Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Posts
Rules of Engagement
A community conversation about housing affordability and community development issues sponsored by the Durham Housing Authority. Usual blogging rules apply ... please be respectful of other contributors at all times. DHA reserves the right to remove any offensive material without notice.
27 comments:
As of today, February 17, 2006 I have still not received a payment for the months of December, January and February? No it's not in the mail today because the mail has already come. So my question to you is, WHERE IS IT???? Your letter indicated that your agency would be caught up by the 12th of February. So obvisouly that was another lie. Will March checks be late as well. I was just wondering if any of your staff could go 3 and a half months without being paid???? I would HONESTLY like to know is their anyone who can I speak with that would be honest as far as when my payment will be made.
Did the checks DHA issused include the late fees for each month in addition to the 8.25% interest that was suppose to be effective begining December 6, 2006 until payment was issued?
If your payments are not caught up as of today, you should call Section 8 and speak with Vanessa Street, the director or make an appointment to see her. I beg your pardon on the issue of our being honest ... I've tried to be completely clear that we believed that nearly all cases were cleared. There are always going to be exceptions. I'm sorry for your frustration, but if you can come by the office, I'm sure we can get your situation resolved.
As for the interest and late payments ... those will be coming in a separate payment which you should receive by mid-March.
Yes I'm aware that I can call Vanessa Street but what good will that do.? I'm still waiting on a returned call back from December. The voicemail says because of the high volume of calls it would take a couple of days to return the call NOT NEARLY TWO MONTHS. But I guess that's acceptable business at the Durham Housing Authority. As far as DHA being clear, none of the misleading letters receive from DHA said anything about waiting an additional 1 1/2 month for late fees and interest. So now your talking about basically nearly 5 months of waiting. Is that even close to being fair? COULD YOU, YOUR STAFF OR ANYONE AT DURHAM HOUSING AUTHORITY GO THAT LONG WITHOUT A PAYCHECK?
I have found an oasis in the midst of the storm called DHA. It is Mrs. Bolduc. Without this message board / website our complaints, concerns, frustrations, and angers would never have had a voice.
We have all called and left messages which have never been returned,acknowledged, or responded to. Not to mention the huge waste of time making an appointment,showing up only to be told that the person you came to see is either , to busy or not in. Forget about trying to contact the director, you have to go thru another person who also does not believe in returning calls.
The point I am trying to make is yes, DHA's customer service is lousy, but thru this message board maybe, just maybe the problems will be exposed and corrected or better staff or more staff will be hired. I think we all can agree that something has to be done.
In re:
{none of the misleading letters receive from DHA said anything about waiting an additional 1 1/2 month for late fees and interest.}
In fact, our December letter to landlords indicated specifically that interest payments would be calculated after the accounts were current, and this would only be logical --- calculating it only once.
That said, I make no excuse for the bad treatment that many of you have endured. There is no excuse for it. It is unacceptable and will not continue. Through this blog, I am working to make our process and progress as transparent as possible, benefitting the largest number of people possible. I'm glad to hear that some are finding it helpful and even if it's only an avenue to vent frustration, I'm glad we can help with that.
Please be mindful, though, to attack problems and not get too personal on the people.
The only certainty I can offer is that complaints do not go past my desk. If that's helpful, then please contact me directly and I will help to resolve the issue. I ask only that if you leave a message for me, it be more than "This is Jane Q. Public, please call me back." If you can leave me information on the property, the tenant and a brief description of the problem (like which payments are missing), that's a big help. If you can write it all up for me and email it to jbolduc@dha-nc.org, I can just about guarantee a quicker turnaround.
I truly hope the DHA will make an effort to improve customer service. I feel that the staff is in need of some serious training on how to be professional or maybe just find employment that doesn't involve dealing with the public.
March is less than two weeks ago. Is DHA in a position to have March checks issued on time? It was my understanding that checks would be issued on the 1st of each month. However, in the 13 months of dealing with DHA that has yet to happen. Has the check issue date changed?
To the last two posts:
Customer Service
We are making a major effort to improve customer service and I sincerely appreciate ALL of the feedback that we've received through this blog. This initiative is considered a very high priority among our Senior Management Team and our Board of Commissioners. Just as I sincerely appreciate the constructive criticism, I hope that where you see improvements, you'll comment on those as well.
March Checks
We anticipate that the March check run should be at near-normal levels (around that $1.4 million mark. I will post an update here on that evening to let you know. If you haven't received payment by Monday, March 5, please let us know.
Has all landlords and property managers been paid as of February 20, 2007?
The vast majority of landlords have received their payments through February, but certainly not all.
It's only fair to point out that this would likely be true of virtually every month --- there are always going to be anecdotal issues that require intervention to resolve.
As of today Febuary 22, 2007, I have yet to receive a check for the last four months and is slowly creeping up on half a year. This is unacceptable. I have recieved no help, no returned phone calls, e-mails. Just letters stating very vaugely false promises, and a web page that does the same.
After reading this BLOG I have suddenly became terrified!
I am interested in particapting in the section 8 program as a landlord but the not receiving payments for four months or more is very scary.
Even if interest is paid, how does that resolve a potential blemish on a person's credit report?
Please don't be "terrified" by the problems we've been experiencing. They are rare and are being resolved. That said, you do need to realize that being a landlord in general is a business and that landlords do best when they have some cash or credit reserve for contingenicies like payment issues (with either DHA or the tenant) or emergency repairs.
