I've got the same story here in Phoenix.
Drop houses are so common that they are a minor news story:
37 Found In Suspected Drop House
September 4th, 2007
Phoenix police busted a suspected drop house Monday night. (snip)
Posted on 09/06/2007 10:19:01 PM PDT by Lorianne
The new house on Allison Street in North Brentwood is two stories higher than the older homes that surround it. It doesn't have a porch, shutters or any of the other distinguishing features found on the century-old bungalows on the block.
"It's out of character for the town," said Mayor Petrella A. Robinson, who lives across the street, with a dog on her front porch.
"It's humongous," another neighbor said of the house, as yet unoccupied. "It just doesn't fit in."
The complaints sound the same as those in Chevy Chase and Arlington County: Builders are constructing large houses on small lots, knocking down trees, obstructing sunlight and destroying the character of the town.
But in North Brentwood and other small municipalities in northern Prince George's County, mansionization comes with a twist: Some of the new homes, neighbors and town leaders say, are being used as boardinghouses for several families or unrelated people. Some are college students from the University of Maryland. Others appear to be immigrants.
"Our concern with these McMansions is they are not single-family homes," LaVerne Williams of Lewisdale told a group of county planners and elected officials in Riverdale. "You are turning our communities into rooming communities."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
If I could afford a McMansion, either a detached house or a "humongous" apartment, I would go for it. I much prefer a spacious dwelling to a claustrophobic one.
But I can't, so I get as spacious a dwelling as I can afford. No one has unlimited funds... even the Trumps of this world.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
I guess that is what happens when you buy into a flippers neighborhood.
How long until ICE finds more than 1000 “undocumented Americans” living in one McMansion?
I’m still on my one man boycott. I won’t buy a house until tarriffs are enforced. Too much chance of neighbors becoming bording houses as I’ve seen often on the west coast.
Granted if I was in an area of the country where houses are relatively cheap.. like 200-300k for a decent house it wouldn’t be that big of a risk. And in that situation honestly people wouldn’t need to crowd into property so much, as many could afford single family residence themselves.
This is what happens when a city zones cheap housing for poor people out of existence. Poor folks have to live somewhere, and if cities won’t let them live in apartments or cheap rent houses, they’ll make their own.
I don’t feel sorry for these homeowners. In their attempt to flee the problems of the cities, they have created the slums of the future. Suburbanization only spreads the decay; look at the rings of shabby, 1950s and 1960s suburbs that surround our cities for proof. As with earlier suburbs, the gated communities and mini-mansion tracts of today are the dilapidated barrios, ghettoes, and trailer parks of tomorrow.
You can’t run away from the problems of urban living, America. Wherever you go, they will follow. Stand and fight for the cities!
The record I have heard of is 60 if I remember correctly. I might be remembering too high in honesty though. I know with certainty it was above 35 men. They were in a big McMansion which had bunk beds throughout the house, floor to ceiling.. and in a residential neighborhood.
The guys worked shifts, so not all were home at any one time.
I read a horrific account in a blog comment. The poster said a Mexican family bought the house next door to him. Then 12 migrant workers moved in as tenants in addition. They turned the front yard into a hanging out spot. He said when his daughters went out front, there were men wolf whistling at them.
Thats true if I can save up some more over the next two or three years I can jump to affording acreage. I looked at a nice property 4 acres, huge swimming pool, close to town but a smaller old house on it. The house is considered worthless, but to me it seems fine. Like it has nice vaulted wood ceiling, but no insulation and theyve done add ons that dont match well.
For people in that price range they want to put a really nice house on to.
Yep, they have been doing that for years. Another one in CA is the Viet Namese who live in a second story apartment and grow corn; so the water seeps through to the first floor apartment.
Fantastic post! I never thought about the rings around the cities from the 50’s and 60’s that way.
I’m a proponent of building upwards in cities when land gets so expensive. Build 50 story buildings for miles if thats wht it takes for poor people to all have a place to live. Supply will keep up with demand if city authorities will let projects get built. And thus prices will be kept low.
On the other hand if supply is way below demand, prices will rocket upwards until demand destruction happens. I find for some reason America in general can’t understand for the life of us, supply and demand when it comes to healthcare and housing. But people understand it quite easily for something like raw lumber pricing.
Steve Sailor made a great point in one article. He was talking about great cities that America has built and what we do then. Like Boston or Philadelphia. We're the only country who builds huge beautiful cities and imbues them with history, stone churches, monuments, ports etc.. then flee them as we gradually make them unliveable.
Wow. Where do you live?
In CT all the “Po folk” live in the broken down cities and all the working folks live in nice suburbs. We keep the welfare mamas and leeches out by 2+ acre zoning.
You described the natural order of things.
>>>I’m a proponent of building upwards in cities when land gets so expensive. Build 50 story buildings for miles if thats wht it takes for poor people to all have a place to live. Supply will keep up with demand if city authorities will let projects get built.
Been done. It was called Pruitt-Igoe. It became the world of Judge Dredd come to life.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pruitt-Igoe
Thriving cities pretty much push the poor out. They do this very effectively. In NYC they’ve been pushed out to Long Island and the Poconos.
I've got the same story here in Phoenix.
Drop houses are so common that they are a minor news story:
37 Found In Suspected Drop House
September 4th, 2007
Phoenix police busted a suspected drop house Monday night. (snip)
Smart to wait either way. You'll have some choice deals over the next few years. Research and watch the signs. You'll make a killing.
Best advice I can give is make certain you clearly understand the tax situation and the assessment you WILL be paying, not that of the previous owner. Also have an exact understanding of your insurance premiums and what they cover.
Good luck. There are going to be many smart people who will benefit from this downward cycle.
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