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Updated: 6:04 AM Dec 11, 2008
Rental Unit in MOV Partially Collapses; Three People Injured
WTAP News Three people are being treated for injuries after the partial collapse Wednesday morning of an apartment building in Washington County. Posted: 11:22 AM Dec 10, 2008Reporter: Bruce Layman Email Address: bruce.layman@wtap.com |
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I think the chief of Police should be responsible for checking the building codes. He is an honest man and would do a great job. This way he can clean New Mat up in several ways.
Concerned has no real idea of how things operate in this town. It had gone to city council over and over to get something done and there is no one in authority to do it now since there is no Matamoras Fire Chief. This is not the fault of the dept - but of the way things are in town. There is no one in the village to approve these properties or not approve them, Mr. Obvious. AND those who live there do not all live on welfare and not work. Some are down on their luck for a time.
It is Obvious that Mr.Obvious will be hereinafter referred to as "Sir Clueless" as he states that the government just took "billions" of His tax money. He obviously is way above us commonfolk. As much as "Sir Clueless would like to glom his pathetic life onto this, it's not about his cluelessness. The real issue is this house fell down. More than likely due to shoddy slumlordship. There are real people involved that were injured, these folks lost most of their property. The Landlord and Local Government will have to answer to this. The local fire department is to be commended for their response, although some unnacceptable remarks made by one fireman will be reported to the firechief.
Im sure most of those loans were refinances, where people rolled their other debts (credit cards, car, boat loans) into single family homeowner loans. Rental property is another market. I chose to get out of the market. I owned several buildings and I made money. The local city/county building code enforcer is the problem not people who can't afford to pay 2000 a month rent. Have you seen homes in the upscale neighborhoods that they can't afford to take care of. Take a look, lack of money is not the problem but money is the root of why this happened.
Someone needs to be asking some questions of the Health Department and the HUD inspectors. If all his apartments are in need of repair, how is he getting them approved???? Money Talks? Don't be blaming the fire department for goodness sake! The fire department is a "Volunteer" department. Like they have the power to condemn a house that the Health Dept and/or HUD has already approved. NOT! If you have concerns, go to the next council meeting. Substandard housing and other town complaints should be brought to the attention of the ones in charge.
Tammy says, “Banks don't loan money on loosing assets.” OH REALLY???? IS THAT A FACT???? Then why did the government just give the banks billions of my tax dollars to cover their losses on loans to loosing assets? Seeing how you grasp and stay on top of happening and the workings of the financial markets in this country I know understand why you are a “former landlord.”
Single family housing. Ok you may break even. Being a former landlord, I didn't buy a place to loose money. Banks don't loan money on loosing assets. There are many programs out there for owners to improve their units, some without paybacks for the loans. He/they own the rentals, they need to fix them up to standards or get out of the business. Its all about making money, and I'm sure he/they were making money. He/they are slumloards and people got hurt because of his/their lack of upkeeps.
Tammy states, “…but with rents starting 500 and up for crap that is no excuse for sub-standard housing.” Let’s look at this a little closer. Many landlords own mortgages on their property & their monthly payment can far exceed $500 a month. Then you add insurance which can easily top $75 - $100 for a single family dwelling. Then add fire and police fees in some areas or property taxes which can easily be $100 a month. I do not know the circumstances with this building or this landlord but it is easy for a rental property to cost the owner $700 a month or more. If they rent the unit for $500 a month they are losing money. If they rent it for actual costs they are making NO profit and have no money for repairs, upkeep or improvements. With many homeowners making mortgage payments well over $1000 a month, plus being responsible for ALL maintenance & upkeep, it’s easy for one to say, “What do you expect for $500 a month?”
Mr Obvious, maybe if there were better jobs around here and not just min wage, we could afford better housing. I make more than min, but with rents starting 500 and up for crap that is no excuse for sub-standard housing. The owner should pay dearly. They get rent for their units they ought to keep them up. Hope your world never slips out from under you and you have to start over.
The person who owns this property has had the health inspector called on him in the past. It is common knowledge that his rental properties should be condemed and he owns about half of the town. I cant wait to hear how this turnes out.
Maybe if those people complaining about the sus-standard housing they have to live in would go out, get a job and stop living on welfare and the on the backs of others, maybe they could afford to rent a nicer place and then these so called slumlords would have to improve their property to compete in the rental market. As long as you are willing to rent a dump because the rent is cheap there will be people to supply dumps for you. In rental housing like everything else - you get what you pay for!
This should not have happend. The landlords are lucky that it didn't kill nobody. Does someone have to lose there life before someone does something about it?? Washington County Health Department and building insectors need to get more involved in more house's strectors and other public buildings before people get killed.
I was close to someone living in one this landlord's homes. I was concerned for their safety with the rats, electrical problems and the structure of the building. No one in New Mat would do anything about any of the landlord's homes - that should have all been condemend. This may not be the last incident seen in homes owned by this family. You want to see more of them? Drive through New Mat - find the homes that are falling down and they own them.
I use to rent from the owner's family. When I sought help to get the house I lived in fixed,I was told building codes in the village city limits were up to the Matamoras Fire Chief. The problem with that is there is no longer a Matamoras Fire Dept. They are now Grandview Fire which means there is noone who can oversee the building codes and inspections of these houses before a tragedy happens. I made numerous calls to housing etc. with no help from anyone to get the Mace family homes brought up to standard. Maybe now someone will do something. I thank God I was able to move but there are numerous still living in these houses that need to be condemmed and most of the families are on HUD -so, the state is paying for these houses without requiring them to be up to code. I wish the best to this family in the future.
A house falls down? Are you kidding me? Was the Health Department / Building Inspector involved before the rental of this building? Sounds like an investigation into the slumlord of this property and any other that he/she may own is in order. Immediately!! I would get the meanest ATTORNEY involved in this ASAP. ALL SLUMLORDS BEWARE. This will not go unanswered. Any one renting substandard housing should get involved. These folks have lost everything that they own and will likely take years to rebuild their lives. THOU SHALL NOT RENT HOUSES THAT WILL FALL DOWN. Signed: A CONCERNED CITIZEN. To be continued: