JoB
cjboffoli…
your thoughtful post made me think.. in fact, i left the blog for a while to ponder after reading it.
the neighborhood i live in.. at the south end of california.. is a mix of homes… with modern structures and modern remodels on the rise.
i enjoy both.. but one of the neighbors i met while walking my pooches wasn’t so appreciative. The new houses on her block have caused her taxes to go up enough that she is forced to put her house on the market and move.
At the time i thought that a little exaggerated until i stopped by a house for sale in the neighborhood that will have to be pretty much gutted to become livable again.. and found it listed for over 600 thousand because it sits on a double lot… with only a postage stamp view unless you build 3 stories. Someone will likely buy the lot and do just that.. build two 3 story modern homes…
maybe she wasn’t exaggerating so much after all.
I want to think it is possible for all of us to have our dream without taking away the dreams of others… but sometimes their hold on their dream is so fragile that all it takes is upgrading the neighborhood to deprive them.
Bleeding heart though i am.. i don’t think that is reason enough to try to prevent someone from buying that property and building those two modern structures…
but i do think we need to put more effort into figuring out how to keep those people who were in the neighborhood before us in their homes if that is what they want.. or subsidize them when they are forced to move.
it is all well and good to talk about the profit they will make when they sell their home… but even if they haven’t mortgaged their equity to stay… the profit from their modest home.. though substantial.. is not likely to be enough to allow them to buy elsewhere.
and those rentals where the police visit regularly..
they are likely owned by those sitting on dilapidated houses waiting for the value of the land to exceed their expectations…
A good business move.. but not really healthy for the neighborhood.
There are no easy answers, are there?