Today’s Post Register front page article featured an interesting subject that is not often publicly discussed around Idaho Falls: slums and slum lords.
The core subject for the article was that past city government hopeful Brett Manwaring (who confessed to fraud in 1983) is essentially accused of being a slumlord. The allegations include Brett not installing smoke detectors, not repairing or upgrading dangerous electrical wiring, and not repairing doors and windows with large outside gaps.
Brett Manwaring had his side of the story, but in my opinion it sounded like Brett was making excuses for running a slum. One of the most telling facts was that the fire marshall condemned two of Manwaring’s trailers.
I could not believe it when I read Brett Manwaring trying to pass himself off as the victim in his tenant’s fire. Who would have thought someone with proclaiming family values would portray himself as a victim when his tenant lost their possessions and home in a fire that could have possibly been prevented by Brett Manwaring himself?
What makes a slum, or a slum lord? Wikipedia describes a slum lord (a.k.a. absentee landlord, a.k.a. ghetto landlord) as one who does only the bare minimum property maintenance to meet minimum local laws, and in turn they charge significantly lower rents than the general rental market. Landlords normally work in the opposite direction, maintaining and upgrading their properties so they can charge higher rent and/or eventually sell the entire project for profit.
Slumlords are often accused of accepting rent in cash form, then failing to report the taxable income. They are also accused of dragging down surrounding property values and creating unsafe and inhumane conditions for human habitation.
It is said that slumlords long-term goal is to have a large developer or municipal government buy out the entire property and bulldoze it for an urban renewal effort. They do not care about the negative impact their rentals have on the surrounding area in the meantime.
On the flip side, slum lords are viewed as serving a critical niche role in society, providing affordable rental units to people who cannot afford other low-cost housing. If slums are all eliminated, where are these people supposed to go? What is the solution?
Visitors to IFz often include people looking to move to Idaho Falls, and a frequent question in our live chatbox is “Where are the Idaho Falls slums? Where are the places to absolutely avoid in Idaho Falls?”
Where do you think the Idaho Falls slums are? Maybe not just a neighborhood, but specific rental units, trailer parks, etc.
Who do you think the Idaho Falls slumlords are? The reason I bring this up is that maybe someone moves into a low-rent unit that has just been bought by a known slumlord, and they do not know this slumlord will not upkeep the property. Identifying past slumlords can be helpful to people in newly purchased properties.
Please do not describe landlords you just did not get along with, but rather true slum lords who charged noticeably lower rents and seem to minimally upkeep the property. In fairness, anyone identified as a local slum lord has the opportunity to defend themselves.
What do you think?
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Gato got runned over by Marcus many moons ago. Be ye daft, 2486? 
Let's have a new poll, alright, Joe?
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{ 92 comments… read them below or add one }
Manwaring flat out lied today about the trailers at 231 Hill. They have always been slummy but they’ve gotten much worse over the last few years. I’d know as my job takes me there a lot.
I don’t know who the slum lords are but some of their other ritzy offerings are:
201 Nevada – the trailer park behind Broadway Ford. This is being razed in a few months so its kind of moot now.
3570 S Yellowstone – Trailer park where the floors are rotting out of the some of the trailers. Very comparable to the ones on Hill.
2930 S Yellowstone – Trailer park with a few apartments. A cut above the other Yellowstone one and the ones on Hill. Still very slummy though.
2001 W Broadway – Sundowner Apartments kitty corner across from Pizza Hut.
Half the houses on the tree streets near the YMCA are slumlord offerings as the houses have been chopped up into many small units. Same with many around the aquatic center. Half these apartments are one room only with a community bathroom on each floor.
Of all of the ones I’ve mentioned the ones at 201 Nevada and Manwarings on Hill were the worst by far out of the trailer parks. Manwaring’s just didn’t get as much attention because there were only five or six trailers there.
Slums are different here I.F area ,than big cities where occupancy rates are low[slum areas] homeless set up in run down unnoccupied rentals open fires no electricity , no running water drug deals usually are obvious often a hotbed for prostituton{no pun intended} I dont have any slum areas locally to report. I am only showing the power of a word.
I heard the Sundowner Apts on West Broadway are owned by Tamela Rencher a local Dentist
I think you mean to differentiate slums and squatting.
As I understand it, slum tenants are there legitimately but accept to live in squalid conditions.
As I understand it, squatting is where homeless people move into an abandoned building and carry out various activities in those spaces. Their tenancy is more illegitimate, and of course the landlord is not required to fix anything on the property.
I have passed some of those slums around Idaho Falls. They do not look healthy from the street.
One thing I thought was interesting is Manwaring said he had tried to put smoke detectors in, but never was able too. If he really was trying all he had to do is give her 24 hours notice and come and install them or have someone else do it for him. Was it that he just didn’t want to be seen at that neighbor? He owns alot of realestate his son owns a mortgage company, he definately isn’t hurting for money. So is he just pocketing the money and saying it is for his mom.
I didn’t read the PR article, but as the former manager of an apartment that would probably be considered a ’slum’ I feel like I should input.
It is important to distinguish between the property owners, who are financially responsible for making upgrades and maintaining the property, and the landlord whose dutys include collecting rent, unclogging toilets, and changing lightbulbs. As a manager, I took over management over a property that was frankly pretty run down, and I did this as a favor to a friend who lives out of state.
The tenants had all made verbal ‘arrangements’ with the previous owners regarding all sorts of special treatment, like bi-weekly rent, money off for lawn maintenence, etc. As a courtesy, the new owner decided to honor these agreements. This turned out to be a bad idea, as the tenants constantly tried to take advantage of us, the new landlords. Constantly riding the deadline for rent payment, sharing the apartment with people not on the lease, failing to do agreed upon maintenence work, calling the landlord for a drunken rant about the state of the property, etc.
