished her well.  The single mom was a full time student with a small work study job on campus.  I liked her and wanted to give her chance.  I signed a lease with her.   After a while the work study job disappeared… Later I found out she had quit school….I could see that she and her kids were not the easiest tenants on the home but I figured it didn’t matter when she left the home would still need painting.  Then she kept getting jobs and losing them.  The voucher changed in January and it has been hell ever since.

See on section 8 the government pays a portion of the rent and the tenant pays a portion of the rent.  She never seemed to have her portion.  This worked great when the government was paying all her rent but not so well when she had a portion to pay.  I have had to chase her down every month since January.  So far I get my rent but it is late and I am expending a lot of effort to get it done.  She is not keeping me informed.  Last March she lost another job again.  I think for cause.  She took weeks to follow through with the paperwork to get the full voucher back.  She seems to have a “brother” living with her.  Housing came back and will give her a full voucher for May but she still owes me $416 for April.  I now need to collect this money from her. I am going to suggest she ask her friends and “relatives” or her church.  I know I should just evict her but I do not really want to (or have time) to fix the floors (not her fault) and paint before I go to China.  I also worry about the 3 kids… I know they are not my problem.  If the city will pay I will wait until the next crisis on the theory I could lose 2 months rent to get the $416.  Of course I cannot give her a good reference…

Mostly I am VERY ANGRY with her.  These vouchers are hard to come by and she does not deserve this voucher.  All she had to do is go to housing and fill out some forms.  I am sad because I was rooting for her to succeed.  I know that not everyone will succeed but she seemed to be trying so hard when she moved in.  I am MAD that I have had to waste a lot of my time chasing her down.  My time is VALUABLE.  I do not know why she seems so flaky these days… I could guess but the answers are not pretty.  This woman has a chance to raise her kids in a nice 3 bedroom,2 bath single family home and doesn’t seem to care.  Or else she think because I am a liberal Democrat I will let her stay there forever without evicting her.  She is actually wrong.   I will if I have to and I will feel awful for the 3 kids in her care.   I am not sure a mother who wont fill out paperwork deserves the Voucher or the kids… Maybe it would be easier being cynical… I would have expected nothing less…

 

Signed me Debbie Homes, depressed and annoyed landlord.

Bad Real Estate Day….

OK today was not a good real estate day….  Real estate has me down today….  We had a re-inspection on my pending…. Everything on the list passed but due to the 1.5 inches of rain we got (and all the melting snow) there was 1 or 2 inches of water underneath the plastic in the crawl space….. This is the sound of Debbie beating her head against a stone wall…. My seller is way past his lower limit and the buyer will probably walk tomorrow…. I would guess my seller ought to fix the problem and try to sell at a higher price…. The market is improving so this is possible… We thought the problems were finished.  We took all sorts of actions that were un-testable due to our dry winter.   The day is gray and it matches my mood…. Just after I had this cheery news I talked to my very sick tenant… She has pulmonary embolisms in her lungs and developed a fungal pneumonia… She is at home and requested a grab bar for the shower.  I scheduled my workman to do it on Saturday.

I hope tomorrow I get it together….  I must prospect…. The serenity prayer is in order today…. I must remember my people are all well, nobody died…. Just problems…. Lots of problems….

Hard day….Sick dog….2011 December blog challange

 

My old dog, Jolly, has been sick for a very long time.   Actually she was my mother’s old dog who waited for her by the door for months after she died.   My father kept her but she was sort of ignored in favor of smaller yappy (some might say cuter) dogs.  So eventually after I took a dog sitting stint I agreed to keep the dog.  She was very happy.  My housemate spoiled her and reminded her she was a dog.  She enjoyed chewing bones and loved to bark at the other dogs playing.  

She has had a bad cough and a lot of mucus since September.  She has had three courses of antibiotics.  She seemed somewhat better but snotty until yesterday.  Yesterday she took a serious turn for the worse.  She was fine in the morning she took her pain pill and her benedryl and ate breakfast. We bug bombed the house (of course we put the pets outside).  It was necessary we had a serious fruit fly invasion.  They were doubling every day.  The pets all ran in as soon as my husband opened the doors to air out the house.  By the time I arrived home from my appointment (coaching session) the old dog was coughing again.  I put her out in the fresh air but it was a cold day. round bedtime she seemed much worse so I decided I would give her another benedryl to dry her up and stop any inflammation.  She wouldn’t take the meat the pill was wrapped in.  She wouldn’t drink water.  Her breathing was labored.  She slept in my room (she usually chooses to sleep in the middle of the house where she can keep an eye on all her pack).   Actually I am not sure she slept….  I tried to give her more medicine in the morning and again she wouldn’t take any treats (and I was getting very generous) nor would she drink water.  I was definitely concerned.  But today was the great lockbox switch and I had a designated time to be at the fairgrounds to exchange lock-boxes.  I figured I would see what my housemate had to say when she woke up and I left for the switch.

I went an took my lock-boxes off my listings.  Then I went to fairgrounds to exchange them and then went back to the listings to put them back on.  While I was at the first listing a man asked me about the home.  I invited him in and proudly showed my listing.  We talked for a while and I have his details.  He can’t really afford my home but he can afford a nice smaller home in West Boise.  We talked about the details and about the section 8 housing he is on.  About 1/2 hour into the call I got the call from my housemate that she was very worried about the dog.  She must go to the vet.    I had the information I needed and gave him a homework assignment and explained about my sick dog.  That is my progress on the 2010 challenge… Back to the dog story….

On my way back one of my tenants called me with a leak under the sink.  I first dealt with the warranty company and arranged the plumber then I  called the vet.  I told them she was suddenly worse.  She had stopped eating and drinking and she was having trouble breathing.  They told me to bring her right away.  I also called my dad (because technically she is his dog).  At first he (dad is a  retired people doctor) wanted to give her more antibiotics but I explained I couldn’t get her to eat the treats I hid them in.  Poor Jolly lost 4 more pounds since late October.  The vet thinks she might have a cancer.  Jolly is 12 which is definitely old for a collie.   I am worried that the bug bombing had something to do with her illness or maybe she has an infection that could be treated.  Dad and the vet are both thinking her time had come.  I don’t want heroics I just didn’t want to put her down if she has bronchitis or something.  I ask the vet if she could give her a shot of antibiotics and I would try to care for her overnight and see if I could get her to drink water… The vet is not hopeful…. I tell her if she is not drinking by tomorrow I will bring her back to be put down.  I know dad thinks I am prolonging her agony but I want to make sure we can’t make her better first.  Death is permanent. The vet tech tought me how to give a dog who wouldn’t eat a pill.

I spent the money and have a prescription to fill in the morning (if I am not putting her down).  I have dogie cough pills and the old standby benedryl.  My housemate and I went to the store and bought a humidifier and a syringe (to give  her water with).  My housemate told me she has been feeling wheezy since the but bombing.  I got some water into her with the syringe and I put some turkey in her mouth.  She probably swallowed an teaspoon full.  Then I went to get my son at the College of Idaho (we found out he had one more paper to write so we left him there until he is done).  When I got home I got about a cup of water in her with the syringe and another dogie cough pill.  I could not get her to eat.  Her breathing is quieter.  Maybe she will be a bit better in the morning and eat.  Somehow it seems like a little bit of my mother will die when she does.  I know that it silly.  My mom has been dead for 7 and half years….Not much real estate today.

 

 

 

  Debbie Holmes

Gold Key Real Estate    

(208)761-2551 Email: d5holmes@msn.com

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