I recently spoke to a friend who told me she was moving to a new apartment complex in my area. (If you are not reading this post on the site www.howisavemoney.net OR in your feed reader then this content may have been scraped)I had never seen that complex before but I decided to pay them a visit to look at apartments to see if I could save money on my rent. I spoke to the person at the front desk who mentioned that the buildings were 100% government funded and as a result they only rented based on income, with very strict income caps.
I told her my income and she informed me that I made too much to qualify for the apartment and I was turned down. I was really upset because the apartments were VERY nice and despite being for low income families they were well kept and nicely maintained. To someone who was driving by you would think that it was the home of a more affluent set based on the surroundings. I know you should not judge people based on what they drive or where they live but the place looked like well to do people lived there so I believe that the management of the place kept strict rules for the tenants and it was certainly not what I expected when I heard the words ‘low income’.
I guess I will not be moving at all and while I can certainly afford the place I rent right now I really would have liked to move into those apartments. I will have to settle for visiting my friend in her new home when she moves!!!!
I have a set of apartments near me like that. I’m surprised they didn’t offer you the “market rate” of the apartments. Just be glad you didn’t ask what the residents are paying. To hear how much they pay (or don’t pay in this case) will make your blood boil.
Actually the manager said they could not offer me the market rent because they were 100% government funded and their contract did not allow them to do so at this time.
They also had an 8 month waiting list but if they had empty units then it might have been allowed.
She said some places like that had an allowance in their contracts to offer market rates but theirs did not.
I found out from a coworker who has a friend that is staying there. She pays $255 for a two bed 2 bath, 1000 sq ft apartment.
Yes my blood boileth over!!!!
I’m all for social housing and helping the poor, but that’s a bit ridiculous. Why do they need such nice apartments for low income? It seems that the western world has become so self entitled that you don’t even need money to live the good life anymore. Where I live, the local government is pulling similar moves of turning part of a luxury condo into social housing. I just don’t understand why they can’t find a middle ground for things like this.
That’s where your tax dollars are going 😉
Although in one way I’m glad that these people have decent living conditions, it’s still immoral.
Oh they are better than just decent….LOL.
It’s still weird to think you were turn down because you earn too much. I’m not really sure whether to feel sorry or to ‘lol’. But don’t worry, I believe there are other nice apartments our there. Good luck.
Now I don’t make a lot of money…but I did find out that one person who qualified is someone I know personally. That person makes $7.50 per hour and only works 40 hours a week and claimed one dependent living in the apartment with them so that should give you an idea of the income limits.
denying for income , never heard that before …
Don’t worry LuLuGal there are so many nice apartment. And remember buddy nothing is impossible as impossible it self says “I Am Possible”. So keep on trying and searching new apartments. Good luck..
Well for me right now I love living close to work and there is a limited selection of apartments that fit the bill. The only other option close to work now is to rent a house but I do not want to do that. I will just stay in my place and hope that they change the contract and allow the complex to open a few units to those not on the low income list.
It is unlikely they will change the contract. Some politicians already decided that these low income units meet some kind of quota. So unless some other low income housing gets built elsewhere, that building will likely stay restricted to low income only.
$255 for a two bed 2 bath, 1000 sq ft apartment… that sounds really cheap to me.
It is unbelievably cheap but that is because she had such low income and had dependents and the apartments are subsidized.
Im having the same issues, I make too much money to get into some of these “income restricted” apartments. The other apartments in the area that are not income restricted charge way too much. In essense, they gouge you and ask for way above market price. This leaves a gap between income restricted and apartments I cant afford due to price gouging.
It is really frustrating! The apartments were really nice too..better quality than some of the ones where I did not make too much to afford. Isn’t that an oxymoron? I make too much to qualify for a nicer apartment ha ha. Good luck in your search!
Rent levels at Houston Class A apartments, on the other hand, have actually decreased by 1.6% in the past two years, thanks to the oil-price-collapse-induced slowing of job growth and excessive construction in the urban core.