60 minutes homeless crisis ideas for Seattle
Property Manager · Blaine · Member since 2015 · 209 posts · 276 votes
Just watched the 60 minutes special on the homeless crisis. Very concerning when you realize that we are part of the problem. To keep our business profitable we absolutely have to screen tenants for felony’s, rental history, etc. so what can we do?
What about recovering attics? How long should we go back for evictions? Should we try to set a property aside as our “take a chance on someone” unit.
Especially this time of year that was a tough show to watch. Does anyone out there have any ideas or practices in their business to help solve the problem?
See the agents BiggerPockets members work with in Seattle, WA.
See agentsSnowflakes may want to skip this post for fear of having their feels hurt.
Step one would be to cut the bull **** about these people.
Let's stop pretending that they are all mentally ill. Estimates of mental illness among homeless seem to range from 25% to 45%. That's of any mental illness. Does your tenant require an ESA? They suffer from mental illness too! Feeling a little down? You suffer from mental illness! Nowadays everyone suffers from some sort of mental illness - well, everyone except the hardworking taxpayers that have to support this bull ****. Estimates are that 25% of all adults in the US have some form of mental illness and that in your lifetime you have a 1-in-2 chance of developing at least one mental illness.
Let's stop pretending that the cost of living is too high and that is why they are homeless. If you can't afford to live in the highest priced cities in the world, then MOVE. You have no right to live here any more than you have the right to have a Ferrari or drink Dom Perignon Champagne. Right now Ames, Iowa has the lowest unemployment in the US at 1.5%. Cost of living in Ames is around 7% below the national average. Why aren't the homeless flocking there to secure work and cheap cost of living? Could it be that they don't want to work and instead would prefer to leach off the progressive policies of the coasts?
Let's stop electing feel good politicians just because they have a D next to their name on the ballot. This is not a political statement, this is just pure fact: Progressive policies have completely failed and until they stop implementing them or until the voters stop electing the same type politicians, there will be no meaningful change.
Let's stop talking about building shelters. The current shelters are empty. There is story after story of government workers going to the homeless camps and offering them a bed in the shelter. Only one or two people will take up the offer. The homeless don't want shelters. Shelters have rules, no drugs, curfews, etc. That isn't what the homeless want.
Let's stop talking about building new housing and affordable units. It's a feel good joke that is being played on the stupid people in exchange for votes. Let's just be honest about it. We're not going to build new housing because the current infrastructure can't support much more. Also, the existing homeowners don't want it and if the politicians tried to put through any meaningful changes, the homeowners would fund their opponents campaign at a 100-to-1 margin. As for affordable housing, no one wants to live next to a building with 200 low income tenants. Yes, that may sound snobbish, but it is the truth. No one wants to spend $750,000 on a home in a decent area to have a giant apartment building put up next door with hundreds of people who shouldn't be able to afford to live in that area. You can say I'm a horrible person for saying that out loud, but the fact is that when it comes down to it, the majority of people living there feel the same way. They're all progressive and for helping the vulnerable low income, until the point it actually impacts them.
What we are seeing is a lifestyle choice. It's the new hippie generation. I just wanna live free and under the open air and the government can give me money for food and a free cell phone and a place to bathe and I can spend the days making a couple hundred dollars panhandling and buy my drugs and do them out in the open. Life is good man....
Time to stop pretending and time to start cracking heads.
The reality is in some cities is that it is easier to be homeless, the legislation in the area and the climate make these locations support a homeless population more readily then say the midwest. That said when we look at this population we throw together a lot of housing solutions and we don't do a good job of systematically evaluating those solutions with data. We keep throwing money at the "problem" with a goal of housing everyone. I don't believe the goal should be housing per se, it should be more like self sufficiency while respecting other peoples rights. You can help some but some will always be homeless either by choice or because they can't abide by societies rules.
Homeless has a lot of different causes, mental illness being a portion of the homeless. If you are schizophrenic and your parent was too there isn't a lot of resources to become and stay successful. I believe society has a responsibility to help to stabilize. As for addicts, although it is a mental illness, supporting someone recovering is different from supporting someone using... and some people will always be homeless. you can't help those who won't help themselves.
That said do I think I should take a chance to rent to people with these issues? No, that is what the government is supposed to be doing with at least some of my taxes already-- providing adequate and effective programs.
I saw this episode of 60 Minutes also. It was saddening, partly because helping get homeless off of the streets are part of my "why," part of the reason I'm in this business. I just wish I could meet my goals faster so I could contribute to the effort more; Not just give a place to stay, but help get them back into the workforce, and confident about themselves, as well. Well, for those homeless who want a better life, I would like to help.
I saw a commercial tonight asking for donations for an organization that helps homeless people. They said "1 in 10 young adults are homeless." That just sounds like a bunch of hooey to me. Anyone know what the real statistics are?
I saw a commercial tonight asking for donations for an organization that helps homeless people. They said "1 in 10 young adults are homeless." That just sounds like a bunch of hooey to me. Anyone know what the real statistics are?
https://endhomelessness.org/ho...
this page has gobs of stats.....
and this page states that 1 in 10 youth experience homelessness - so it seems to be a real number
what I find interesting after looking at some of these websites, is that most of the homeless are NOT chronically homeless.... that number is much lower... so it seems that the majority of the homeless are temporarily homeless....
I saw a commercial tonight asking for donations for an organization that helps homeless people. They said "1 in 10 young adults are homeless." That just sounds like a bunch of hooey to me. Anyone know what the real statistics are?
https://endhomelessness.org/ho...
this page has gobs of stats.....
and this page states that 1 in 10 youth experience homelessness - so it seems to be a real number
That statistic seems more believable to me, but there's a big difference between "1 in 10 are homeless" and "1 in 10 experience homelessness."
For all the people that are outraged on how the homeless issue is being handled, I'd like to see some suggestions on how to improve it....beyond "stop being so lazy and get a job"....
Its very easy to critique, criticize and armchair quarterback it all..... much harder to actually offer a constructive plan to improve what they see as a mismanaged issue
I've actually worked with them what have you done?
I saw this episode of 60 Minutes also. It was saddening, partly because helping get homeless off of the streets are part of my "why," part of the reason I'm in this business. I just wish I could meet my goals faster so I could contribute to the effort more; Not just give a place to stay, but help get them back into the workforce, and confident about themselves, as well. Well, for those homeless who want a better life, I would like to help.
Then go to the homeless shelters and put in some time. They won't bite you, at least most won't. (Yes, I've spent years volunteering.)
The first thing we can do is stop calling it a homeless crisis. Homelessness is a symptom of the problem. The real problem is drug addiction and mental illness. Drug addicts flock to the downtown areas of Seattle and other cities because of the services provided such as clean needles, shelter, and food. The high prices exacerbate the issue but are not the problem. The high rent prices are merely a talking point for liberal politicians to attack so they can put the blame on the rich.
I saw this episode of 60 Minutes also. It was saddening, partly because helping get homeless off of the streets are part of my "why," part of the reason I'm in this business. I just wish I could meet my goals faster so I could contribute to the effort more; Not just give a place to stay, but help get them back into the workforce, and confident about themselves, as well. Well, for those homeless who want a better life, I would like to help.
Then go to the homeless shelters and put in some time. They won't bite you, at least most won't. (Yes, I've spent years volunteering.)
You're right. Yes, I volunteer lots throughout the year, but there is always more to be done.
I saw a commercial tonight asking for donations for an organization that helps homeless people. They said "1 in 10 young adults are homeless." That just sounds like a bunch of hooey to me. Anyone know what the real statistics are this page has gobs of stats.....
and this page states that 1 in 10 youth experience homelessness - so it seems to be a real number
There are 74 million children (under 18) in the US. There are ~550,000 homeless. So obviously 1 in 10 are not homeless. Even if it is 18-24 (young adults) that makes no sense This is just a definition used by advocates to try and inflate the issue. When they say “experience homelessness” your mind goes to them being homeless. But they are using degrees of separation to try and inflate the issue. 1 in 10 know someone who was homeless or has met someone who is homeless. That is a totally separate thing.
I understand they want to be an advocate, but they are misleading people. In actuality, like crime, homelessness is actually dropping over a long term trend.
I saw this episode of 60 Minutes also. It was saddening, partly because helping get homeless off of the streets are part of my "why," part of the reason I'm in this business. I just wish I could meet my goals faster so I could contribute to the effort more; Not just give a place to stay, but help get them back into the workforce, and confident about themselves, as well. Well, for those homeless who want a better life, I would like to help.