In the meantime, the tenants kept flushing things down the toilets and clogging the pipes, costing the owners over $2000 dollars that could have been spent on updating the building. One tenant even threatened to sue the owner after he burned himself on his own stove! Needless to say, the whole ‘landlord’ experience was not fun, and we asked the friend to find someone else to manage the property.
So, let’s please remember the difference between those who own these less-than-desirable properties, and those who manage them. All the managers can do is notify the owner of changes/upgrades that need to be made, then hope that the owner provides the funds to do so. And, if they don’t, then the manager may be labeled a ’slum lord’ even if that isn’t what he wants for the property.
Excellent point, there is a difference between the onsite landlord working a job, vs. the owner who ultimately makes the upkeep decisions and who profits on squalid conditions.
I lived in a place under a slumlord in Pocatello, and if your kids end up going to ISU in the city, I strongly recommend you not live in the apartments on S. Arthur across from the newspaper (the address escapes me). The electrical was so outdated that if we tried to run a blow-drier and a lamp at the same time, it blew the circuits for 1/4 of the floor. We regularly found insects in our food. There were rodents and animals all over the place. We lived with drug dealers, crazy people, and all kinds of unsavory fellows. Not a good place.
The willow tree apartments in Idaho falls are very bad.
unless your a man. Women get treated real bad there.
(Name Deleted) the landlord solicits sex from women tenants there.
He says if you want an easy life there you must sleep with him.
His dad is a lawyer.
everyone has tried to sue this guy and can’t win because his father is a lawyer.
Here is the problem with anonymous speech, Joe: The person above me just made a pretty serious claim about a local person, even mentioning him by name! So how are we to verify the claim or even discuss it when we’re dealing with just some random person? Mr. (Edited)’s reputation and business is on the line, and some will blindly accept what anonymous has just said blindly, without base, and without any evidence to support the claim. (Name Edited) may very well be a great person, but our Mr. Anonymous may have had a negative run-in with him and decided to smear his name without any negative affect on himself.
Hence, why anonymous speech is dangerous.
That is a great point. I am not sure what to do.
I can see I invited it in because of the idea to try identifying local landlords/owners who could be considered slumlords. I did not think I would get that kind of allegation, but I can see how I bought it.
So what to do? People can email me and ask for something to be edited if they think it is libelous. They can file a lawsuit and subpoena me for that commenter’s IP address to try chasing them down.
Should I edit the entire remark, or just that allegation, or just that person’s name?
The original point was to help people identify and stay away from bad landlords and bad rentals. Bad landlord behaviors can apparently extend beyond what you would think of as property upkeep.
But isn’t this the point, for people to talk and share this kind of information, knowing that you cannot believe everything you read and you must investigate it themselves?
If we were in a bar and this conversation came up, and someone spoke that same comment, isn’t that their freedom to do so, and isn’t everyone else’s freedoms to not believe the remark still valid?
What if we delete the person’s name, or that allegation, and in a short time later that person is arrested and all over the news for conducting that type of behavior? Wouldn’t we feel like idiots for squashing what could have been important information?
What if a woman is considering moving into those apartments right now? If she reads that, she may reconsider. If she does not read it, what if she experiences that behavior, and we could have prevented it by leaving the comment published as is?
Didn’t I say that anyone identified as a slum lord here has the chance to respond? Is it the responsibility for locals to go to a silly blog and respond to charges? If the same allegation were printed in the paper or aired on the evening news, does it become an opportunity to respond or is it still a burden of responsibility?
I am not willing to protect bad people in our community. I do not want to harm innocent people. How to balance those two legitimate concerns?
I may edit it, but I obviously have many questions on the subject before I do.
What do you think?
I honestly don’t know what to tell you – according to your philosophy of anonymous speech, this kind of thing pretty much should be expected, right? I’m not judging your philosophy, just acknowledging an inherent problem with it. I really don’t know what I would do in your position, to be honest.
I think you should edit the comment just to be on the safe side.
I mean, their claim could very well be true, but if it’s not….well that’s a pretty slanderous thing to say about somebody. We have no proof that it happened, so I think the poster should refrase their comment. Walking a very thin line on this one!
Yes, indeed.
I started reading up on libel again at wikipedia.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libel
The anonymous commenter would have the burden of proving their allegation had some truth. I may be off base, but I suspect they would need at least two current or former tenants to testify under oath that they experienced this alleged behavior. Of course, if this testimony occurred, it would undoubtedly unleash sexual harassment lawsuits, so it really comes down to if the landlord is confident in their ability to prove or disprove those allegations.
There may even be a valid defense if the anonymous commenter had a reasonable belief that their information was true, such as if their sister told them the story of sexual harassment.
“show a benefit to the public good in having the information brought to light” That is an interesting angle, and it was the antecedent to this whole conversation.
I cannot judge the truth of the statement, and I cannot reasonably chase down every allegation made on this site, since much of the comments left here are personal opinions anyways.
I will leave the comment unless contacted by the person, as per published site policies.
I like to mention periodically that I am immune to personal lawsuits for the content published by other people here. If you read the two paragraphs above ‘Singapore Law’ on that wikipedia page, you’ll see what I mean.
Now then, any other slums to avoid around Idaho Falls?
Joe, pretty simple, just delete the post…
you have the ability to know if something is inappropriate, you wouldn’t be hurting any feelings if it was deleted, especially the person posting it because with that kind of comment the poster will not own up to it.
Do the right thing.
At least delete the person’s name. I’d prefer identifying information wasn’t involved at all.
Ronin’s post was excellent.
Jeremy’s one about the apt. in Pocatello made me glad I didn’t live there. He also raises a very valid question about the pros and cons of being anonymous.
Here’s another suggestion, Joe. How about removing the name of the business the the person (given how common it is, you could easily be contacted by the wrong one).
