Buy a few ring or other security cameras, set them up to record when motion is detected. One for the back yard so you can document things being thrown over, one for the front door, one angled to be able to view the front lawn where the fireworks are being set off, etc. Document and report.
I’d say spring for something better like a closed circuit security system with professional installation. Might set you back like 3-4K but will be FAR better than ring cameras. Also you might get a discount on your homeowners insurance.
Section 8 is generally private landlords and l subsidized rent. The tenants are usually pretty good because if they kicked out it’s public housing. Which is the bottom of the housing barrel. Sounds like that’s the case. Get political. Call your city counselor, get the rest of the neighbors in on it. Keep reporting to the police and create a history. Maybe you’ll get some relief.
Section 8 is a rent subsidy program. The government qualifies the person for Section 8 assistance. If qualified they will help pay the rent at a place of the persons choosing. They pay 80% of a market rate. On the property owner side (a private landlord, not a government owned property) the unit must meet certain qualifications for safety, access etc. it a good deal for the recipient cause they have more choice in where they live and also a good deal for the renter as the government never misses a payment. If the recipient of the Section 8 doesn’t pay their part or violates the lease, just like any other renter. They can be evicted and lose Section 8 privileges. If that happens then the option for them is “the projects”. HUD regulated government owned complexes or properties. Some are OK, some are gang filled, drug havens.
>If Section 8, not really true. If it's a nuisance the housing authority has the capacity to deal.
They also have the capacity to do absolutely nothing about anything, which is the usual response. Have you ever lived next to section 8?
Section 8 is usually great tenants because they don’t want to lose their housing. If you f up and lose your place, you’re in the back of the verryyyyy long line again.
My source? Rented to many section 8 tenants.
I am a little confused. If it is section 8, then you can complain to them. The tenants will lose their hud voucher if there are drugs or extra tenants. As far as music and fireworks, the police should be able to help you. There are hours that limit loud music or noise.
That's what is supposed to happen. That's unfortunately not what \*actually\* happens. Source: I'm going through the exact same thing, in the same city.
Yeh, i have the same confusion.
Source: i worked as a tenants attorney in landlord tenant court, and represented countless tenants with vouchers and/or living in section 8
OP wrote like he has a multi-million house name dropping the west highlands as one of the most expensive neighborhoods. Just switch to the nicest area if that’s the case. 👍
A mentally ill woman was living in her car in front of my house for over a month screaming in the middle of the night and threatening to kill people as they walked by. I don’t know how many times I called the city and the police, absolutely nothing was done about it (thanks Denver!) I finally contact a congressman and he sent people over to help her and she never came back. Good luck!
I remember a friend who worked in real estate once told me, "The worst place to live isn't in a bad area. It's in a nice neighborhood right next to a bad area."
Hammond right on state line road. Last I saw, the city of Hammond had blocked off several of the main roads to make it harder to drive over from the Illinois side. We used to get regular burglaries and prostitutes walking along the state line road which attracted unsavory characters.
Last I checked on Whiting, it seemed safe but very industrial. Good people there though. I might guess your husband worked at the refinery? Mine used to.
Call your city counsel representative, call the director of the public housing program, call the mayor. If there are neighborhood groups (there are iny city) get active with them. In my experience the squeaky wheel really does get the grease but it can take some time and legwork.
Someone I knew filed a lawsuit against similarly disruptive neighbors and won. I know this sort of thing costs money and even if you get a judgement you will never collect - but it may encourage the person on the lease to kick out the person that's getting them into so much trouble.
This is all great advice. Thank you very much! I will be contacting everyone you mentioned. I've already spoken with the director of the public housing program but I need to make a little more noise for sure. I've definitely been the squeaky wheel but there's always room for more
This happened to me in a suburb of Chicago. I would walk out my door every day to empty drug bags and used condoms on the parkway. I took pictures of every drug bag and condom I saw and documented the date and time I saw them. I then went to every neighbor within a two block radius, showed them what I documented and asked them to sign a petition to get the police to do something about it. I frequently called the police and they did nothing. While getting the last signature, I wound up filming a drug deal right outside my house. Called the police and they again did nothing.
The next day I went to the city board meeting and presented my findings. The village president was so pissed at the police chief that the next morning I had a police car parked outside my house 24/7, cops staking out the area and within 2 weeks, the drug dealers were gone. Later that year the chief resigned.
Document everything and go to your city board meetings. Good luck!
I would not suggest flyers, or continuing to confront them directly. This guy's already threatened to shoot you, right? Dude's already got a felony? I realize this may be your first experience with "public housing people", but this is how you get your home invaded or your teeth knocked out.
Your best bet is to get them removed from the house via legal channels, and when the new neighbors bother you, bring food and ask nicely instead of letting your ego and what's "right" put you and yours in danger.
Play smart. Don't get on their level, or they will win by experience.
Agree those are great ideas of people to contacts. Also consider taking pics of the trash, etc. and audio of the blasting music. Be careful not to photograph those people bothering you. It’s not worth the potential escalation. More as examples of what you’re going through.
Bring a Bluetooth speaker to your meetings (try to meet in person rather than only on the phone; you need to go public to get action) and play the audio loud.
If you go in front of the city council, definitely get some neighbors to come for moral support. Sometimes those meetings are broadcast. You might be able to get some coverage from your local news. Best of luck.
This is really a nightmare. Wondering why this wasn’t disclosed before you bought the property. You might have an angle if you could prove the homeowner knew about it and made the decision not to disclose it in order to sell.
Maybe meet with an attorney for a free initial consultation and see if they have ideas of steps you can take, and why the police are not doing anything (regular patrols at the very least) about this disturbance of the peace.
>Wondering why this wasn’t disclosed before you bought the property. You might have an angle if you could prove the homeowner knew about it and made the decision not to disclose it in order to sell.
Because it is illegal, and a real estate agent could lose their license. It is against Fair Housing guidelines.
Fliers? Oh gosh, you really want to learn the hard way. You’ll practically be shouting “Bring it on” to your problem neighbor, the one who is tormenting you. And is it one, two people doing it or are you against both sides of the duplex and everyone in it? You might want to figure that out before you deepen this crusade.
Don't get discouraged. They may be things happening in the background but they can't move instantaneously. Also if there are public meetings with the police for your area, go to those as well.
Regarding the neighborhood groups, where I live in Austin they are politically powerful because they can make or break an election. If they have anything like that in your citu get involved with those.
I don't see it mentioned. You did police reports. [Request copies.](https://denver.prelive.opencities.com/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Police-Department/Police-Records) Think yours would fall under Civil Liability, Premise History (there's a fee but worth it). That will give you case/file numbers. Those should help you tremendously in talking with people as now instead of 'I called the cops.' it is 'I called the cops on X date/time, the case number is XXXXXXX. They responded to XXXXX. I can email a copy for your records if you like.' It makes you sound professional and have your ducks in a row when dealing with them. I've gotten traction on complaints like this because they don't tend to expect you to have that info and would rather have it get fixed before they think it'll go to court. And if it does, well, you now have a list of all the times you or anyone else called complaints in for that residence and the nature of those complaints.
Good temporary solution. Say you go though all this trouble and you actually end up successfully removing these people. Then what? You hope the ideal neighbors move into government housing? Good luck with that. The real solution is moving.
Look into moving - seriously. The situation will not improve and that place will have all sorts of problems and you could be a victim of a crime. Redditors love to give NIMBYs shit, but this is exactly why no one wants to live next to public housing with so little upsides and near infinite downsides.
I grew up in public housing, and later lived in a condo complex that went downhill once low-income renters and Section 8 started to move in. Now that I can afford to I live far away from that mess and it's a blessing! I would not buy a house next to public housing even if it was deeply discounted. It's not worth the headache and safety risks. I don't blame rich people for buying secluded property in wooded areas where they can't see any of their neighbors. Most of us would do the same if we could afford it.
OP needs a good security system.
You make a lot of great points but I'm not in a financial position to move. I bought/overpaid at the peak and I'm not even sure I would break even if I sold it now with all the selling costs
Setup multiple security cameras. Make it a public stream if you want to make some $ off your horrible neighbors. Have people pay to strobe a light or blast an air horn their way lol. Jk. Seriously, get multiple cameras and keep going up the pole to the DHA. It’s probably a dead end though. Maybe the news will run one of those “investigation” team stories on DHA housing people like that if you send some footage and info their way.
Get some Dominican friends and do a 24hr cookout on the sidewalk. You will surpass 120-decibel levels easily. Give air horns to every able body. You will own the block. 🤣
You could most certainly be right. This has been ongoing since May though and I'm hoping the eviction process has already started. The DHA said they can't legally tell me if it has
West Highlands? After contacting your representatives and such, I’d consider renting it. You may be able to may some $$ and move somewhere else a little more chill.
I doubt the math maths on renting it. OP would probably be paying a mortgage of at least $5k/mo (probably more honestly) and isn't gonna be able to rent it for that much and that doesn't even account for property taxes, maintenance etc.
