Rant-Rent

[merig00.livejournal.com]

I work in accounting. My current engagement brought me to a real-estate company managing Section 8 housing. I always assumed that Section 8 was meant to assist poor people with living in the cities (projects). However as we started going through the files the current building we are working on consists of 70% of "performing artists" and 30% "elderly/disabled/poor". Yes there is a federal HUD program that pays rent for artists. I'm wondering if National Endowment for the Arts finances it, but there are federal and probably NYC money set aside specifically to help artist.

The building we are working on is walking distance away from the Time Square in NYC. By the HUD regulations, feds estimate what is the market value of the apartments are. So the market value by feds estimations (meaning that real value is probably higher) are from minimum $1,800/month for a studio to $4,200/month for a two-bedroom apartment.

Here are some examples - numbers are not exact:

1) a 50ish year old artist who moved in into the apartment in 1970s. She earns no money - her income of 14k is made up of her mother (remember, this person is 50+) paying her bills and buying her groceries and she has "artistic investor" who loans her money and provides equipment for her work. She pays $300/month for a $2,000 one-bedroom. Tax payers have been paying the lion share (over $1,500/month) of her rent for the last 25+ years.

2) A 50ish year old woman with a 10 year old son. Living in a $4,000/month two-bedroom. The kicker? Her father was an artist - some drummer who moved in in the building in the 70s, and she lived there with him since her 20s. He died long time ago. She is not an artist - she just still lives there. She earns about $80,000/year. She pays only $1,600/month and the tax payers are paying the rest.

3) Another couple in their early 30s. One earns $90,000 a year. The second is a designer and earns $300/year. They are living in a one bedroom $2,400/month apartment. What are they paying for rent? $600/month. The tax payers got the rest.

Ooh and did I mention that HUD helps you out with the utilities too?

There are over 1600 units in that building... you can figure out the general picture -  most people who live there are dead-beat loser artists or inherited the place and leeching off the taxpayers. The lowest rent I saw so far, was $60/month for a studio in the heart of the New York City. Given there are some tenants who live only on disability or social security - but they are minority there.

It just drives me nuts. At least it seems like my colleagues share my views and just as appalled as I am. So we just vent it out... cause we got a  separate office (yey!) and not cubicles!-