All Over Albany

The city needs to aggressively pursue these landlords.

It's called code enforcement and it is not difficult.

Kathy Sheehan, do something besides fundraise for yourself.

... said Stan on Oct 4, 2016 at 11:51 AM | link

I'm watching this very same thing happen at 199 10th Street in Troy. Older family were taxed out. Bank took over. Chinese investors bought it and renovated apartments cheap as possible. Students moved in and throw garbage out on the sidewalk, park their cars in the wrong direction, do drugs openly, have loud parties they don't clean up after. Right now we are calling the police all the time, but nothing happens. As a homeowner, do I stay and hope it gets better? Or do I move while I can still sell (and leave my neighbors with a worse problem when my home is bought by the same investors)?

... said Mr Troy on Oct 4, 2016 at 12:40 PM | link

Not the greatest investment if you're not protecting it. Too bad, it's a really cute house.

Also, Didn't Albany County enact the Social Host Law in 2009? Though I guess it would be a far reach to prosecute an LLC, though the shareholders know exactly what's going on on their property.

... said J on Oct 4, 2016 at 12:41 PM | link

The city needs to change our tax structure which currently acts as an incentive to let properties rot and a disincentive to maintenance. Well-maintained properties are punished by paying an increased tax bill. Trashed properties and vacant lots are rewarded with a low bill. A simple solution already exists - taxes should be based on the value of the underlying land, not the value of the building. That will incentivize land owners to put land to it's highest and best use (economic development incentive!) and punish land owners who let properties rot (they'll pay the same high tax bill as their neighbors but will collect less in rent since their buildings are trashed).

... said Mike D on Oct 4, 2016 at 12:45 PM | link

Here's the Zillow listing: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/576-Myrtle-Ave-Albany-NY-12208/29649819_zpid/

... said J on Oct 4, 2016 at 12:47 PM | link

Mike D, you are quite correct here. A land value tax is a major part of the solution here.

Which is why it will never happen with the hacks we have in office right now.

... said Stan on Oct 4, 2016 at 2:04 PM | link

Put me down for another vote for a land value tax. Very few cities have this in place, so our situation is much more typical. The places that have his seem to have had good experiences though, and it just makes so much sense.

So yeah, don't hold your breath...

... said JayK on Oct 4, 2016 at 4:15 PM | link

"How many residential properties in Albany are owned by people/groups from outside the city and/or Capital Region?" I recently answered a similar question for a neighborhood in another city by querying online property records. Surprisingly, there were fewer out-of-area landlords than the perception would suggest.

You can also download the assessment rolls in PDF and do an advanced search (for NJ, etc. in the property owner's address). Much more labor-intensive, but it works.

... said Ellen on Oct 4, 2016 at 5:06 PM | link

"Built in 1911, it's an architecturally superior house that, unlike many in Pine Hills, has never been chopped into apartments.

Part of what's compelling about 576 Myrtle, though, is it could still go either way. Nothing there is inevitable.

On one hand, it could be restored and occupied by a family that realizes it's a hidden gem. ..."

This is a complete fantasy. In the modern era, few people willingly tackle the restoration of a home that old; it is incredibly time-consuming and expensive. And I know - I've tried it. I fell in love with my Victorian home, but 10 years down the road, I am exhausted and cash-poor by the maintenance.

In my experience, the average middle-class adults in a two-career family with kids do not have the time, energy, or money to address the major issues that a house of this age will have, such as: Lead paint inside and out; asbestos pipe wrap, insulation, and tiles; single-pane windows needing full restoration or replacement; aging plumbing with possible lead pipes; outdated inefficient heating system; outdated wiring, ungrounded outlets, and overall inadequate for modern needs electrical system; floorplans and layouts that don't match with modern preferences (ie, no master suite and often only 1 full bath).

Plus, with property values still flatlined or with very low increases over the past decade in the Capital Region, and New York's notoriously high tax burden increasing every year, what logical incentive is there to upgrade and maintain a house that old? A property owner is throwing away money on a year-over-year basis.

I say congratulations to the current owners for running the property on low margins and eking out whatever profit they can.

... said TJ on Oct 6, 2016 at 9:40 AM | link

TJ: I've also restored a half-dozen older homes. The oldest was built before 1870 and the newest in the 1930s. And I did it in a two-job multiple-child household.

You are correct that they can be hopeless time-sinks, but they can also be incredibly rewarding, both spiritually and financially. It just requires the homeowner to really carefully select the house so that they do not get in over their heads.

This is yet another area in which an enlightened city or county could create a combination of code enforcement, tax incentives and job programs that would make neighborhood improvement much more likely. We can't save every house or jail every lousy landlord but we don't need to simply sit here and do nothing either.

I again call everyone's attention to the fact that there is a mayor's race in 2017.

... said Stan on Oct 6, 2016 at 1:46 PM | link

TJ must not have read the article or somehow failed to comprehend it. Nobody was asking the owners to restore the property to pristine. What they wanted was for it to be maintained so their home values do not deteriorate. They don't want to be annoyed time after time by loud parties. They don't want garbage to ruin their views and attract rodents and disease. They aren't asking much. Its unfortunate your attempt at home repair ended so sadly, but others have done it, can do it and will do it, because they see beauty and esthetics in these places. These are the people that should be applauded. They don't deserve to have all their hard work ruined because an absentee landlord is violating city code "running the property on low margins and eking out whatever profit they can."

Just in case, here is the relevant part of the article:

"It's disgusting what it has become," Coleman said, citing unshoveled winter sidewalks, a backyard full of garbage, loud parties on weekends and a front yard that, when I visited last week, looked as if one of those creepy clowns was in charge of maintenance. The front shrubs appeared to have been maniacally hacked, with dismembered branches thrown wildly around the yard. Where shrubs used to be, there was now a lovely layer of freshly exposed garbage." It was a sight that baffled and enraged neighbors on a city block that, while imperfect, certainly has charm, including many well-maintained homes.

... said Big 'Vic' Proton on Oct 6, 2016 at 11:08 PM | link