Category: Observations

Gentrification ans Me- Issue 5

Gentrification & Me, issue 5

“Unfortunately, many poorer city residents still don’t see the advantages of buying. As the interviews from the Shoreview case show, many residents still mistakenly believe living 20 years in a rented apartment bestows some property right equal or greater than that held by the actual owner. They do not realize the tax advantages of homeownership (through mortgage interest deductions) or the fact that owners realize the benefits of appreciated property while renters do not.” From Gentrification’s flip side — good for rich, bad for poor by Dwayne M. Green.

Homeownership. It is a good thing. It is also a pain in the rear.

But if you can stay ahead of the tax payments it can save a body from being outsted via gentrification.

And you were going to do what?

And you were going to do what?

I was talking with the neighborhood handyman some time back and he mentioned the guy who had sold me the house came by to, I don’t know, look around or something. Anyway the seller voiced regret about selling the house. He went through the shoulda done this or that’s.

Hearing this I’m thinking to myself, you owned the house for how many years, didn’t do a dang thing and now after I painted and repaired and am still finding crap hidden behind the drywall you wish you hadn’t sold it?

Let’s review shall we? I know he “fixed up” the place for sale. The fixer was a Nigerian named Sonny who does crappy work and hires crackheads. The upstairs was covered in textured paint…. to hide the cracks in the plaster. I know this because the texture wasn’t uniformed and very prickly and scratchy over the big cracks. The floor upstairs is uneven and is covered up by cheap carpet, which after 2 years, I need to replace. We discovered the plastic pipes weren’t sealed properly, they were just being held together by friction and gravity. The windows are cheap “section 8” windows, that also need replacing and squaring. The interior doors are hollow core and I have so far had to glue them back on occasion.

I have so far, painted the front, covering up the hideous red, that sat between two other red (different shades) townhomes. Got rid of the ‘weed’ trees in the front and the back. Cleaned up the front yard getting rid of stupid low unattended bushes replacing them with large flowers that keep blooming and planted grass. Nevermind that the cat kills the grass, I made an attempt. I have replaced the front lighting. I put in a rustic looking brick walkway replacing the green turf carpet encrusted with dirt. I have planted herbs in the front. In the back I replaced the fence with a newer cedar fence, and then stained it. I’m in the process of painting the back, updating the kitchen, and the interior lighting. Future plans are to lay hardwood flooring on the 1st level, replace the carpet upstairs, and redo all the windows.

I really doubt the former owner/landlord would have gone through all this trouble.

Trading Up – Neighbors move

Trading Up
I told my neighbor I wouldn’t tell anyone how much she’s selling her house for, so I won’t. But it is a sh*tload of $$. She deserves every single cent of it. She lived in the house for a little under 9 years. She’s going to trade in a townhouse with leaky basement and no parking for a house with a yard and a garage in BFE Maryland. All the cool stuff in the city that is attracting people means nothing to her. She has a car and kids. Metro and clubs don’t mean squat. Good schools and no shooting and no (as my Daddy would put it) dumbas$ n*ggas hanging out, that is what she wants and needs.
At the price the house is going for apparently only whites can afford it, so the demographics of the block will head in a particular direction. Called ET and told her to score one point for her people. Last month a white couple moved in on one end of the block, changing the trend of houses on the north end changing demographically from black renters to white homeowners and renters, so now the Euro-Americans are coming from both ends.
I am so thankful she did not decide to rent the house out to get Section 8 money. I pray to G-d above that Mr. Mesfin will sell his house too. Last I spoke to him he STILL had not decided if he was going to rent or sell. I hope he sells because I can tell he’s cheap and will be a slumlord.