I am not sure what you meant by the comment about Las Vegas. I assume that you are aware that I live in the foreclosure capital of nation. Obviously I know what run down properties look like.

Instead of using private homes to give transitional housing to people, I would think that the transitional housing company would be better off using some type of facility to house these people. Oh wait, they already do. They're called shelters.

For every interior that you can show that was trashed by a Section 8 tenant, I can show 3 to 4 where a homeowner was in place, so that doesn't wash with me.

Further, these programs do work. It is like a tug-of-war though convincing someone who is not willing to objectively look at these programs to see that they could in fact provide a benefit. It's like trying to convince someone that instead of building more prisons we would be better off providing better services to children on the front end. That is statistically provable that by investing in children on the front end we avoid "criminals" on the back end. No amount of discussion will change your mind about the cost benefit to society if you can't see the obvious.

It is a sad, sad day that we have absolutely no compassion. It really means that in time of a real crisis we could not pull together. We could not do today what we did during WWII and pull together for the common good. We are no longer willing to sacrifice, that's sad. Not only are we not willing to sacrifice for the common good, we are contemptuous of others who do not have the wherewithal to live the way we think they should...regardless of the circumstances.

You don't want the programs in your backyard, that's fine. I'm all for these programs in my backyard because they work. Like anything else that works, there are better programs than others. However, I won't be demanding. A basic program with oversight is all that's needed. As a realtor, I'm about preserving property values. Right now I'm seeing people leave the county I live in because the work was always in another county, I'm seeing people, upright, respectable people seriously considering bailing because why shouldn't they? They are living in what they perceive to be a "ghost town". Who does that benefit? No one. Not a first time home buyer, not an investor, not the lenders. It certainly doesn't attract businesses.

So...you don't have to have it in your backyard, I would be glad to have them. Let me repeat, I'm not suggesting that there be no oversight or no screening but there are enough "decent" people who need a little help and this could/would help them. Long before this particular topic came up I have repeatedly stated that there are foreclosures here that aren't being marketed and aren't being used as rentals (although there are some as I have mentioned) and they're not being maintained. I cannot be the only one who has noticed this going on in their community and I refuse to believe that I live in such a backward place that the lender's have lost sight of their assets here. Perhaps because this is such a small community it's just more visible than if I were in a larger community but, it is happening here, so it must be happening in other places as well. Why not put those assets to work, get a tax deduction and do some good?

These "movements" about taking back the land kind of remind me of the separatist movements of the 1990's. The whole plan was to disregard any laws except those meant to protect the movement members.
"So it is illegal to squat in a property, we don't care.
Someone beats me up, put their butt in jail"
Either we are a nation of law abiders or we are not.
Don't like the law, work to get it changed.

If you dont like a statute; try to change it legally, seems like more and more people only like the laws they agree with, which means they can disregard all others.

That is the biggest load of garbage I have ever read, CanDo. Vacant homes are not the reason properties have lost value in your area--it's job loss!! Provide jobs and home values will stabilize. Why should people live in your area if there is no work?

I'm also curious who these agencies put into the transitional housing properties in your area. Are they homeless people? Do they have jobs? I've seen some professional "transitional" housing do well like Castle Keepers. However, these are professional organizations who keep professionals in their homes. There's a huge difference in the quality of person that go into the home.

I can also speak directly on government handout programs like Section 8. They are the biggest ripoff to the taxpayer and should immediately be abolished. The individuals on those programs are not just lifers--they're generational. It is very rare that we see somebody come into the program and then work their way out of it. And why should they? They get EVERYTHING they need. In fact, they get so many benefits that it is equivalent to them making $65K a year. They rarely take responsibility for their properties, [censored] about everything, don't work, lie to the government to show that they are single parents in order to get more money, damage the property, and teach their kids how to do it when they grow up.

Here's another thing to think about--why would a bank want to take on the additional liability of leasing a home to a tenant? We all know that these homes have serious issues in them even if they are unseen. My clients don't even want to take liability on a brand new home that has never been lived in. Why would they want to stick a tenant in there and be liable if they stub their toe?

I had a sec 8 tenant come in for 1 of my rentals and she acted like she was the Queen of England! started telling me to change outlet covers, cabinet hardware, etc, petty stuff that had nothing to do with the cleanliness or safety of the home because that was not an issue. I told her to take a royal hike.

CanDo,

I want to ask you something and would like you to think about this for a minute.

In many cases, who was living in the foreclosed home prior to it being vacated? A family! Why should some stranger off the streets be allowed to live in this home after a struggling family just got evicted? Why not just keep the family in the home? It makes no sense to say that a homeless person would have the right to live in a vacant foreclosure, yet the prior family that was struggling now needs to go find another place to live. Oh well, right? Wrong! If the government is going to help people in regards to these foreclosures, it should first be the families that live in them already.

Amen, Amen, Amen (and I am not really even for that, but if anyone should stay, it would only make sense to be someone who has already invested in the home).

This is like arguing the legality of illegal aliens. Each side thinks they are right. He's breaking the law. Period.