What I would suggest and offer in return, to “anonymous” is to give “anonymous’” e-mail address to anyone requesting more specific details. That way, if there truly are people who should be warned about dangers, the author will make him or herself available to inform others, but via a private e-mail.
I guess this question has never really come previously as users have been careful to not name specific names with such strong allegations (other than elected officials, but that’s different).
Good points, the name goes too far for such an extreme accusation, what it the accusation were a violent crime?
Please, no accusations to named people. Just locations.
Brett Manwaring? Ehhh, the PR already started that story.
The big problem I have with post #9 is…why does having a father for a lawyer make you “sue” proof? I have a best friend who is a lawyer, I think I could afford the best lawyer money could buy, both these things do not make me immune from lawsuits if I’m doing something against the law. Kimball Mason was a lawyer, all his friends were the elite lawyers in town, it didn’t stop him from being prosecuted. I think you need to come up with a better reason other than his dad is a lawyer in Utah so no one could sue him, it makes no sense at all.
well I wasnt trying to make everyone angry by telling a true story. I was so amazed that over 10 women came forward and claimed of that harrassment. There are many land lords that are out of control. The fact his father is a lawyer makes it hard for a low income woman to sue him and continue to pay the legal fee’s the housing there is low income housing. So yes his father being a lawyer does make it hard to fight him in court. Only the rich can get justice in this country.
And this post is for AGwriter.
Delete my post?
What ever.
That seems to be the answer to everyone that disagrees with something instead of saying what they think in return. Just delete it. That is so rude.
My wife heard about this at work from a lady who knows the mother in law of the accussed apartment owners brother who said he saw it here on this website he only knew the building name though.
I am so glad Joe is in charge and not you agwriter. I hope to god he doesnt give you a tin badge. People deserve a chance to be heard. And Joe sorry about giving the name of the guy. Thanks for deleting his name
And I would love for them to try and get my ip address I do not have internet I am using someones wireless internet connection from home. So they can come get them all they want it wont be me. lol
I can’t be traced I am not the owner of the Ip address someone with in 4 blocks of my house is.
Joe I am having trouble with my wireless also I think someone is using my account remotely,my posts still show his name and it is on jive.
Chill out! You say you were not even tell the truth in the first place? You don’t need to be rich to go after someone breaking the law, only civilly will it cost you money, otherwise the prosecuting attorney does it. Won’t cost you a dime. sounds like your accusations hold no water or this guy would be up on charges. You have some issues woman.
wow!!!! now I wonder what to think maybe the name should/shouldn’t be removed after all.?
Anonymous – we’re not saying delete your comment because of your opinion. You made statements that go against a person’s character and business without legal backing and without fact. That’s called libel and it’s illegal.
If you want to express an opinion, have some facts to back it up or you will never be taken seriously.
I LOL at post 21.
“My wife heard about this at work from a lady who knows the mother in law of the accussed apartment owners brother who said he saw it here on this website he only knew the building name though.” Oh well then it MUST be true!
Are you kidding me? LOL
Well, my baby sisters friend from highschool said her brothers aunt had a cousin who talked to his dad and said it was all just a rumour!
I also LOL at post 23. ” I don’t have internet, I use someones wireless internet connection from home, I can’t be traced” ROFLMAO!! Now THAT is funny! Some people are really naive’.
Seriously though, the fact that “anonymous” got SO upset and defensive in posts 19-24, makes ME think they were just unhappy tenants and were out to damage someones name/reputation.
And Xman is right in saying you don’t need alot of money to go after somebody that’s harming you or breaking the law. You and the 10 other women file a complaint with the Police and have the prosecuting attorney handle the rest.
But that’s just MY opinion.
Looks like the Sundowner apartments got new siding! Not just new paint but new white/gray siding, and they do not look too bad.
Wonder if that landlord improved anything on the inside of those apartments?
Wouldn’t it be nice to not describe that place as a slum anymore? Especially since that place is right there for tourists arriving from the west to see.
I would say that the “E” Street apartments would enter the realm of a slum. The apartments are far from clean, there is hardly ever hot water, they don’t keep the hall ways cleaned at all, no smoke detectors, etc. Big time slum.
I suggested Joe remove the #9 post because if indeed it is true then isn’t it a matter for legal authorities to take care of, and if it is true then those making the accusations should put their energy into legally prosecuting the matter, if it is false then a person’s name and reputation has been permanently damaged.
to reiterate what JeremyPlo said:
“…the problem with anonymous speech…”
I see that a name was deleted from post #9, but post #10 refers to a person by name. Is this the same name (making the edit pointless, as one can still easily infer who was being defamed by Anonymous – different Anonymous BTW), or is the name used in post #10 some sort of “John Doe” equivalent that I am simply not familiar with?
I am an idiot.
Didn’t see that, thanks for pointing it out, the name was edited in post 10 also.
Well handled, Joe. Good compromise.
Yay! We can reach consensus (or at least a happy balance) through intelligent and respectful discussion!
Back to the topic…
What city codes or ordinances usually apply to slums? What are the minimums that slumlords usually get hit on, and cause them to make the few repairs they do?
Are there any areas that could be strengthened or improved to motivate slumlords to improve their slum conditions?
Aren’t smoke detectors required in rentals?
Although I can’t answer the questions to post #35, I’m sure someone in the city ordinance enforcement office could. Hopefully a reader will pass this to them and they can direct us to the location of such information. Maybe the PR can do an article providing information on ordinace and city housing laws.
I appreciate honesty in this thread, and locations of bad places to live. I have an older relative with a lower-paying job who is looking to relocate to IF. This info will help us steer clear of places when out apartment searching.
Hopefully a reader will pass this to them and they can direct us to the location of such information.
Well, City Ordinances are on-line.
There you can see that the City has adopted both the Intenational Fire Code and the International Property Maintenance Code. Those codes apply to all rentals, whether “slums” or not, and contain requirements for everything from structural features to lighting, ventilation, mechanical, plumbing, and of course, fire safety.