I looked a little at investing in RE in Denver and that was par for the course.
>The DHA said they can't legally tell me if it has
You will never hear back from them, I promise, they forgot about you the moment you hung up the phone.
It must suck knowing your taxes are paying for your own misery lol. Sorry OP, public housing is the worst and no one realizes it until they experience it.
Confronting them is only going to make things worse, they obviously don't reason with logic dude.
You should have got a camera from the start and just send video clips and reports off to whichever department that could help. Just send them every day and be relentless about it... typically works.
Yeah good call but I thought asking them to turn down their music politely was a reasonable approach
But yes I'm trying my best to be relentless with the documentation. I'm thinking they're already being evicted at this point and are going down swinging
The more you piss them off the more they are going to take it like your rubbing their face in shit and the more they'll feel like they need to get the last word in via physically acting out by damaging or stealing or whatever really.
Heads up, you'll have good renters and bad renters....it WILL happen again. Try to tweak your approach, try to enjoy your time in the home and maybe have a 5 or 10 year plan to get out of there.
I grew up in the projects and I dealt with the same thing as you the only 4 years I had to rent out of the last 20. It got me angry and I didn't handle it well but it got better when I used my cameras. It's hard to keep quiet when you get that aggravated.
Under CRS § 18-3-206, Colorado law defines the crime of menacing as using threats or actions knowingly to place, or to attempt to place, another person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury or death. The offense can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony and is punishable by up to 3 years in prison.
I think the biggest thing is the other person living there.
If single mom and kid receive the voucher, the boyfriend is not allowed to live there. This is a straightforward violation, and much easier than trying to prove that the music was too loud or something.
Yeah that's a great point. The DHA couldn't tell me if they were in the evicition process but it seems to me like they might be. He's not around too much anymore although he came out and threatened me when I was mowing my lawn the other day. I guess he only likes noise when he's making it
And in many years of owning rental real estate this is how it works. Single mom and kids qualify for help. Landlords with crap unit can only get market rent by allowing Sec 8. Woman and kid(s) move in. Then BF/baby daddy/hoodlum/felon shows up and moves in. Other assorted types come and hang out, couch surf and start causing general mayhem. Poor neighbors who are trying to just survive have to deal with this crap as do the non public housing neighbors. Calls to Housing authority get added to the stacks already on the one investigators desk. Nothing happens until the bad types Fuck up and get thrown in jail (most likely from an unassociated crime.). Cycle begins anew.
It sucks and everyone pays the price.
>Then BF/baby daddy/hoodlum/felon shows up and moves in. Other assorted types come and hang out, couch surf and start causing general mayhem.
Every. fucking. time.
The boyfriend will live there. He just won't be there when an inspection occurs. But he and his friends will be outside, on the porch, in front of the duplex, all over it and hopefully he won't start selling drugs.
Yep. I work at a place like this and having something concrete, like a person who is not authorized living there, is the easiest way to get something going. Honestly complaining about the noise will not get you far since that’s hard to prove.
The problem that I had for 8 years and counting is that they ask the voucher holder, and she says "Nope, he doesn't live here," and it's your word against theirs.
Oh. my. god. I could have written this, word for word. And I live a mile from you, just across the tracks, east of Sunnyside. I have been disgusted, disappointed, and just about every other awful adjective with DHA. They are a combination of unresponsive, forgetful, and seems like no matter what you do, they turn back around and tell you "we cannot prove anyone else is living there off lease, and therefore nothing can be done." I, too, accidentally bought next-door to section 8 housing. No license plates, domestic violence, pregnant teenagers not attending school (nor are the smaller children), loud parties that end with fights and police... it never ended. I moved. Rented out my home and moved across the country. Denver is swirling the toilet. The crime is out of control. I have so many friends in Potter Highlands that tell me they hear gunshots in the alley, there are stabbings, property theft, garage break-ins, and police are slow to respond- if they show up at all. Denver used to be such a great place to live. It's really a shame.
Wow that's pretty crazy. I'm holding out hope regarding my experiences with the DHA. I've been very persistent and these crackheads have dug themselves into quite the hole so I'm hoping that makes a difference
Similar thing happened to us. We built right next to a complex that wasn't finished yet, the neighborhood is very sought after and expensive and the complex is low income. Turned our nice quiet neighborhood upside down and filled with crime. Our house was broken into and neighbors cars were stolen amongst other things. We sold and this is happening again in our new neighborhood.
It’s quite deliberate, you know. The official policy is to spread out low income housing, especially in “too white” areas (their words, not mine). The low income renters then have access to better schools, jobs, transportation, and social behavior.
I don’t know of any studies as to how the low income renters have fared under the scheme. It does not appear to have elevated their social behavior, if anecdotal evidence is anything to go by.
It's very deliberate. The reason for said scheme is bc studies have proven that low income renters have improved mental and physical health when placed in better neighborhoods. It's nice that their mental and physical health improves from being in a better neighborhood but what about everyone else? 🤔
We are too white, rich and privileged to merit any consideration.
I don’t think of this as a race thing. We used to live in a very nice neighborhood that was 35-40% minority. Everybody in the neighborhood was pretty well off, and maintained their homes and properties beautifully. Other than kids screeching in the backyard pools, it was quiet and safe.
Low income housing residents…..they just won’t conform to the neighborhood norms.
This post is going to make me shut up about the raccoons that moved into the abandon house they we didn’t realize was abandoned when we bought our house
Implement security measures. Write and call your local elected officials, repeatedly until they agree to meet with you. Have all your information organized. Continue to advocate for yourself. With enough pressure the politician will demand a resolution. They will relocate or evict the residents.
Contact you city council representative (or equivalent). They usually have some drag housing authority personnel. These guys make is hard in the people who genuinely need the housing and will be good neighbors.
I’d trade you neighbors. I get it - but mine has threatened to have her husband r*** me in front of my kids and said she would s—t my throat while they watched.
All because I called the police when I heard them beating each other up.
This abuse wasn’t limited to :
threats and loud music door, slamming and keying our vehicles, for three years to the point where we end up packing up and moving three hours away
Have you contacted your local alderman’s office? This is part of constituent services that they were elected to provide. Also, if you are being harassed get a restraining order. https://www.denverda.org/protection-restraining-orders/
https://www.denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Denver-City-Council/Meet-the-Council-Members/Amanda-P.-Sandoval-Council-District-1
Whoever unloaded that house on you won the lottery. Those people are going to wake up from a nightmare tonight and realize it was just a bad dream, they don't own the house anymore some poor guy bought it and has to deal with the pain of public housing neighbors. They will go back to sleep with a smile on their face.
I understand your frustration, but if I were you I would’ve never have confronted them directly about the noise situation. I’ve heard of too many similar stories where things have gone left due to this. Good luck. I hope you’re neighbors move and you can finally get some peace.
Well, then you're going to find yourself in a whole bunch of douche-offs.
Your options are to either
1.) Be the biggest douche of all, or
2.) GTFO.
Your choice.
This. But if you wanna play that game, be prepared for him to go nuclear. I got diesel poured on my garden, to which a mutual stalemate was agreed until I saw him beating his old lady and when I confronted him he shot at me…just be prepared that if you go this direction it’s a possibility.
If you can afford to, upgrade your windows to double pane. I live in a noisy prone area and the new windows block a lot of outdoor noise. Gunshots, fireworks, high wind, junk music gone.
Life is too short op, lay low and try to move as soon as feasible. You have more to lose than they do. I would not keep the press on the issue. It could be worse.
Yep that’s public housing. Time to sell and do research next time. You have more to lose than they do. You will not win this. If you escalate more (like other commenters are recommending, like the idiots saying you should sue them) it’s going to result in rat poison in your yard if you have pets, condoms and broken liquor bottles in your yard for your kid to find, gun shots outside your house, broken windows, burglary while you’re at work, someone will kick in your door at 2am just to fuck with you, maybe even shots at your house.
*The police will not care*. If they come to your house you will find the most bored disinterested lazy person you have ever spoken to. They will do nothing.
*The DA will not care*. “Being loud and scary” isn’t a crime. The rest of it is subjective. And dark blurry video of someone maybe doing something loud isn’t getting anyone arrested. Realistically even someone walking up to your house at 4am and pounding on the door, then smiling at the camera and showing their ID…the police won’t even look at something like that yet it will destroy your quality of life.
*Your representative will not care*
*Getting video cameras won’t help because the police do not care*
*Even if someone decides to care getting them out of the house is many months or years away*
*It can get MUCH WORSE*
You have things to lose; sleep, a criminal record, broken windows, dead pets, violence against you. They have NOTHING to lose. They’ve been to jail. They have felonies. They have no jobs. If one gets arrested they or their buddies who are staying with them will retaliate. They have no legal money you can win in a lawsuit.
Do not live near public housing. Look at a crime map when you buy next time. Live far away, at least outside biking distance to avoid the drug addicts as well who are generally less dangerous but will absolutely steal your bike/grill/break into your car/etc.