Then go to the homeless shelters and put in some time. They won't bite you, at least most won't. (Yes, I've spent years volunteering.)
You're right. Yes, I volunteer lots throughout the year, but there is always more to be done.
Thanks for volunteering. There are about 330,000,000 Americans - it's their turn to join in instead of just being bleeding hearts and thinking our taxes should be raised so the government dole out more money for votes.
For all the people that are outraged on how the homeless issue is being handled, I'd like to see some suggestions on how to improve it....beyond "stop being so lazy and get a job"....
Its very easy to critique, criticize and armchair quarterback it all..... much harder to actually offer a constructive plan to improve what they see as a mismanaged issue
sure, here is a suggestion and constructive plan...start volunteering at your local GOP office and next november vote straight republican. It's a shame what certain politicians have let happen to california, seattle, portland, etc.
@Keith A...... I just assume put a bullet in my head than have ANYTHING to do with the current GOP leadership....and I'm a registered republican..... but rather than get into a political discuss on a RE site, we'll just leave it at that and move on....
Like many issues that real focus has to be on working to solve the "WHY".... not the symptom of the issue itself. WHY are these people homeless? And it ISNT because a huge % of them are just lazy parasites on the system.... there is WAY more it than that....so for all the people throwing all the blame at the "stupid liberal democrats" that have "ruined CA", I'm still waiting for your solutions beyond screaming at them to "GET A JOB YOU LAZY POS".....
@Keith A...... I just assume put a bullet in my head than have ANYTHING to do with the current GOP leadership....and I'm a registered republican..... but rather than get into a political discuss on a RE site, we'll just leave it at that and move on....
Like many issues that real focus has to be on working to solve the "WHY".... not the symptom of the issue itself. WHY are these people homeless? And it ISNT because a huge % of them are just lazy parasites on the system.... there is WAY more it than that....so for all the people throwing all the blame at the "stupid liberal democrats" that have "ruined CA", I'm still waiting for your solutions beyond screaming at them to "GET A JOB YOU LAZY POS".....
LOL - I used to be a registered democrat up until 3 years ago.
Its very simple - if you make it attractive for people to be lazy - then they ABSOLUTELY will. If you want people that live on the street, then pass laws in favor of that. If you want people of every background to be able to earn an honest living with a good wage while not being encouraged by "free sh*t" then pass laws for that. It's obvious why things are the way they are in those specific areas. As a landlord, I offer affordable housing for people that work for their income and don't commit crimes (providing pay stubs and background checks). Or I could attract people by offering free needles, free rent if you don't feel like paying, and pay for their doctors visits too.
Regardless of who the gop leadership is (even though this is the greatest our country has ever been) and you vote purely based on policies that put people to work instead of making street life easier, then the choice is simple - it's who you vote for. Don't shoot the messenger :) And if you want an organization to help true people in need - donate to Wounded Warriors.
I don’t know about anybody else on here ( maybe I’m the oddball) but I didn’t get into real estate to solve the worlds problems or fix the ills of my community . I’m doing this to make money Plain and simple ..Atleast I’ll admit it ! Please pardon me if that seems callous and selfish but I’m a republican capitalist so I don’t believe in ~hope and change~
You see I’m not smart enough to play the stock market ( I can barely string sentences together on this message board) and I can’t throw a piece of inflated leather 80 yards down a field , or slam dunk a basketball so looks like I’m stuck renting out these dumpy houses to idiots with non opposing thumbs to make extra money for the remainder of my life . If they want a better life then they should do what I do . Work like a mad man ,save your money ,and stop blowing it on stupid crap . I suppose that is my sage advise to end poverty - work hard ..even if your dumb or crazy . Hard work pays off , laying in the couch watching Maury Povich does NOT pay off
A CA city/county just passed the same ordinance/bylaw ???
Very educational! Thanks for taking the time to write and educate us. I also watched Seattle is Dying documentary and I couldn't figure out why the once beautiful Seattle has become a city I don't want to set foot again city. I was once attacked by a stranger with mental illness and since then, I have an antenna to spot mentally unstable people. When I went to Seattle 6 months ago (near Pike Place Market), I came away thinking that I would never go there again simply because there are too many mentally unstable people walking around there. Hopefully Seattle voters pay more attention and vote for the right people not vote by the party line...