As far as smoke detectors, both codes require smoke detectors outside sleeping areas, in each bedroom, and at least one on each story.
I know alot of people are on a fixed income or budget, but I’ve always gone by a certain rule of thumb when renting at an apartment complex. Sometimes looks can be deceiving so I’ve always gone by the types of cars parked in the parking lot. If you see some decent late model cars in the driveways, chances are you’re going to find a decent rental. That may be bias but it’s true. The next time you’re out about town, look at the apt parking lots. The run down apartments are going to have your beat up fords with the rusted out quarter panels and the little 1980 corollas parked out front. The nicer apartments are going to have your cleaner later model cars. And your more high end apartments are going to have the beemers and acuras parked in the driveway. It’s really quite a simple way to find a decent apt, and its a rule I’ve used for years. (you really do get what you pay for when it comes to apartment living and rentals)
Yeah it does look like they are putting up siding on the Sundowner apartments, but I think if you put lipstick on a pig, its still a pig.
Hey, I heard that a police officer by the name of Joe Cowley is the manager of the 201 Nevada units that have been an eye sore for years. Lets not blame Joe for managing a crappy property…I know some other landlords in the area and they work their butts off to make a decent place for people to live. You have to look at the clientele that live there too. They are difficult people to deal with to begin with…try being their landlord…not an easy task. I think this issue should be looked at from BOTH sides to be fair and give some credit and blame where it is due.
post 21 -funny- as it is an example of truth, friend of mine from ‘ name deleted ‘ co. monitors this site and ask if I had heard of the willow tree apts
Why would a landlord not try to upkeep, maintain, improve the property?
Wouldn’t taking care of the place help rental income?
What reason would a landlord have to allow a property to continue deteriorating, declining in both property and rental value?
You’re right there Joe. My parents own a number of rental properties and have a hard time finding decent people to occupy them. They keep them very clean inside and out and all are kept up to city code. But as much as they screen the tenants in the beginning, they still end up getting deadbeats sometimes who don’t take care of the place and are always late paying their rent. Then they give them the boot and end up having to spend a grand fixing holes in the walls, water damage, etc.
They would never let their property go down the drain because they have too much invested, not to mention too much pride and a good reputation. But its easy to see how some landlords would let their property upkeep slide because of monetary issues.
But then of course you have the owners that just don’t care and are only out to get the dollar each month no matter what the cost.
Its usually the privately owned apartments where this type of thing happens the most. Larger complexes that have money behind them and do extensive credit checks, don’t usually have this problem. But then the tenants that don’t respect their living enviroment or keep their rent paid on time, can’t usually get into a decent apartment complex anyway.
Joe, I think it is caused by both the owner and tenant. An owner buys a property that is a bit run down at a good price, the tenants are lower income, and sometimes its hard to pay the rent on time, the owner reacts by not not making the repairs because he dosent have the money, and he spends half his time trying to collect. Repairs dont get done, tenants rebel and grow nastier by not paying rent on time and being distructive….the cycle continues to spiral out of control, and you have a rundown property, not worth what it would take to repair, the rent is forced lower, the poorest of society then move in and the cycle takes another turn downward, till the property in its present state is almost worthless unless it is just bulldozed.
In the bigger cities where there is rent control, the owners cannot afford the upkeep on the meager rent they collect so they let it go to hell so the tenants will move, then you have the crack houses and subsidized people living there and the owner tries to force them out by negelict so he can sell to a developer and build a non-rent controlled apartment building or condos.
Wanted to give a positive review of a landlord. I’m not actually sure that he still owns anything as its been over a decade since I rented from him but Don Bluth was an awesome landlord. He owned some properties in areas surrounded by slum lord dwellings. Despite the shabby conditions all around, Bluth did an excellent job of maintaining his properties and tried his best to screen his applicants. He once came out at a really bad hour and let me in when I locked myself out. And when my dishwasher went kaput he had people there the next day fixing them. My apartment building, owned by Bluth, looked like a penthouse amid shanty dwellings that were owned by others.
But… but, but that was a positive comment left by an anonymous person! That shouldn’t have happened. The fabric of the universe may have just tore.
Thanks for the great comment. I think the people who own property next to shabbyvilles have a harder time keeping their place nice. It can be depressing to look around at the slums around your place.
LOL!!
Oh, and while we’re being positive, I have had some terrible, horrible property managers in my days, but Rooftop Realty restored my faith in mankind. We’ve used them for a year, in our current rental in Fenway Park, and they’ve been amazing. The only reason we’re moving is because we just purchased our first home.
The management at Rooftop are friendly, responsible, and take care of any and all problems in a timely manner. I recommend them highly.
In regards to post #9 and others,
Those are nothing but allegations of a landlord soliciting sexual favors from women tenants at the willowtree apartments in Idaho Falls.
I live here at willowtree apartments and all I can tell you, the landlord does a great job of upkeeping.
A lot of women do take advantage of a man especially when being a landlord of a apartment complex. Something goes wrong, the woman puts up a nasty recognization and in the process damage the landlord’s reputation by stating these things on the internet and starts countless rumors.
We have people monitoring the willowtree apartments and the surrounding areas with outside security cameras. It is great sense of security in this way.
Willowtree apartments can and still be a great place to live only if people learn how to keep their personal problems to themselves.
response to post #23
You’re wrong about being untraceable since you are using a wireless connection which belongs to another computer user.
Your computer MAC address can be recorded in the wireless router system when you connect to the wireless system. That MAC (Media Access Control) address is traceable with a special software which can be utilized to find any MAC address in the world.
Next time you are connecting anonymously to a wireless connection, that person could be tracing you and accessing your computer as well since it is a remote procedure call. That is, if the owner of the wireless connection knows computers well.