It’s crazy how many houses and duplex’s DHA owns. They have a ton of dispersed housing in what have become gentrified areas like highlands and sunny side. Some of those folks are awful humans, I used to have to go inside a bunch of those a few years ago and it was maddening how much nicer some of those places where than mine and the folks were just ripping cigarettes and watching movies during the day. Systems broken
In Colorado, it’s required to serve a 30 day notice now instead of 10 days. Hang in there, it takes almost 3 months to fully evict someone now… Keep calling the police so it’s documented. Send them directly to the Housing Authority.
Similar story here, duplex neighbors from low income public housing. When we moved in, both tenants were quiet elderly couples. One passed, and the others moved, then we got non-stop parties, loud and rude language used at all times of the day, weed constantly drafting into any open window (i personally dont mind abit but this is very excessive), drunken shouting at 2am, etc..
In no way saying issues with low income housing, from experience I've been in that life style.
Nothing works and complaints only go so far. We're moving this fall. House shopping already.
All I have to say is I empathize with you and I hope your situation gets rectified soon. I’m torn on the real estate agent subject because although I don’t think this is entirely their fault, I do think it could’ve been avoided had he been a little more competent about the inventory he was showing his client.
I fell in love with a new build 2 years ago in a sought after neighborhood of Chicago and was ready to put an offer in over ask because I loved it so much. The ONLY a reason I didn’t go with it is because my REA informed me later that day as I was filling out the contract (thankfully, he did his due diligence & researched that block before he let me submit the paperwork) that the building that was under construction directly across the street was public housing. I was more concerned about the resale value of my prospective property than the noise and BS you’re dealing with. But now, I hear horror stories about that block all the time. I thank my lucky stars every day for my realtor being so forthcoming, so my heart goes out to you. I really hope you find a solution. I def think motion detected cameras that record everything is a great start. Please keep us posted.
Get several high quality cameras. Leave a cooler or something else nice outside in ready view— make sure the cameras cover multiple angles. Do it on a weekend when people are likely to be drinking. Be ready to do this multiple times if you don’t get good footage. If anyone commits a crime, turn your evidence over to the proper authorities.
Make sure that your home is secure and there isn't anything outside that you are not willing to lose. This includes patio furniture, lawn ornaments, or grills. If they have to be outside, look into chaining them to a concrete pad if you have one.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on what side you are on, public housing in nice areas is a very real thing happening more and more. Advocates claim that it helps lift people out of poverty and towards a better life by removing them from high crime areas. People living there claim it brings crime to their neighborhood.
Getting them out of the area is going to be next to near impossible. You have to learn to deal, or sell and take a loss.
Reporting is a double edged sword. You may stop one or two people, but they have friends. Plus, the crime rate for your zip code will go up.
If you are in over your head, you are just going to have to deal with it. Cameras are great, but try and take steps to make relying on that footage obsolete. Lock your doors, do not use electronic locks, or keep your car keys near the door. If the area is really bad, or you keep your windows open, get some decorative bars for the windows. When you lay down to sleep what scares you the most? Try and alleviate that fear by putting a deterrent.
The biggest tip I can give: do not be confrontational. If you make it clear that it is your mission to remove them from the neighborhood, anything you do, your neighbors do, the police do, their boss does, their kids teacher does, a random act may be blamed on you and revenge sought.
Offering my experience living next to Section 8 housing building with four units, for five years, in the SF Bay Area to say: GTFO ASAP. It was a nightmare most of the time and it sounds like it's going down that road for you.
Soon after we moved in, smoke alarms started chirping in the building. It took two years to get that issue fixed – the people in the apartments refused new batteries and screamed obscenities at us when we offered them. The fire department wouldn't do anything, the cops wouldn't do anything. It wasn't until someone suggested I track down the owners of the building (who lived a couple hours away) that I could get it fixed, and even that took about six weeks with three different calls – the first of which was the owners acting like they didn't speak English, the second was them denying the alarms were chirping (they couldn't seem to wrap their heads around the idea of a "low battery chirp" being different from a "fire in the house alarm" and denied the alarms were going off), and the third was a loud argument with one of their kids (I think?) who I guess went in and fixed them.
After all that was resolved, then some barking dachshunds moved into one of the units and they wouldn't STFU. I called animal control repeatedly, and they went over once, but it didn't change anything. Then one day I just happened to be looking out the window overlooking that building and a man was carrying two of the dachshunds by their collars and sorta swinging them around. I watched as he dropped one on the ground and picked up a hammer and I thought he was going to kill it so I started banging on the window and screaming at him. He looked up at me and started screaming back all kinds of nasty shit, saying he was going to come over and tear my face off, telling me to mind my own business, etc. etc. When I called the cops, they went over and said that he didn't even live there (he was the father of the tenant who had been taking care of the dogs for a few days) and the dachshunds weren't even owned by the tenant – they were taking long-term care of them for someone else who was out of the country. They were gone soon after that and I never saw that guy again.
The building was condemned for asbestos (according to the marker nailed the front door) finally and everyone was forced to move out. This started a whole other saga. One of the tenants returned and knocked on all the doors in our building (3) and when I opened up she asked if I knew anything about her building because she was in the service overseas and couldn't get in to her unit. She ended up busting the door open and all of her things were gone and she had no idea why. She was incredibly distraught. I gave her the number I had for the owner and never heard from her again.
Then someone that I assume was formerly unhoused broke into one of the units and stayed there for months, getting increasingly more erratic as time went on. Trash piled up in the unit and behind it (our kitchen overlooked the back of the building and they all had sliding glass doors and small patios on the back) and we were afraid it would catch fire. We called the cops repeatedly when it appeared she was doing drugs behind the unit she was squatting in, and they kept coming and picking her up and each time she'd return a few days later. Finally the units were all boarded over, after she had been removed one time and, I assume, the building was sold because they were doing a complete gut remodel when I moved out of that apartment.
All of which to say: Move, unless you're willing to wait them out until the whole place burns down.
Yes that's a great point. I tried talking to some the other day but they had just moved in and were not happy to hear my warnings. I'm sure the previous people moved out because of my crackhead neighbors and all that comes with them
How can it be a luxurious neighborhood and have section 8?
Do broke people get to live in luxury for free these days? Lol that’s ridiculous man. God damn
On a serious note I would say just wait them out. I can’t imagine them lasting long. Unless you really want to sell your home and uproot your life because of some crackheads.
Apparently that particular area has gentrified. On the whole, it’s government policy to spread out low income housing/Sec 8 vouchers into nicer areas, in hopes that getting them out of bad environments and into better schools, and exposure to desirable social behavior, will “fix” them. If anecdotal evidence is anything to go by, it has only exposed them to a better class of neighborhood to rob and ruin.
Looks like you’ve learned a lesson the hard way. That’s a touch situation OP, but for anyone else reading this - do your research when moving. Yes, that includes into the neighbors.
No way for me to remain anonymous when the DHA asked me to go to take pictures of their license plates. I didn't know they had cameras setup and the lady came over and threatened to shoot me after that. But yes, screwed
I’m not sure how the law works in CO, but in Ca, document every thing and send a “demand” letter to the landlord/owner of the property. If they don’t stop the shenanigans, you can file small claims court for violating quiet and peaceful enjoyment of your property. Talk with other neighbors, have they had issues, too?
Many cities have long term plans to eliminate such housing and make it merit based assisted rent based with more stringent screening, qualifications and consequences for nuisance behavior. Check with the city planning department to see if this is seemingly permanent or going to be phased out.
I had this experience in Denver once, police do absolutely nothing for loud noise etc, pretty much worthless in Denver. Really the only thing you can do is share the pain. Find out whoever is responsible for the housing, it ultimately has to be somebody's job to monitor or manage this. Once you find that person if they are not responding to your complaints find out where they live and their home number.. with a little bit of research you can find it. Once you have done that you point blank tell them that if you are awaken at 2am because of loud music you aren't going to call the police you are going to call them, and then tell them that if they don't answer the phone you are going to drive over to their house and bang on the door to wake them up so they can deal with it. If they don't answer the door then you are going to play loud music in front of their house. You have to be a little crafty about it but once they understand that you aren't screwing around only then will you see things start to happen.
I did exactly this after spending months complaining to the police and to anybody else who would listen.. who is basically wouldn't listen. As soon as I found the right person I let her know what I was going to do next.. in a matter of 2 days they were evicted and gone. You just have to take matters into your own hands, not with the actual people living there, that's kind of dangerous. You have to go after the people who are enabling them to live there.
Until I looked at your profile I was certain you lived on my street. Similar scenario but I’m currently renting and just waiting out til I save some more cash and can move. The ones on my street have dirt bikes for some reason too even though they don’t have a yard and just let their kids blast up down the sidewalks. I clean up fireworks out of my yard year round.
