Posted on Wed, 01/30/2008 - 18:38 — by BBrentwood
Several crime watch members phoned me about a news broadcast yesterday which mentioned Mountain House and Brentwood?? In the broadcast it put the current number of homes turned rentals at 500 for the City of Brentwood, and more for Mountain House 750??.
Seems like an abnormally high number of rental homes?? Anyone have any new info. My family and I have nothing positive to say, having endured real "scum" renters, section 8# recipients and blight from low income renters not taking care of homes they were allowed to rent in new housing developments. The same story heard hundreds of times from friends and neighbors all over Brentwood and Antioch, and have heard Oakley is even worse.
Both Brentwood and Antioch have taken positive steps to address the problem rental houses, section 8# problems. Brentwoods City Council will no doubt vote in a strict, Rental Property Inspection program and hold slum lord, landlords accountable for the actions of the tenants they bring into new developments. One of our City Council Members , Brandon Richey.....has been very vocal and instrumental in pushing the rental inspection program forward along with fed up residents that have had to endure crime and a lower quality of life when new homes>>turned low income rental houses started appearing in our new developments. "His campaign platform was based on keeping Brentwoods' Quality of Life."
City Councilman Richey should be commended for standing firm in his convictions regarding the entire Section 8#, problem rental housing issue and working to keepi Brentwood a safe and vibrant community. Keeping decline at bay. He put his neck on the line regarding these issues along with many other homeowners and vocal residents in our City. Its been a long haul over several years, and no doubt it could get much, much worse, the point being some are pro-active and vocal regarding the growing problems. Taking actions , even when not popular to insure that blight and crime to overrun our City.
Just yesterday a banker friend mentioned that an investor had just purchased 40 homes at 50cents on the dollar from a bank holding foreclosed properties,he intends to hold the homes for 4yrs as rentals........... not a good trend at all. We are just seeing the tip of the iceburg regarding the real estate meltdown, mortgage fraud and blocks of new homes turned into" low income housing" turning new developments into Tenement blocks...... " Dont hate the messenger" I am just relaying info.
The most vocal residents regarding the influx of low income and SECTION 8# problems have been called "Elitist" at town hall meetings. Many of us moved to Brentwood because we were told by realtors that it was the next San Ramon, the best schools, safe streets, small town charm. Many left crime ridden cities and urban areas because the suburbs were safe. How things have changed..
Many have worked decades to retire or move into a brand new home, never in their wildest dreams expecting to live next to welfare/section #8 families on the dole, due to some greedy investor not having a vested interest as a homeowner in our community.
Its easy to throw around the tag, Elitist....if you live in a gated, safe community and don't have low income tenants committing crimes, dealing drugs, or breaking into homes in your new development. The NIMBY mentality. If its not a problem in my backyard, then it really is not a problem...
Last year a very reputable-"ethical" realtor leaving the area for AZ told a neighborhood group that she and her family were leaving the area because "Brentwood was becoming more like Stockton and less, and less like San Ramon. A very interesting comment coming from a realtor leaving the area. She left the area after two swat team raids on homes in her hillside development when the first signs of decline took root.
More than one local politician has blamed "Changing demographics in the East County"
....So does that mean that hard working, taxpaying homeowners and families in Brentwood, Antioch, Discovery Bay and Oakely have to put up with, crime, gang grafittee, drug dealing and children being robbed on their way to school?? because demographics are changing??? "Common Sense and reality are sorely needed " not some utopian social experiment with housing and rentals in our cities...
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 6
Not questioning your post but I don't understand something:
If all this is true why is Brentwood in the process of subdividing even more land to build even more houses?
Jeff
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 66
'The NIMBY mentality. If it’s not a problem in my backyard, then it really is not a problem"
You've hit the nail on the head! Until we get our heads out of the sand, we are not going to accomplish anything!
I have lived through that mentality in my own neighborhood, I have had people adopt that mentality when I tell them what's going on and ask them to get involved! What is it going to take?
Brentwood, wake up, our city can still be salvaged, but we need everyone one of you to get involved.
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 609
Didn't see the broadcast, but figures from the Multiple Listing Service shows 229 homes in Brentwood rented from 1/1/07 through yesterday. 44 are currently for rent. It doesn't break down whether they were bank-owned, investor-owned, or whatever. If I were to go back to 1/1/06 with my search, the number could well be approaching 500 homes (not counting homes not on the MLS list!). The mind boggles...
Roy Gursky
http://gurskyranch.com/
Edited 1/31/2008 12:09 pm by roygur
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 13
You realize that because so many people are losing their homes to banks that these same people have to start renting. They're usually nothing like troubled families from urban areas that have been tricked into moving out here in East County to help rid Oakland, Richmond and other large cities of their own blight. How is anyone in the urban projects going to be able to get off section 8 if they don't find work? CoCo county is a suburb. For people who own their own small business or are willing to commute to own instead of rent. Instead, politicians make back room reals to help clean up there cities and tear down old neighborhoods with problems to build nice new villiages and make big profits. Even people who own out here are having problems finding steady work out here. How is anyone on Section 8 going to be helped by moving them 10-20 miles from the nearest train station to work in the East Bay that they once lived in. They offered them fancy new homes out here in exchange for their crummy 2 bedroom apartments in East Oakland or places like Hunters Point or The Acorn projects of North Oakland. Some people are calling this "The dumping ground" for blight. If you argue it, you're a "Racists". Brentwood and Oakland are now just starting to see the problems that Antioch has had to put up with. Mountain Town was supposed to be this beautiful new community that would be closer to 580 for commuters who work in silicon valley. I now know with out a doubt that this was all preplanned years ago. You see so many former city officials moving out of the area to take jobs out in Sacramento or San Francisco. We're the bottom of the rug.
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 17
It has been a while, I had to get away from these forums to clear my head. With that said:
The worst that will become of this housing situation for me is that my house will become another rental statistic. I will no longer see an advantage to raising my kids out here if this trend gets worse and I will move.
However, I have seen young families purchasing forclosures rather than the investor crowd. That is encouraging.  I think investors are wary of rental competition from the glut of homes and most don't want to deal with bad tenants. I could be wrong and your conspiracy thoery could be true.
So where do we go from here? A tiny little fixer upper somewhere else where the Jobs are.
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 17
It has been a while, I had to get away from these forums to clear my head. With that said:
The worst that will become of this housing situation for me is that my house will become another rental statistic. I will no longer see an advantage to raising my kids out here if this trend gets worse and I will move.
However, I have seen young families purchasing forclosures rather than the investor crowd. That is encouraging.  I think investors are wary of rental competition from the glut of homes and most don't want to deal with bad tenants. I could be wrong and your conspiracy thoery could be true.
So where do we go from here? A tiny little fixer upper somewhere else where the Jobs are.
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 258
Its mountain house, in Alameda county.  Your right CC has become the dumping ground just as Riverside in southern CA, Maryland for DC and NJ for NYC.  The criminal element has been dumped in suburbia.....
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 356
It seems like most people get it, that our local "leaders" have allowed every developers to come in and build houses, where there are no jobs, and no plans for any (other than retail). So the question is this why are we still voting these people back into office? Each and every one of us bears some of the responsibility by not standing up and saying enough. Until they hear from large groups (and sometimes not even then) will these people actually listen. I am sure that eveyone of them thinks they are doing a wonderful job, oh and all the crime and other issues is caused by individuals coming from outside the area, yeah right.