I’d just like to say that I’m glad you left the warning about Willowtree. I’m a single female college student looking for a place to live this summer and even if it’s just a rumer I’d rather not take any chances. Better to be safe than VERY VERY sorry. Thanks. And can anyone reccomend safe and affordable apartments?
Just use common sense and you’ll usually do fine.
1. If it looks bad it probably is bad.
2. If its a big apartment complex its 100% guaranteed there will be a lot of undesirable people there unless its priced high and then there will still probably be a few bad people – simple law of averages, not all apartment people are bad but on the other hand your really bad people usually can’t afford homes.. If its an isolated apartment building with only a few apartments maybe you’ll get lucky.
3. If its cheap, its probably going to be bad. There is a reason its cheap.
I rented in the four units just immediately south across from Smith’s, the landlord was really nice, the rent was reasonable, and it came with two garages and a small yard, fireplace, and really interesting architectural spaces inside. The only downside was the Jack in the box in Smith’s lot; when the bars let out a long line of cars form and they are loud and drunk.
I am surprised there has been no follow-up to the Brett Manwaring issue.
Has he installed smoke detectors in his rentals? Have any of his condemned buildings been cleared for human habitation? Have any other tenants left his rentals, or more moved in? What’s happened to the lady who’s trailer burned down? Is the lady suing Brett for damages since there was no smoke detector?
wow i cant really believe this. new slumlord?
i was helping a friend move out of the apartment on chasewood drive in ammon. I was told this landlord is a new landlord because the property were sold to a new company namely the Exit Realty-Destinations of Idaho and I have met him before. He seemed like a nice guy until today. He really pressed the tenant in paying him the rent while hes moving out of the apartment. He was pushed back to move out immediately today instead of waiting until next monday.
I cant believe this guy. How can he be a new landlord when the tenant made a new lease agreement but decided to cancel that lease agreement within the 30 days agreement and he was really pressuring him, giving him a uncomfortable time.
Even the neighbors I talked to, complained about the same new landlord/manager, pressuring tenants to do this and that for many other reasons. They too are moving out.
Boy, anyone going up on chasewood drive in ammon, looking for a place to live, watch out for this guy… hes a real. Too bad, if he ever provoked me in the same manner, I would punch his lights out! Making me wish I was the tenant because I know very well the laws of “Landlord-Tenant” in this state and what he did was extremely illegal in the eyes of the law. Pushing tenants to move out.. for what reasons, I dont know.
That sucked.
chasewood is huge area can you narrow it down?
sounds like a real jerk. There is another one just like that on Lomax. He wanted us to pay for the black mold in his apartment. It flooded a few summers ago and he didnt do anything about it. We had been ill for almost a year until district seven found out there was black mold spores in the air. I had it growing in my lungs. I could have died and my kids could have died too. I turned him in to the health dept. They are shuting his rentals down till he gets rid of the mold. I will not comment on his name because there are legal matters being persued against that land lord for alot of money and damages.
referring to post #54.
I believe that post is referring to the duplexes on chasewood. I have heard about this. Word travel fast.
maybe i can put a new perspective on this discussion as my friends here in oregon refer to me as the slum lord. I happen to have a small very old complex that has had only the minimal repairs done in the last 50 years. just upgrading the electrical to get rid of fuse panels and but in breaker boxes was a very expensive job. 12 units cost me over $30k and I did most of the work myself. new roof was $9k and siding will run me about $25k. Every time i get a vacant unit I replace the carpets and put in a new kitchen and bathroom about $6k per unit. I do criminal background checks on all prospective tenants but you still get some real crap. Last month I had someone try to cook some meth in one of my units and now I have to have a has-mat certified crew gut the unit and start over. Just gutting it and removal cost me $18k. since I aquired these 12 units I have been bleeding money all in the name of cleaning up the neighborhood. My units rent for $320-$450 per month. At this rate they will never pay for themselves but they will look better and hopefully i will be able to rent to a better crowd thus improving the neighborhood.
Thanks for sharing your story. I would refer to you as the opposite of a slum-lord, as you are actively trying to improve your building, even though it appears to be a complete pain in your behind. Kudos to you for trying to improve your community, even if some of your tenants aren’t cooperating.
Can anyone tell me where I would help a relative find an apt in IF – not a disgusting one as listed in above posts. He’s looking for something close to Shopko, Sam’s or Lowe’s area, either a short walk or short drive. 1-3 bedroom, house or apt OK but house preferred with a 1-car garage. Reasonably priced – no drug dealers or loud partiers for neighbors! He would be a clean and quiet tenant. He’s not in any rush to move here, we are only putting feelers out now on what is available. Thanks!!
yea Look on Stace st for an apartment its off of john adams almost to hit road hang a right and go down till u see stace st. there are good units there for rent 3 bedrooms 550.00 a mo to 600.00 a mo
nice area kids are safe to play and ride bikes etc.
Renting homes or side-by-side units are the way to go in my opinion.
I hated units on top of another. People above you always make stomping noises across the floor, and people under you think you are making stomping noises because that’s just how it sounds.
Try to find units that are side-by-side instead of stacked. You’ll enjoy more quiet and less hassle with neighbors.
Here is one that probably flies under the radar: out Broadway a few miles is that “EZ Stop” C store and behind it there are trailers and up front there are a couple apartment buildings. I used to live there. We installed a carbon monoxide filter and within a couple days of installing it, it went off. We had the house checked but there wasn’t anything to be found. It kept going off. One night it was hot and we had the back door open. The alarm went off yet again but this time there was a foul sewer gas smell. Come to find out the sewers under the trailers were out dated and were backing up under the trailers. We moved out not long after but we did hear from a friend that lived next door. He approached the landlord to fix the problem and he was met with a fist in his face. The owners have several – over a dozen – cats running around. They are neither spayed nor neutered. I always mailed my rent in even though they lived on site because their house smelled SO bad. It was enough to gag a maggot! It has been, oh, 10 years since so they may have cleaned it up but I highly doubt it.