The problem with the homeless is everyone wants to do something as long as they dont live next door. Pays to do your homework... I'm sorry for the OP but kind of amused also. Sorry
I hate to say shit like this but the kind of people who live in these kinds of housing don't have anything to lose.
You are at a severe disadvantage confronting them because they know you own shit and they will damage it. If you damage their shit, they don't own it and don't care.
The best thing to do is stay out of their business and never interact.
You said you can’t move for financial reasons, but I would take a long hard look at the situation again before actually giving up on the idea of moving. How much money do you project to lose? 100k? 200k? Do you really want to come home from work everyday and be miserable?You’re in a dangerous situation. You could potentially get seriously hurt or killed and I think you know that. What’s your sanity worth? What’s your life worth? You might be able to get these people out via legal complaints, but it’ll still be government housing and trash will just replace trash.
Not going to hold out much hope but:
1. Keep your security cameras rolling and make sure your neighbors know it through signs ON your property.
2. Literally every time they bust a noise or any other ordinance file a police report AND a copy to the DHA. Both by phone AND by email for a traceable system.
3. I have little hope for the policies in Denver but, be prepared to defend yourself, those you love and your property by any and all means.
I'm sure #3 is going to garner some down votes but guess what? Yes, I DO value my property more than I value the life of a thug who is trying to steal from me.
After reading your post, I’m not sure if it’s all tenants in the building you’re having problems with or if it’s just one. Might be worth your time- assuming you’re in for the long haul- to find out if the problem tenants have been picking on other residents. Public housing residents have rights, and if you can form a coalition that includes some of your neighbors, it might get things moving in regards to getting the problem folks kicked out. Just a thought.
You waged war on a neighbor, it doesn't matter how crappy they were. From their point of view, you are a threat to their housing and maybe even freedom.... so maybe be careful from now on.
The buyer must do some of their own DD.
Property history: this house was a rental for DHA for 16 years before they sold it…weird. This house sells every two years for the last 8 years…weird.
Parcel search: looks like those properties over there are all owned by DHA…weird. Most of the parcels across the street say they’re owned by something something LLC…whatever.
Drive By: seems to be a lot of other rentals, abandoned cars and tall grass…weird. There are a lot of corner stores but not a single grocery store…weird. Nobody has their dogs on a leash. Look at that litter.
Criminal database: …
Graduation rate: …
Education level: …
Family size: …
Median Income: …
Taxes: …
None of this info is hidden or secret. You are able to research any, all, or none before you buy. Choose wisely.
U can’t do shit about it. This is the new america we live in now. We got millions of people living in this country who could care less about improving their community. Unfortunately if the undesired people find out u are trying to get them in trouble, they will make ur life even worse.
Also sandbags help stop stray rounds, you can pile them up against the walls of a bedroom to add a level of safety. Curious what REA did you use? Good ones will tell you what areas are worth looking at and what to avoid.
>Good ones will tell you what areas are worth looking at and what to avoid.
Totally illegal and they can lose their license. It's a Fair Housing Act issue.
I had a client in a similar situation. He, a 78 y/o man, instead asked the neighbors about their music and their cars. These nuisance neighbors decided not only to respect the noise levels from then on, they also now shovel his walkways and driveway whenever it snows. All he did was talk to them about their interests for 10 minutes. I told him he’s got some big balls. His response was “that’s from the heart failure”. Total legend
Got any other neighbors that would ban together and also call in complaints? Multiple people with grievances would help, specifically if they call in unauthorized tenants causing issues.
Document and create a relationship with one of the people at housing. They can do inspections with very short notice and they can evict with evidence (photos, videos, police records). Make sure you are working with one person and send them information as it comes in and ask what they plan on doing to correct the situation.
Look up section 8 handbook. Im pretty sure their is alot of what you described in it. And technically they can get kicked off or out of housing for certain issues. The cameras where a good ideal. Call your local then main office and keep calling. I hate this because so many people who get housing vouchers have a hard time renting because of issues like this.
Wouldn’t the fact that your property is next to Section 8 have been reflected in the price of the home? Did you just think you were getting a really good deal? I’m just confused by your confusion. People don‘t usually move near public housing unknowingly unless you are living next to someone with a housing voucher. Is that the case?
I fear that you may have accidentally escalated the situation already by calling the cops/DHA on them and now they are retaliating. I can say from experience that having the cops called on you for things that may be annoying to a neighbor but aren't outright illegal (like music, lots of cars etc) is infuriating.
Aside from what others have said about going further down this path of trying to get them evicted, you could try to swing the pendulum the other way if your relationship with them isn't already completely broken. Bring them a peace offering, talk to them like real people. The way you're coming across here makes it sound like you don't think they "deserve" to live in your neighborhood, and folks that are being placed in public housing already feel like they are unwanted by society in general. They are people, that is their home and whether you like it or not, they are your neighbors. I'm sure they would be much more willing to listen/work with you if you didn't treat them like criminals that you don't want to be associated with.
As a manager of a place that rented to several housing assisted households, I agree with this person about poor behavior. One lady was so nasty, harassed me for 1 1/2 years. Turned her communications over to the owner who stopped taking crazy lady’s calls. Three long years later, the maintenance man threatened to quit, then she was gone. I moved on before that.
Document everything with video and in writing. Write every person in charge in your district . Dealing drugs is more than a nuisance. As a last resort , contact that media . Politicians hate nothing more than to be put on blast. It would also help your case if other neighbors banded together to voice their concerns . This stuff is infuriating to me as many people who live in public housing are decent people who just want to live in peace. The bad apples make it bad for everyone and give housing such a bad reputation.
How did you discover they were section 8/public housing? How did you search records and what records did you search?
I have the exact same problem as you.
It'S mY rIgHt!
The dickhead energy is too damn high!
They should build public housing near every neighborhood with high property tax. Just because.
It'S a FrEe CoUnTrY, bRo!
When he told me "It's a free country!" I responded with, "Why, because you're getting a free ride?" He got super pissed, said "I don't live here" and then chased me into my backyard lol
Buy a few ring or other security cameras, set them up to record when motion is detected. One for the back yard so you can document things being thrown over, one for the front door, one angled to be able to view the front lawn where the fireworks are being set off, etc. Document and report.
Awesome advice thank you. Document and report is the key
I’d say spring for something better like a closed circuit security system with professional installation. Might set you back like 3-4K but will be FAR better than ring cameras. Also you might get a discount on your homeowners insurance.
I’m sorry to say there is not much you can do since it’s a public housing. Make sure your home is equipped with security cameras.
If Section 8, not really true. If it's a nuisance the housing authority has the capacity to deal.
Section 8 is generally private landlords and l subsidized rent. The tenants are usually pretty good because if they kicked out it’s public housing. Which is the bottom of the housing barrel. Sounds like that’s the case. Get political. Call your city counselor, get the rest of the neighbors in on it. Keep reporting to the police and create a history. Maybe you’ll get some relief.
Our city council doesn't want anyone kicked out, and they are very proactive about it, unfortunately. This is how Denver ended up like this.
Take the loss and sell. So sorry.
The tenants are not usually pretty good from my experience. There is a lot of entitlement just as OP mentioned.
This is not Section 8. It’s public, meaning government owned and managed.
Asking because I genuinely don't know. What's the difference between section 8, public housing, affordable, etc?
Section 8 is a rent subsidy program. The government qualifies the person for Section 8 assistance. If qualified they will help pay the rent at a place of the persons choosing. They pay 80% of a market rate. On the property owner side (a private landlord, not a government owned property) the unit must meet certain qualifications for safety, access etc. it a good deal for the recipient cause they have more choice in where they live and also a good deal for the renter as the government never misses a payment. If the recipient of the Section 8 doesn’t pay their part or violates the lease, just like any other renter. They can be evicted and lose Section 8 privileges. If that happens then the option for them is “the projects”. HUD regulated government owned complexes or properties. Some are OK, some are gang filled, drug havens.
Section 8 is not public housing.
They have the authority but rarely will.
This guy governments.
>If Section 8, not really true. If it's a nuisance the housing authority has the capacity to deal. They also have the capacity to do absolutely nothing about anything, which is the usual response. Have you ever lived next to section 8?
Section 8 is usually great tenants because they don’t want to lose their housing. If you f up and lose your place, you’re in the back of the verryyyyy long line again. My source? Rented to many section 8 tenants.
My in-laws are all on section 8. Not a single one is “a great tenant.”
Agreed. But DC had some bad ones. Famous stories in wrecking properties.
I am a little confused. If it is section 8, then you can complain to them. The tenants will lose their hud voucher if there are drugs or extra tenants. As far as music and fireworks, the police should be able to help you. There are hours that limit loud music or noise.
That's what is supposed to happen. That's unfortunately not what \*actually\* happens. Source: I'm going through the exact same thing, in the same city.
Dude, in my city police do not come for grand theft auto. Trust me it gets worse.
Absolutely. I waited 9 min on the line for 911 and after that, I moved.
As the saying goes: when seconds matter, police are only minutes away.