We hope you'll stop by and learn more about the program.
TO: Terrified potential landlord. Your skepticism about participating in the Durham section 8 program is well founded. The reason the housing authority has given for late payments is that; there has been a change in the computer systems used to process payments. The lecture you were given on good business practices, has come from an organization that didn’t follow the most basic business practices. Having a redundant system. No major IT system should be sunsetted until the new system replacing it has been proven to work at a reasonable rate of reliability. That being said, I haven’t been as unfortunate as some of the other landlords in this program. I finally received my Dec. and Jan. payments at the end of January. But here it is February 26th and I haven’t received the February payment. This tells me one thing this will be and ongoing issue. Please take that in consideration before joining the section 8 program.
wow!!!THE NERVE OF DHA TO RESPONSE LIKE THAT!!! SAYING BEING A LANDLORD IS LIKE A BUSINESS AND A PERSON SHOULD HAVE SOME CASH FOR RESERVES. THAT'S REALLY SOME NERVE. WHAT KIND OF PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION WOULD NOT TEST A MAJOR IT SYSTEM FIRST. NOW IF THE STAFF AT DHA DID NOT RECEIVE THEIR PAYROLL CHECKS FOR THREE OR FOUR MONTHS MOST OF THEM WOULD PROBABLY BE HOMELESS. THEY HAVE AND EXCUSE FOR EVERYTHING. NEW LANDLORDS SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT THE SECTION 8 PROGRAM. JUST WAIT AND SEE, TIME WILL TELL. MONTHS FROM NOW THEY WILL STILL BE HAVNG THE SAME PROBLEMS AND MAKING EXCUSES.( DHA IS ALL LANDLORD PAYMENT CAUGHT UP NOW??? March 2, 2007 ?
I certainly apologize for the offense. Again, if you have past due payments, you need to contact Vanessa Street in the Section 8 program and tell her what payments you're missing. We have reduced the number of complex cases down significantly since December and it continues to reduce daily.
Potential landlord please beware. The DHA sent out letters saying they would have all accounts caught by the 12th of February, yet they failed to do so. You see how they responded. Saying they have reduced the number of complex cases, which means landlords are still waiting. To me anyone that hasn't been paid on time is a complex issue. Potential landlord just know that just because they put it in writing it doesn't mean they will follow through as indicated. Come back in April and ask if all accounts are current and if they issued any late fees and interest they promised. You probably want get a straight yes, just another excuse.
Thanks DHA!
I received my March payment!
I truly appreciate that.
Do you know if you all are going to transfer to direct deposit any time soon?
We are looking forward to making direct deposit avaiable to landlords later this year, probably in the Fall.
Stay tuned!
As of March , 2007 I have not received a check since October of 2006. I have given up on calling and checking the mail box, or should I say hoping the check is in the mailbox. I have come to the conclusion that I will have to evict my tenant to change my situation and get a tenant that does not have to go through the Durham Housing authority. I have been calling them for the last 6 months sometimes leaving messages with 3 different people a day. The only thing I have not done is drive to the building and make a personal complaint. I somehow feel after the service I have received so far it will not do anything for the situation but waste my time. So everyone out their stop worrying, and come to the realization that we are not going to receive a check. Option 1 is evict your tenant, or pay the tenants rent for them. Oh yea, I have called Vannesa Street also and left messages, she nor anyone else their returns phone calls, and from the sound of excuses and false promises that are made it is hard to believe and seems as if I am the only one that has not been paid, and I know that is not true. Can anyone help me with this situation. Vanessa Street, I will be calling everyday this week and leaving messages. Please call me back and help me out as it says on a DHA communication below. Thank You.
If the last writer (who has not received payment) will email me (jbolduc@dha-nc.org) with details (address of property, name of tenant, payments due and name/address of landlord) I will make sure the situation is resolved. If you would paste your posting from this blog, that would be helpful as well.
Thanks,
Jean Bolduc
Question,
I am renting my home to a section 8 voucher holder.
The home was previously wired for Direct TV. My understanding from the tenant is that one of the cables were cut and another cable was ran and put in the preexisting hole.
I went to the property last weekend and unfortunately there is some damage to my home. A new hole was actually drilled into the side of my house and some of the siding has been scrapped off.
- Please Advise
Re: The comment about damage to the home due to Direct TV. What recourse do landlords have when the S8 tenant causes excess damage to our property, damages that far exceed their security deposit. Such as holes in walls, filthy carpets, roach/rat infestations that take costly treatments to irradicate, broken windows, broken/missing ceiling fans, broken/missing window shades, broken towel holders, broken bathroom fixtures. If this was not bad enough tenant movedand left half of her roach infested belonings, fod in the fridge, no attempt was made to clean the house at all. The house was pretty much trashed. These things happened even with regular inspections. Is there something in place (from DHA) to help us recoup our money, or can the tenant be dismissed from the S8 program? Or do thy just go on to someone else's property and do the same thing?
What is the status of the late payment and interest checks DHA was to send Landlords?
Is the Durham Housing Authority going to ever pay the interest and late fees they promise in the newspaper and on this blog. It is now May 10, 2007 and checks were supposed to be issued mid March 2007!! When should landlords expect this!
Interest payments have been issued in teh vast majority of cases. If your back payments or interest payment situation is still unresolved, please contact Vanessa Street at vstreet@dha-nc.org.
Post a Comment