George
The best thing to do is Buy a house!!!!! no landlord is the best.
I agree with Guest. Now that I’m a homeowner, I could never, ever, EVER go back to renting. Awful practice.
Don’t be so condesending Jeremy. There are a lot of people out there that can’t afford to purchase a house and have no choice.
the great jeremy has spoken, do not attempt to correct him, you will be belittled for such insubordination
Post 60: Check out Parkwood Pointe apartments. Alot of site workers live there. They are located at 1900 Parkwood in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Some friends say they have quiet tenants and a nice atmosphere minus bad folks!
I remember when those apartments got built, the ones on Woodruff by that big bank?
I recall they were insanely expensive when they first opened, but maybe they’ve mellowed the price in the last, oh man how many years now probably 15-20 since they opened? I remember they were quite the special thing when they opened up, the format was quite new.
It’s too bad about renters not being able to afford housing. The biggest reason we would fight to staying in home ownership is the equity you earn.
Those hundreds of dollars you pay to housing each month can build your own nest egg or go in the hole for someone else’s nest egg.
Sure there are hundreds of dollars each month in unexpected costs that you would not get as a renter, but those costs are usually still helping your equity to grow.
Joe –
Regarding your Post #62
Having been an apartment dweller for many years, I’d certainly encourage Joe’s thought of finding a side-by-side rental unit, if possible.
I agree about the stomping noises. Then the tenant in the other apartment has to try to decide if their is additi1onal meaning attached to a broom hitting a ceiling/floor (depending on which level a renter lived).
Let me just say in my last apartment before becoming a home owner, there were far more noises and squeals of delight upstairs (I guess, I never went up to check), than I ever experienced in any other apartment complex in which I had lived. What can I say, my upstairs neighbor had a healthy libido.
I also learned a bit about when not to be home, and when not to invited guests over to my apt.
If you are curious where all this “activity” happened, it was in a different state. So it wouldn’t be too useful for some who may think if they found the right apartment complex where I lived for their new residence (based on my comments here), their luck with dates may change. This large apartment complex isn’t in Idaho.
Apartment living is very different than renting a house. Not everyone can share a washers/dryers with 50-100 other people, along with one parking stall/apt – unless one had a 3 bedroom apt.- along with many other aspects of daily living with strangers.
Sometimes neighbors could and would become friends. Sometimes strangers seem stranger after several months of having them for neighbors.
For certain people, apartments are the right answer for certain periods of their lives.
But, I must admit I was shocked to see how much lower my electricity bill was in my house than my last apartment.
I’m glad we have options as I doubt we all would be happy living in the same environment.
Apparently the Uptown Trailer Park (ironically named) was a slum also. This park has been in the news because apparently the Broadway Ford Dealership owned the trailer park and needed the space to expand their car lot.
Eviction notices went out several months ago, and the tenants were all poor and stressed about moving their dilapidated old trailers.
Today the PR reports that at least one family did not even have heat in their “Uptown” trailer park! Many of the trailers could not be accepted at other local trailer parks because they were so dilapidated.
Anyone know if Broadway Ford Dealership was running and responsible for that slum, making them a slumlord, or was it someone else?
Joe, the dealership owned the land and rented spaces to the tenants, the tenants owned their own trailers. If they didnt have heat it was thier fault, not Broadway Ford.
While you can’t blame Broadway Ford for the conditions inside the trailer they are at fault for the overall slum conditions on the outside. They allowed 70-80 trailers to be packed in like sardines in a space that should have only held 30-40 trailers. The trailers were in there so tight that you could literally reach out the window of one and touch another.
I don’t think there are even 30 trailers in that spot. lets be realistic and say 15 to 20.
One-eyed trout, I’ve been in that trailer park several times and I’d guess that you’re right that it’s probably not 30 trailers, but I’d be shocked if it was under 20.
The trailers are numbered. Over on the west end they are up in the sixties. So there are at least that many.
The apts. on Tiger Ave. behind I.F. high school previously managed by proffesional property managment should be listed. Think it was transfered recently to a new managment company so not sure if any of the issues are or have been resolved. From our experience, we lived in one when we move in we were unaware of a hole in one of the two bedrooms. Were sharing the apt. with roommates and the roommates never informed us of the hole. Which did not show signs of leaking unless of rain or snow, when we moved in was the end of summer. Then when the roommates moved out we discovered that there was a hole and they had glued plastic bags to the ceiling to keep the water out. We informed the landlord and they came over to check it out. Said it had to do with the outside roof. Then we never heard or had anything done about it for quite some time. We contacted the on site maintance person and was told that the spire thing on the roof prevented them from fixing it and they were told to not further pursue fixing the situation. then shortly later our freezer went out. we called it in to see about getting it fixed or replaced. after a week no response, called again. another week and no response. so again we go to the on site maintenance person, and they immediatley go into one of the vacant units and replace our fridge. some other occurances, one unit had a bad mold/mildew problem no matter how much the tennants tried the entire window frames and front door would be covered espesially in winter. the plumbing was horrible, maybe about 2 apts. would actually get hot water and would be lucky if you could get barely warm water. several units had faulty toilets that would run constantly or would not flush properly. almost all units did not come with smoke detectors, we had to request them after we moved in. most units did not have screens on the windows. there was an on site laundrymat (yeah like 3 washers and dryers) had to pay an extra amount to be given a laundry key, even if you wanted to do laundry the room was very filthy layered with dirt and tons of cobwebs around the ceiling. the parking was horrible, yet of course that had to do with it being behind a high school, was worse on game nights. Plus on game nights they would leave the football field lights on and they would shine right into the unit if you had an upper unit. There was one incident of police raiding one of the units just kiddy corner of ours. Nothing more scary than hearing yelling outside to look outside and see about 10 police officers fully geared and gun in hand. Of course the rule applys you get what you pay for. We paid about 300 for a 2 bedroom. That was another thing the landlady constantly tried to change everyones rent, several people with the same style of units were paying different prices. As well as leaving memos on everyones doors of price increases and such. Sometimes leave memos of some sort of repair of upgrade, it would be past dated usually a week before actually being posted and usually the memo would be left giving barely a 24 hour notice of electricity or water being off for a certain amount of time then even after the date of the so called repair you would not be able to notice any difference made.