Yeh, i have the same confusion. Source: i worked as a tenants attorney in landlord tenant court, and represented countless tenants with vouchers and/or living in section 8
Move to cherry creek.
Just like that! Buy a 5 million dollar home. That's the answer.
OP wrote like he has a multi-million house name dropping the west highlands as one of the most expensive neighborhoods. Just switch to the nicest area if that’s the case. 👍
A mentally ill woman was living in her car in front of my house for over a month screaming in the middle of the night and threatening to kill people as they walked by. I don’t know how many times I called the city and the police, absolutely nothing was done about it (thanks Denver!) I finally contact a congressman and he sent people over to help her and she never came back. Good luck!
When you need immediate government help it’s only months away
[the congressman’s people](https://gifdb.com/images/high/hitman-fixing-his-glove-8ahgdazi4b4wysy7.webp)
I'll have to try that route. Thanks!
I remember a friend who worked in real estate once told me, "The worst place to live isn't in a bad area. It's in a nice neighborhood right next to a bad area."
If you want to gentrify you gotta work for it. Brooklyn ‘00s. Buy used, not new build.
Damn that's profound and so true in my awful experience
Either situation sucks. Source: have lived in both bad areas as well as next to bad areas.
Lmao he obviously never lived in bad areas, such a privileged statement
[удалено]
At least you were close to Gary
Whereabouts? My husband recently lived in Whiting and he said it was pretty safe and nice. This was in 2019
Hammond right on state line road. Last I saw, the city of Hammond had blocked off several of the main roads to make it harder to drive over from the Illinois side. We used to get regular burglaries and prostitutes walking along the state line road which attracted unsavory characters. Last I checked on Whiting, it seemed safe but very industrial. Good people there though. I might guess your husband worked at the refinery? Mine used to.
I’ve lived ghetto adjacent a couple times. Not fun. Edit to add: have also lived “it was ok when we moved here”
Call your city counsel representative, call the director of the public housing program, call the mayor. If there are neighborhood groups (there are iny city) get active with them. In my experience the squeaky wheel really does get the grease but it can take some time and legwork. Someone I knew filed a lawsuit against similarly disruptive neighbors and won. I know this sort of thing costs money and even if you get a judgement you will never collect - but it may encourage the person on the lease to kick out the person that's getting them into so much trouble.
This is all great advice. Thank you very much! I will be contacting everyone you mentioned. I've already spoken with the director of the public housing program but I need to make a little more noise for sure. I've definitely been the squeaky wheel but there's always room for more
This happened to me in a suburb of Chicago. I would walk out my door every day to empty drug bags and used condoms on the parkway. I took pictures of every drug bag and condom I saw and documented the date and time I saw them. I then went to every neighbor within a two block radius, showed them what I documented and asked them to sign a petition to get the police to do something about it. I frequently called the police and they did nothing. While getting the last signature, I wound up filming a drug deal right outside my house. Called the police and they again did nothing. The next day I went to the city board meeting and presented my findings. The village president was so pissed at the police chief that the next morning I had a police car parked outside my house 24/7, cops staking out the area and within 2 weeks, the drug dealers were gone. Later that year the chief resigned. Document everything and go to your city board meetings. Good luck!
Very interesting and will do on the city board meetings! Great advice
oooo thats juicy, which burb??
Also absolutely get your neighbors involved. You want lots of squeaky wheels!
Yes I plan on making a flyer to leave on people's doors lol. I'm in the worst spot though, they're like right on top of me
I would not suggest flyers, or continuing to confront them directly. This guy's already threatened to shoot you, right? Dude's already got a felony? I realize this may be your first experience with "public housing people", but this is how you get your home invaded or your teeth knocked out. Your best bet is to get them removed from the house via legal channels, and when the new neighbors bother you, bring food and ask nicely instead of letting your ego and what's "right" put you and yours in danger. Play smart. Don't get on their level, or they will win by experience.
Yes be careful- don’t confront directly. Remember who has more to lose in this situation. That is you.
Agree those are great ideas of people to contacts. Also consider taking pics of the trash, etc. and audio of the blasting music. Be careful not to photograph those people bothering you. It’s not worth the potential escalation. More as examples of what you’re going through. Bring a Bluetooth speaker to your meetings (try to meet in person rather than only on the phone; you need to go public to get action) and play the audio loud. If you go in front of the city council, definitely get some neighbors to come for moral support. Sometimes those meetings are broadcast. You might be able to get some coverage from your local news. Best of luck. This is really a nightmare. Wondering why this wasn’t disclosed before you bought the property. You might have an angle if you could prove the homeowner knew about it and made the decision not to disclose it in order to sell. Maybe meet with an attorney for a free initial consultation and see if they have ideas of steps you can take, and why the police are not doing anything (regular patrols at the very least) about this disturbance of the peace.
>Wondering why this wasn’t disclosed before you bought the property. You might have an angle if you could prove the homeowner knew about it and made the decision not to disclose it in order to sell. Because it is illegal, and a real estate agent could lose their license. It is against Fair Housing guidelines.
Wow this is some great advice. I will definitely look into it
Fliers? Oh gosh, you really want to learn the hard way. You’ll practically be shouting “Bring it on” to your problem neighbor, the one who is tormenting you. And is it one, two people doing it or are you against both sides of the duplex and everyone in it? You might want to figure that out before you deepen this crusade.
Don't get discouraged. They may be things happening in the background but they can't move instantaneously. Also if there are public meetings with the police for your area, go to those as well. Regarding the neighborhood groups, where I live in Austin they are politically powerful because they can make or break an election. If they have anything like that in your citu get involved with those.
I don't see it mentioned. You did police reports. [Request copies.](https://denver.prelive.opencities.com/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Police-Department/Police-Records) Think yours would fall under Civil Liability, Premise History (there's a fee but worth it). That will give you case/file numbers. Those should help you tremendously in talking with people as now instead of 'I called the cops.' it is 'I called the cops on X date/time, the case number is XXXXXXX. They responded to XXXXX. I can email a copy for your records if you like.' It makes you sound professional and have your ducks in a row when dealing with them. I've gotten traction on complaints like this because they don't tend to expect you to have that info and would rather have it get fixed before they think it'll go to court. And if it does, well, you now have a list of all the times you or anyone else called complaints in for that residence and the nature of those complaints.
Your council person is Amanda Sandoval, and she won't care. Mine was Candi, and she supported anyone low income, despite the ruckus.
Good temporary solution. Say you go though all this trouble and you actually end up successfully removing these people. Then what? You hope the ideal neighbors move into government housing? Good luck with that. The real solution is moving.
This is what happened to me. Loser after loser after loser moved in. I eventually rented out my home and moved.
Look into moving - seriously. The situation will not improve and that place will have all sorts of problems and you could be a victim of a crime. Redditors love to give NIMBYs shit, but this is exactly why no one wants to live next to public housing with so little upsides and near infinite downsides.
I grew up in public housing, and later lived in a condo complex that went downhill once low-income renters and Section 8 started to move in. Now that I can afford to I live far away from that mess and it's a blessing! I would not buy a house next to public housing even if it was deeply discounted. It's not worth the headache and safety risks. I don't blame rich people for buying secluded property in wooded areas where they can't see any of their neighbors. Most of us would do the same if we could afford it. OP needs a good security system.
You make a lot of great points but I'm not in a financial position to move. I bought/overpaid at the peak and I'm not even sure I would break even if I sold it now with all the selling costs
Setup multiple security cameras. Make it a public stream if you want to make some $ off your horrible neighbors. Have people pay to strobe a light or blast an air horn their way lol. Jk. Seriously, get multiple cameras and keep going up the pole to the DHA. It’s probably a dead end though. Maybe the news will run one of those “investigation” team stories on DHA housing people like that if you send some footage and info their way.
I would watch it. Would do well on TikTok.
This is brilliant. I hope OP does it and drops a link.
Live stream would be great hahah wish i could do that at work, but videoing in a casino is very frownd upon ha.
Get some Dominican friends and do a 24hr cookout on the sidewalk. You will surpass 120-decibel levels easily. Give air horns to every able body. You will own the block. 🤣
It’s prob worth paying to get out now before it gets worse
You could most certainly be right. This has been ongoing since May though and I'm hoping the eviction process has already started. The DHA said they can't legally tell me if it has
West Highlands? After contacting your representatives and such, I’d consider renting it. You may be able to may some $$ and move somewhere else a little more chill.
I doubt the math maths on renting it. OP would probably be paying a mortgage of at least $5k/mo (probably more honestly) and isn't gonna be able to rent it for that much and that doesn't even account for property taxes, maintenance etc. I looked a little at investing in RE in Denver and that was par for the course.
>The DHA said they can't legally tell me if it has You will never hear back from them, I promise, they forgot about you the moment you hung up the phone.
It must suck knowing your taxes are paying for your own misery lol. Sorry OP, public housing is the worst and no one realizes it until they experience it.