Who is the slumlord of those apartments?
I only had one problem with renting a place in all my life, and I have rented alot. The Ross in downtown I.F.. The manager at the time, 2004-2005, (I don’t know if he is still there, although I hear he is not), ran a real slum! It was pathetic, and he was a real jerk. He was the ruddest, meanest person I have ever met. He would yell at you if you did such a little thing, as forget to wipe your feet at the door, or knock on the main door to be let in, if you forgot your key. If he needed to talk with you, he would POUND on your door until you answered, even if you didn’t want to be bothered. He always had to know your biz’ and would judge who was allowed to visit you in your room, or not. Then one day, he locked the front door, and would not allow anyone in during the daytime. If you had no phone, and had an emergency, you would have to meet whoever outside, snow, rain or sleet. I had no phone at first, and had no way of knowing if someone important needed to contact me. The place was full of cockroaches, and the paint was peeling. There was no ventilation, other then one window in each room, (no cross ventilation). We were only allowed to have visitors until 9PM, and we were not allowed to drink alcohol in our rooms. I agree, some rules are needed, but it seems to be that we were being treated as though HE was paying us to live there, instead of the other way around. He had no tact whatsoever, except for the ones he “liked”. The place had poor heating. It was the worst living experience I have ever endured! I will never live there again, and thank God, word gets around. He would use the excuse that the place was considered a “Hotel”, so that no one had any rights but him, and that he could basicaly do anything he wanted to do, short of disobeying the law. Shesh, he even did that, he stole some money from me that my sister sent. He insited on doling out the mail. Renter beware, if he is still there, for your sanity, do not rent from him. The rent was cheep, as cheep as the management and the place, and not worth the effort or time.
The Ross and its downtown brethrens The Nelson and The Bonneville are classic examples of you get what you pay for. These three places are part of the reason that the downtown of Idaho Falls will never be anything but a scuzpit until they are gone. I know nothing about the above poster who used to live there but in general most of the people who live at these places are alcoholics, part time transients, and severely mentally ill people. And because they live downtown thats where they hang out all day and make it a not so nice place to take your kids.
That place looks like the slums as it is. Often times people are on a tight budget and can’t always afford decent housing (rentals, apts, etc) I certainly understand that. However with that being said, when it comes to renting an apartment, you really do get what you pay for. Cheap housing is almost always going to gaurantee you “slum lord conditions” and/or run down housing conditions. I’ve rented a lot of different places over the years. Apartments, townhomes, houses, condo’s etc and it’s the same everywhere you go. One rule of thumb is (at least one I’ve always followed) is to never look for the cheapest place you can find, but the nicest place you can afford.
Housing costs are out of control, they always have been in this town. The minimum wage earner can’t afford decent housing and still pay other bills.
Capitalism is well and good but it sure sucks when you’re stuck living in slums. I’ve lived in my share of rental slums, and all I can say today is that I was blessed because I had a drive to better myself and I had marketable skills…
So what about those who don’t have my drive, or even if they do, they don’t have marketable skills? Or they have a roadblock to overcome that prevents them from obtaining decent paying jobs?
They live in the slums, and the rest of us thank our lucky stars that, there but for the grace of (insert favorite deity name here), go I.
If people don’t have your drive then I think we should all just pay their way. I mean, why not take care of these poor souls that don’t have our drive and determination to work while going to school.
We obviously can’t ask them to have the same discipline and sacrifice that we have maintained. That would not be very fair to them. We might upset their lifestyle and force them to be like us. We need to respect diversity of not only ethnicity, but we need to embrace diversity of laziness and lack of focus.
This model of accomodating everyone and making us all equal was tried in East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Russia. Look how well that all turned out….oh, whoops, my bad. I guess that kind of didn’t work out so well.
Oh well, “Capitalism is well and good but it sure sucks when you’re stuck living in slums.” Yeah, capitalism sucks, especially when we work hard all day to pay our bills and we are taxed to death to bring along the other folks that sit around in those slums all day watching Oprah and Dr. Phil………..
Yeah, Mike, I ain’t buying it, but good try at baiting me!
I am serious. Why do we expect that everyone has our skills and abilities? I used to be holier-than-thou and judgmental because “if I could do it, why couldn’t you”?? I learned in my second marriage that it’s not that simple.
I am raising stepchildren. One has a 91 IQ. Very nice young man, almost 18, but I seriously think he’s going to be on Food Stamps most of his adult life, as he just doesn’t have the ability to get a good paying job and he certainly has no drive or motivation to improve himself.
But he’s too “smart” to qualify for disability, too, so he will work, just at low skills kinds of jobs which don’t tend to pay well. I’m trying to prepare him but it’s frustrating, he just has ZERO desire to put time and effort into anything. (Not on drugs, but I don’t know if that will last after he leaves home, as he’s quite the follower.) I imagine he’ll live in the slums quite a bit unless we (his parents) help him out.
Another is only about average in intelligence, so she’s a little better. She tends to want to mirror me, so she’s determined and she tries. But even though she has the grit, she doesn’t have the skills. So she’ll be a hard worker, and she’ll hate being poor, but she won’t have the ability to do much more than that. As with other girls in her predicament, she’ll probably end up getting married to better her situation.
Neither are college material, only one has the determination, and neither have the skills to do more than basic kinds of work.
I don’t know if it’s genetic, their older brother is mentally retarded (they call it developmentally disabled these days) and their deceased mother was a hotel maid/hospital laundry worker…it was all she could get in the way of jobs.
So there are good people out there who don’t have much of a chance to succeed, and will end up living in those slums for a long time.
I understand what Mike is trying to say & Nemisis, not everyone that lives in low rent housing or the slums has a low IQ or is retarted or mentally handicapped. Why should I have to support or even feel sorry for these people that don’t wish to improve their own lives? Why should have have to pay more taxes to foot the bill so they can sit around watching Oprah & Dr Phil? THEY have the ability (just as we all do) to better themselves.
I believe you are doing a dis-service to your stepchildren by mentally holding them back with the attitude that “I seriously think he’ll be on foodstamps the rest of his life”. GREAT Attitude Nemisis!! With that mentality, your stepchildren will NEVER succeed or make something of themselves. Mainly becasue YOU don’t think they will. (and believe it or not, THAT makes all the difference in the world) You’re making excuses for them and that really bothers me. Another you say will “probably marry to better her situation”. Again…..another great motivational tool! YOU alone are planting the seeds of doubt into these kids heads with the attitude that they’ll never succeed or make anything of themselves and to me that’s pretty sad and I for one feel sorry for these kids. You’ve sat here and made excuses for every single one of them and youre mentality is to let “somebody else” be responsible for them making something of their lives. You’re right, these kids will probably never succeed. But you know why…..it’s because you’re not giving them the help, encouragement and support that all kids need to help them down the road. Kids need to be told that their great and that they’ll succeed in life and that they CAN do it on there own. Not all the things you listed above….especially “marrying to improve ones situation”!!
Nemisis, I would have never expected comment 84 to come out of your mouth… of all people.
I note the labeling theory expressed above does make a difference with many people. If you label them a deadbeat or stupid…chances are they will fall right in that hole and stay there.
Now, I can appreciate the fact that not everyone has the same skill set as the next person. However, that being the case is exactly my point: We cannot (and should not) try and make everyone equal. There will be people that don’t live high on the hog because they CHOOSE to be lazy. There will also be people that are handed inferior IQ’s or other abnormalities through natural selection at birth or due to some accident, etc….but that does not mean that society has a right to spend cash (by picking my pocket) to bring them upto some artifical standard of living that they would not otherwise enjoy. If I were a mental midget or lazy I would probably want to be taken care by the government and catered to every step of the way. That is welfare in action in many cases. We should know by now that by providing people an artifical standard of living that they will abuse it, get used to it, and do nothing to better themselves. That is human nature. If people are not uncomfortable by their condition, they will not make efforts to change it. The other point to remember is that some people are happy being the wall flower and live a simple life…even if it is in a slum.
In the end, there will always be winners and losers in life. That is just the way it is. It would be very nice and polyanna to wish a different result. However, no amount of money or surroundings can change the basic facts of natural selection. Nemisis, good luck with the step-kids. Do what you think is right. I don’t question what you want to do with your kids as long as you don’t beat them mentally or physically. Just don’t ask me to pay for your choices and preferences beyond a safety net that we set up for all of our fellow citizens. I can’t afford it, and neither can society.
Thanks, both 007 (for saying you expected better of me, meaning that you believe to have seen better of me, before) and Mike, for wishing me well and not assuming I’m keeping my kids back.
For these kids, I encourage and teach and explain realistically what’s expected and how to make that happen. As I said, these are my assessments of these children, and I have a strong background in being able to assess someone’s potential (without going further into my personal situation).
I totally agree that if a parent shows low expectations, the child is less likely to reach past them to higher levels. My stepchildren know that we expect them to go to college, just the same as my first set of children did (and they had genius IQs). They know we expect them to work hard and support themselves, and get help from mom and dad as they may need it, as part of the natural order of things.
Whether this pans out or my fears are realized, time will tell. I truly hope I am wrong.
I have to agree with the willowtree apts. post about them trying to solicit sex from women. I lived there and yes he did try with me, and of course i turned him down. But I never felt threatened, just disgusted. Although it was alarming enough to try to avoid him at all costs, My living conditions were not that bad.
The string that I’m replying to is pretty old, but I’m about 100% sure that IQ is not tied to career path or lifestyle in any way, shape or form.
On one side of the spectrum, you have complete morons that hold high-up positions in powerful corporations. On the other end, you have people with genius level IQs living in single-wide trailers and bushes doing manual labor or nothing for a living and lighting up the doobie every night.
We all have the same potential for success – it’s the individual’s definition of success that differs. Just because your stepchild has an IQ of 91, it doesn’t mean that he’s going to be unhappy with his adult life…whether he’s living in a slum or not. Those of us with different lifestyles feel sorry for these people…but quite a few of them wouldn’t have life any other way. I had a bunch of friends back in the day that went the way of low to no income living, most of which were in AP classes through high school maintaining a 3.5+ GPA…and they’re still digging the hell out of their lack of responsibility. Perception – not IQ.
I think you’ve made a very good point Marcus.
Actually, I don’t think it would hurt people to scale-down a bit on what they THINK they need to be happy.
I have been perfectly happy with less than I have now. I’ll never be a millionaire, and I don’t think that fact makes me any less happy.
I also lived in the WillowTree Apts for a few years, and the landlord, Chris, was most definitely overly friendly and creepy. He would call me just to chat, and I just got this weird, vibe from him all the time. I used to work at a restaurant his father (who yes is a lawyer) would visit. I would hear Chris on occasion threaten to “call his dad” if someone had a complaint. The apt itself wasn’t bad though.
dnconwtr
and he will wait til you’ve moved out before making any susceptible repairs to the unit. He will not do major repairs necessary when you’re living there.