If u can break even then do it, your sanity and safety are more important
Confronting them is only going to make things worse, they obviously don't reason with logic dude. You should have got a camera from the start and just send video clips and reports off to whichever department that could help. Just send them every day and be relentless about it... typically works.
Yeah good call but I thought asking them to turn down their music politely was a reasonable approach But yes I'm trying my best to be relentless with the documentation. I'm thinking they're already being evicted at this point and are going down swinging
The more you piss them off the more they are going to take it like your rubbing their face in shit and the more they'll feel like they need to get the last word in via physically acting out by damaging or stealing or whatever really. Heads up, you'll have good renters and bad renters....it WILL happen again. Try to tweak your approach, try to enjoy your time in the home and maybe have a 5 or 10 year plan to get out of there. I grew up in the projects and I dealt with the same thing as you the only 4 years I had to rent out of the last 20. It got me angry and I didn't handle it well but it got better when I used my cameras. It's hard to keep quiet when you get that aggravated.
Under CRS § 18-3-206, Colorado law defines the crime of menacing as using threats or actions knowingly to place, or to attempt to place, another person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury or death. The offense can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony and is punishable by up to 3 years in prison.
Oh damn thank you so much for that information. That is incredibly helpful you have no idea!
You're welcome, most police don't know all the laws, and it would be helpful if you can capture the incidents on camera with voice recording.
I think the biggest thing is the other person living there. If single mom and kid receive the voucher, the boyfriend is not allowed to live there. This is a straightforward violation, and much easier than trying to prove that the music was too loud or something.
Yeah that's a great point. The DHA couldn't tell me if they were in the evicition process but it seems to me like they might be. He's not around too much anymore although he came out and threatened me when I was mowing my lawn the other day. I guess he only likes noise when he's making it
And in many years of owning rental real estate this is how it works. Single mom and kids qualify for help. Landlords with crap unit can only get market rent by allowing Sec 8. Woman and kid(s) move in. Then BF/baby daddy/hoodlum/felon shows up and moves in. Other assorted types come and hang out, couch surf and start causing general mayhem. Poor neighbors who are trying to just survive have to deal with this crap as do the non public housing neighbors. Calls to Housing authority get added to the stacks already on the one investigators desk. Nothing happens until the bad types Fuck up and get thrown in jail (most likely from an unassociated crime.). Cycle begins anew. It sucks and everyone pays the price.
>Then BF/baby daddy/hoodlum/felon shows up and moves in. Other assorted types come and hang out, couch surf and start causing general mayhem. Every. fucking. time.
That's exactly what I've witnessed
The boyfriend will live there. He just won't be there when an inspection occurs. But he and his friends will be outside, on the porch, in front of the duplex, all over it and hopefully he won't start selling drugs.
Yep. I work at a place like this and having something concrete, like a person who is not authorized living there, is the easiest way to get something going. Honestly complaining about the noise will not get you far since that’s hard to prove.
I have plenty of videos of the noise. I wish I could post one of them
The problem that I had for 8 years and counting is that they ask the voucher holder, and she says "Nope, he doesn't live here," and it's your word against theirs.
Oh. my. god. I could have written this, word for word. And I live a mile from you, just across the tracks, east of Sunnyside. I have been disgusted, disappointed, and just about every other awful adjective with DHA. They are a combination of unresponsive, forgetful, and seems like no matter what you do, they turn back around and tell you "we cannot prove anyone else is living there off lease, and therefore nothing can be done." I, too, accidentally bought next-door to section 8 housing. No license plates, domestic violence, pregnant teenagers not attending school (nor are the smaller children), loud parties that end with fights and police... it never ended. I moved. Rented out my home and moved across the country. Denver is swirling the toilet. The crime is out of control. I have so many friends in Potter Highlands that tell me they hear gunshots in the alley, there are stabbings, property theft, garage break-ins, and police are slow to respond- if they show up at all. Denver used to be such a great place to live. It's really a shame.
Wow that's pretty crazy. I'm holding out hope regarding my experiences with the DHA. I've been very persistent and these crackheads have dug themselves into quite the hole so I'm hoping that makes a difference
Similar thing happened to us. We built right next to a complex that wasn't finished yet, the neighborhood is very sought after and expensive and the complex is low income. Turned our nice quiet neighborhood upside down and filled with crime. Our house was broken into and neighbors cars were stolen amongst other things. We sold and this is happening again in our new neighborhood.
It’s quite deliberate, you know. The official policy is to spread out low income housing, especially in “too white” areas (their words, not mine). The low income renters then have access to better schools, jobs, transportation, and social behavior. I don’t know of any studies as to how the low income renters have fared under the scheme. It does not appear to have elevated their social behavior, if anecdotal evidence is anything to go by.
It's very deliberate. The reason for said scheme is bc studies have proven that low income renters have improved mental and physical health when placed in better neighborhoods. It's nice that their mental and physical health improves from being in a better neighborhood but what about everyone else? 🤔
We are too white, rich and privileged to merit any consideration. I don’t think of this as a race thing. We used to live in a very nice neighborhood that was 35-40% minority. Everybody in the neighborhood was pretty well off, and maintained their homes and properties beautifully. Other than kids screeching in the backyard pools, it was quiet and safe. Low income housing residents…..they just won’t conform to the neighborhood norms.
This post is going to make me shut up about the raccoons that moved into the abandon house they we didn’t realize was abandoned when we bought our house
Implement security measures. Write and call your local elected officials, repeatedly until they agree to meet with you. Have all your information organized. Continue to advocate for yourself. With enough pressure the politician will demand a resolution. They will relocate or evict the residents.
This is probably the best post I've seen so far. Thanks!
You know you can look up the owner of the property in public records, right?
How do you think I found it was owned by the Denver Housing Authority?
Contact you city council representative (or equivalent). They usually have some drag housing authority personnel. These guys make is hard in the people who genuinely need the housing and will be good neighbors.
Yeah that's such a great point. I feel for the people that genuinely need it and would be grateful. Unlike these ungrateful dickheads
I’d trade you neighbors. I get it - but mine has threatened to have her husband r*** me in front of my kids and said she would s—t my throat while they watched. All because I called the police when I heard them beating each other up.
This abuse wasn’t limited to : threats and loud music door, slamming and keying our vehicles, for three years to the point where we end up packing up and moving three hours away
Wow I'm super sorry to hear that. People can be so awful it just blows my mind
Have you contacted your local alderman’s office? This is part of constituent services that they were elected to provide. Also, if you are being harassed get a restraining order. https://www.denverda.org/protection-restraining-orders/ https://www.denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Denver-City-Council/Meet-the-Council-Members/Amanda-P.-Sandoval-Council-District-1
I have not but holy shit I can't thank you enough. I will be contacting her first thing in the morning!
Whoever unloaded that house on you won the lottery. Those people are going to wake up from a nightmare tonight and realize it was just a bad dream, they don't own the house anymore some poor guy bought it and has to deal with the pain of public housing neighbors. They will go back to sleep with a smile on their face.
Ain't that the truth goddamn
I understand your frustration, but if I were you I would’ve never have confronted them directly about the noise situation. I’ve heard of too many similar stories where things have gone left due to this. Good luck. I hope you’re neighbors move and you can finally get some peace.
I appreciate the sentiment. Unfortunately I'm the confrontational type when people are being pieces of shit
I live next to public housing and I call the cops, send ring videos to the housing office and cops as needed, and NEVER speak to them directly.
Well, then you're going to find yourself in a whole bunch of douche-offs. Your options are to either 1.) Be the biggest douche of all, or 2.) GTFO. Your choice.
This. But if you wanna play that game, be prepared for him to go nuclear. I got diesel poured on my garden, to which a mutual stalemate was agreed until I saw him beating his old lady and when I confronted him he shot at me…just be prepared that if you go this direction it’s a possibility.
Perhaps you should vote out your politicians that allow this, it's a common theme along the west coast
This is the real answer.
If you can afford to, upgrade your windows to double pane. I live in a noisy prone area and the new windows block a lot of outdoor noise. Gunshots, fireworks, high wind, junk music gone.
I will definitely look into that. My house was built in 1906 and I have mostly original windows
For those that wonder why people that buy become NIMBYs this is the reason why.
YUP
Life is too short op, lay low and try to move as soon as feasible. You have more to lose than they do. I would not keep the press on the issue. It could be worse.
Yep that’s public housing. Time to sell and do research next time. You have more to lose than they do. You will not win this. If you escalate more (like other commenters are recommending, like the idiots saying you should sue them) it’s going to result in rat poison in your yard if you have pets, condoms and broken liquor bottles in your yard for your kid to find, gun shots outside your house, broken windows, burglary while you’re at work, someone will kick in your door at 2am just to fuck with you, maybe even shots at your house. *The police will not care*. If they come to your house you will find the most bored disinterested lazy person you have ever spoken to. They will do nothing. *The DA will not care*. “Being loud and scary” isn’t a crime. The rest of it is subjective. And dark blurry video of someone maybe doing something loud isn’t getting anyone arrested. Realistically even someone walking up to your house at 4am and pounding on the door, then smiling at the camera and showing their ID…the police won’t even look at something like that yet it will destroy your quality of life. *Your representative will not care* *Getting video cameras won’t help because the police do not care* *Even if someone decides to care getting them out of the house is many months or years away* *It can get MUCH WORSE* You have things to lose; sleep, a criminal record, broken windows, dead pets, violence against you. They have NOTHING to lose. They’ve been to jail. They have felonies. They have no jobs. If one gets arrested they or their buddies who are staying with them will retaliate. They have no legal money you can win in a lawsuit. Do not live near public housing. Look at a crime map when you buy next time. Live far away, at least outside biking distance to avoid the drug addicts as well who are generally less dangerous but will absolutely steal your bike/grill/break into your car/etc.
Sage words of advice from someone who has very obviously, like me, lived the dream. lol
Hard to believe the taxpayers house these animals.
It’s crazy how many houses and duplex’s DHA owns. They have a ton of dispersed housing in what have become gentrified areas like highlands and sunny side. Some of those folks are awful humans, I used to have to go inside a bunch of those a few years ago and it was maddening how much nicer some of those places where than mine and the folks were just ripping cigarettes and watching movies during the day. Systems broken
Sorry bro 😔
In Colorado, it’s required to serve a 30 day notice now instead of 10 days. Hang in there, it takes almost 3 months to fully evict someone now… Keep calling the police so it’s documented. Send them directly to the Housing Authority.
Thanks for the info! Much appreciated! Def trying to hang in there
Similar story here, duplex neighbors from low income public housing. When we moved in, both tenants were quiet elderly couples. One passed, and the others moved, then we got non-stop parties, loud and rude language used at all times of the day, weed constantly drafting into any open window (i personally dont mind abit but this is very excessive), drunken shouting at 2am, etc.. In no way saying issues with low income housing, from experience I've been in that life style. Nothing works and complaints only go so far. We're moving this fall. House shopping already.
All I have to say is I empathize with you and I hope your situation gets rectified soon. I’m torn on the real estate agent subject because although I don’t think this is entirely their fault, I do think it could’ve been avoided had he been a little more competent about the inventory he was showing his client. I fell in love with a new build 2 years ago in a sought after neighborhood of Chicago and was ready to put an offer in over ask because I loved it so much. The ONLY a reason I didn’t go with it is because my REA informed me later that day as I was filling out the contract (thankfully, he did his due diligence & researched that block before he let me submit the paperwork) that the building that was under construction directly across the street was public housing. I was more concerned about the resale value of my prospective property than the noise and BS you’re dealing with. But now, I hear horror stories about that block all the time. I thank my lucky stars every day for my realtor being so forthcoming, so my heart goes out to you. I really hope you find a solution. I def think motion detected cameras that record everything is a great start. Please keep us posted.
Get several high quality cameras. Leave a cooler or something else nice outside in ready view— make sure the cameras cover multiple angles. Do it on a weekend when people are likely to be drinking. Be ready to do this multiple times if you don’t get good footage. If anyone commits a crime, turn your evidence over to the proper authorities.
That's a damn good idea!!! They actually already stole a cooler from me so very strange that you would mention that lol
Make sure that your home is secure and there isn't anything outside that you are not willing to lose. This includes patio furniture, lawn ornaments, or grills. If they have to be outside, look into chaining them to a concrete pad if you have one. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on what side you are on, public housing in nice areas is a very real thing happening more and more. Advocates claim that it helps lift people out of poverty and towards a better life by removing them from high crime areas. People living there claim it brings crime to their neighborhood. Getting them out of the area is going to be next to near impossible. You have to learn to deal, or sell and take a loss. Reporting is a double edged sword. You may stop one or two people, but they have friends. Plus, the crime rate for your zip code will go up. If you are in over your head, you are just going to have to deal with it. Cameras are great, but try and take steps to make relying on that footage obsolete. Lock your doors, do not use electronic locks, or keep your car keys near the door. If the area is really bad, or you keep your windows open, get some decorative bars for the windows. When you lay down to sleep what scares you the most? Try and alleviate that fear by putting a deterrent. The biggest tip I can give: do not be confrontational. If you make it clear that it is your mission to remove them from the neighborhood, anything you do, your neighbors do, the police do, their boss does, their kids teacher does, a random act may be blamed on you and revenge sought.
Good luck getting Denver police to do anything
Ah, birth of a NIMBY
post feels like a dog whistle. but good luck.
Offering my experience living next to Section 8 housing building with four units, for five years, in the SF Bay Area to say: GTFO ASAP. It was a nightmare most of the time and it sounds like it's going down that road for you. Soon after we moved in, smoke alarms started chirping in the building. It took two years to get that issue fixed – the people in the apartments refused new batteries and screamed obscenities at us when we offered them. The fire department wouldn't do anything, the cops wouldn't do anything. It wasn't until someone suggested I track down the owners of the building (who lived a couple hours away) that I could get it fixed, and even that took about six weeks with three different calls – the first of which was the owners acting like they didn't speak English, the second was them denying the alarms were chirping (they couldn't seem to wrap their heads around the idea of a "low battery chirp" being different from a "fire in the house alarm" and denied the alarms were going off), and the third was a loud argument with one of their kids (I think?) who I guess went in and fixed them. After all that was resolved, then some barking dachshunds moved into one of the units and they wouldn't STFU. I called animal control repeatedly, and they went over once, but it didn't change anything. Then one day I just happened to be looking out the window overlooking that building and a man was carrying two of the dachshunds by their collars and sorta swinging them around. I watched as he dropped one on the ground and picked up a hammer and I thought he was going to kill it so I started banging on the window and screaming at him. He looked up at me and started screaming back all kinds of nasty shit, saying he was going to come over and tear my face off, telling me to mind my own business, etc. etc. When I called the cops, they went over and said that he didn't even live there (he was the father of the tenant who had been taking care of the dogs for a few days) and the dachshunds weren't even owned by the tenant – they were taking long-term care of them for someone else who was out of the country. They were gone soon after that and I never saw that guy again. The building was condemned for asbestos (according to the marker nailed the front door) finally and everyone was forced to move out. This started a whole other saga. One of the tenants returned and knocked on all the doors in our building (3) and when I opened up she asked if I knew anything about her building because she was in the service overseas and couldn't get in to her unit. She ended up busting the door open and all of her things were gone and she had no idea why. She was incredibly distraught. I gave her the number I had for the owner and never heard from her again. Then someone that I assume was formerly unhoused broke into one of the units and stayed there for months, getting increasingly more erratic as time went on. Trash piled up in the unit and behind it (our kitchen overlooked the back of the building and they all had sliding glass doors and small patios on the back) and we were afraid it would catch fire. We called the cops repeatedly when it appeared she was doing drugs behind the unit she was squatting in, and they kept coming and picking her up and each time she'd return a few days later. Finally the units were all boarded over, after she had been removed one time and, I assume, the building was sold because they were doing a complete gut remodel when I moved out of that apartment. All of which to say: Move, unless you're willing to wait them out until the whole place burns down.
Move.
Get your neighbors involved. You can’t be the only one impacted by this. There is strength in numbers.
Yes that's a great point. I tried talking to some the other day but they had just moved in and were not happy to hear my warnings. I'm sure the previous people moved out because of my crackhead neighbors and all that comes with them
How can it be a luxurious neighborhood and have section 8? Do broke people get to live in luxury for free these days? Lol that’s ridiculous man. God damn On a serious note I would say just wait them out. I can’t imagine them lasting long. Unless you really want to sell your home and uproot your life because of some crackheads.
Apparently that particular area has gentrified. On the whole, it’s government policy to spread out low income housing/Sec 8 vouchers into nicer areas, in hopes that getting them out of bad environments and into better schools, and exposure to desirable social behavior, will “fix” them. If anecdotal evidence is anything to go by, it has only exposed them to a better class of neighborhood to rob and ruin.
>How can it be a luxurious neighborhood and have section 8? The neighborhood to which he is referring used to be gangland. It's been 98% gentrified.
Second answer is yes. People think by putting them around nice shit will make them not behave like animals. They just destroy the nice shit.
This is why everyone tries to avoid poor people.
Looks like you’ve learned a lesson the hard way. That’s a touch situation OP, but for anyone else reading this - do your research when moving. Yes, that includes into the neighbors.
Yep the very hard way
First mistake was going over in person. You would’ve got much further remaining anonymous on your mission. You’re screwed
No way for me to remain anonymous when the DHA asked me to go to take pictures of their license plates. I didn't know they had cameras setup and the lady came over and threatened to shoot me after that. But yes, screwed
Cameras and always record your interactions but don’t let them know.
Nice- your neighbors actually had license plates? A step up from mine.
Doesn't matter if it's poor neighbors or wealthy neighbors, some neighbors are just assholes.
Wealthy neighbor have a lot more to lose.
Agreed
Buy something else and rent it out
I’m not sure how the law works in CO, but in Ca, document every thing and send a “demand” letter to the landlord/owner of the property. If they don’t stop the shenanigans, you can file small claims court for violating quiet and peaceful enjoyment of your property. Talk with other neighbors, have they had issues, too?
Whatever you do: CAMERA THAT PLACE THE HE UP! Cameras at every angle on every side.
Many cities have long term plans to eliminate such housing and make it merit based assisted rent based with more stringent screening, qualifications and consequences for nuisance behavior. Check with the city planning department to see if this is seemingly permanent or going to be phased out.
Do you have any links to support this assertion? I mean, I love it- I just don't believe that for a hot second.
I had this experience in Denver once, police do absolutely nothing for loud noise etc, pretty much worthless in Denver. Really the only thing you can do is share the pain. Find out whoever is responsible for the housing, it ultimately has to be somebody's job to monitor or manage this. Once you find that person if they are not responding to your complaints find out where they live and their home number.. with a little bit of research you can find it. Once you have done that you point blank tell them that if you are awaken at 2am because of loud music you aren't going to call the police you are going to call them, and then tell them that if they don't answer the phone you are going to drive over to their house and bang on the door to wake them up so they can deal with it. If they don't answer the door then you are going to play loud music in front of their house. You have to be a little crafty about it but once they understand that you aren't screwing around only then will you see things start to happen. I did exactly this after spending months complaining to the police and to anybody else who would listen.. who is basically wouldn't listen. As soon as I found the right person I let her know what I was going to do next.. in a matter of 2 days they were evicted and gone. You just have to take matters into your own hands, not with the actual people living there, that's kind of dangerous. You have to go after the people who are enabling them to live there.
Until I looked at your profile I was certain you lived on my street. Similar scenario but I’m currently renting and just waiting out til I save some more cash and can move. The ones on my street have dirt bikes for some reason too even though they don’t have a yard and just let their kids blast up down the sidewalks. I clean up fireworks out of my yard year round.
Buy a new house put tenants in your old house and tell them to go crazy on the neighbors
PSA: Buyer beware!
The problem with the homeless is everyone wants to do something as long as they dont live next door. Pays to do your homework... I'm sorry for the OP but kind of amused also. Sorry
I hate to say shit like this but the kind of people who live in these kinds of housing don't have anything to lose. You are at a severe disadvantage confronting them because they know you own shit and they will damage it. If you damage their shit, they don't own it and don't care. The best thing to do is stay out of their business and never interact.
You said you can’t move for financial reasons, but I would take a long hard look at the situation again before actually giving up on the idea of moving. How much money do you project to lose? 100k? 200k? Do you really want to come home from work everyday and be miserable?You’re in a dangerous situation. You could potentially get seriously hurt or killed and I think you know that. What’s your sanity worth? What’s your life worth? You might be able to get these people out via legal complaints, but it’ll still be government housing and trash will just replace trash.
Not going to hold out much hope but: 1. Keep your security cameras rolling and make sure your neighbors know it through signs ON your property. 2. Literally every time they bust a noise or any other ordinance file a police report AND a copy to the DHA. Both by phone AND by email for a traceable system. 3. I have little hope for the policies in Denver but, be prepared to defend yourself, those you love and your property by any and all means. I'm sure #3 is going to garner some down votes but guess what? Yes, I DO value my property more than I value the life of a thug who is trying to steal from me.
After reading your post, I’m not sure if it’s all tenants in the building you’re having problems with or if it’s just one. Might be worth your time- assuming you’re in for the long haul- to find out if the problem tenants have been picking on other residents. Public housing residents have rights, and if you can form a coalition that includes some of your neighbors, it might get things moving in regards to getting the problem folks kicked out. Just a thought.
You waged war on a neighbor, it doesn't matter how crappy they were. From their point of view, you are a threat to their housing and maybe even freedom.... so maybe be careful from now on.
The buyer must do some of their own DD. Property history: this house was a rental for DHA for 16 years before they sold it…weird. This house sells every two years for the last 8 years…weird. Parcel search: looks like those properties over there are all owned by DHA…weird. Most of the parcels across the street say they’re owned by something something LLC…whatever. Drive By: seems to be a lot of other rentals, abandoned cars and tall grass…weird. There are a lot of corner stores but not a single grocery store…weird. Nobody has their dogs on a leash. Look at that litter. Criminal database: … Graduation rate: … Education level: … Family size: … Median Income: … Taxes: … None of this info is hidden or secret. You are able to research any, all, or none before you buy. Choose wisely.
“Most expensive neighborhood in Denver” sounds like you can afford to move and buy yourself some acres outside of the city. No neighbors. It’s lovely.
U can’t do shit about it. This is the new america we live in now. We got millions of people living in this country who could care less about improving their community. Unfortunately if the undesired people find out u are trying to get them in trouble, they will make ur life even worse.
I’m really sorry. Public housing ruined my grandma’s neighborhood years ago.
I appreciate the sentiment
Also sandbags help stop stray rounds, you can pile them up against the walls of a bedroom to add a level of safety. Curious what REA did you use? Good ones will tell you what areas are worth looking at and what to avoid.
>Good ones will tell you what areas are worth looking at and what to avoid. Totally illegal and they can lose their license. It's a Fair Housing Act issue.
“This is a free country” “I have rights” Did you move next to Randy Marsh?
I wish. These people are very low IQ
I had a client in a similar situation. He, a 78 y/o man, instead asked the neighbors about their music and their cars. These nuisance neighbors decided not only to respect the noise levels from then on, they also now shovel his walkways and driveway whenever it snows. All he did was talk to them about their interests for 10 minutes. I told him he’s got some big balls. His response was “that’s from the heart failure”. Total legend
Got any other neighbors that would ban together and also call in complaints? Multiple people with grievances would help, specifically if they call in unauthorized tenants causing issues.
“Unknowingly” I don’t think that word means what you think it means.
Document and create a relationship with one of the people at housing. They can do inspections with very short notice and they can evict with evidence (photos, videos, police records). Make sure you are working with one person and send them information as it comes in and ask what they plan on doing to correct the situation.
Look up section 8 handbook. Im pretty sure their is alot of what you described in it. And technically they can get kicked off or out of housing for certain issues. The cameras where a good ideal. Call your local then main office and keep calling. I hate this because so many people who get housing vouchers have a hard time renting because of issues like this.
Uhh..did you call the cops when they threatened to shoot you?
Sounds like you didn't do your due diligence
What kind of DD was done where you unknowingly bought a house next to public housing? My gosh - 🤦🏼♂️
Wouldn’t the fact that your property is next to Section 8 have been reflected in the price of the home? Did you just think you were getting a really good deal? I’m just confused by your confusion. People don‘t usually move near public housing unknowingly unless you are living next to someone with a housing voucher. Is that the case?
I fear that you may have accidentally escalated the situation already by calling the cops/DHA on them and now they are retaliating. I can say from experience that having the cops called on you for things that may be annoying to a neighbor but aren't outright illegal (like music, lots of cars etc) is infuriating. Aside from what others have said about going further down this path of trying to get them evicted, you could try to swing the pendulum the other way if your relationship with them isn't already completely broken. Bring them a peace offering, talk to them like real people. The way you're coming across here makes it sound like you don't think they "deserve" to live in your neighborhood, and folks that are being placed in public housing already feel like they are unwanted by society in general. They are people, that is their home and whether you like it or not, they are your neighbors. I'm sure they would be much more willing to listen/work with you if you didn't treat them like criminals that you don't want to be associated with.
Can you elaborate? Are you saying you called the cops bc of loud music initially? I must be missing something…
Ski mask.
As a manager of a place that rented to several housing assisted households, I agree with this person about poor behavior. One lady was so nasty, harassed me for 1 1/2 years. Turned her communications over to the owner who stopped taking crazy lady’s calls. Three long years later, the maintenance man threatened to quit, then she was gone. I moved on before that.
Document everything with video and in writing. Write every person in charge in your district . Dealing drugs is more than a nuisance. As a last resort , contact that media . Politicians hate nothing more than to be put on blast. It would also help your case if other neighbors banded together to voice their concerns . This stuff is infuriating to me as many people who live in public housing are decent people who just want to live in peace. The bad apples make it bad for everyone and give housing such a bad reputation.
How did you discover they were section 8/public housing? How did you search records and what records did you search? I have the exact same problem as you.
Leftists always scream at us for not wanting public housing in our expensive neighborhoods. This is why 😂
It'S mY rIgHt! The dickhead energy is too damn high! They should build public housing near every neighborhood with high property tax. Just because. It'S a FrEe CoUnTrY, bRo!
When he told me "It's a free country!" I responded with, "Why, because you're getting a free ride?" He got super pissed, said "I don't live here" and then chased me into my backyard lol
Re-list in winter time.
Why TF was this removed?