In 83 Million Eviction Records, a Sweeping and Intimate New Look at Housing in America

I’m sorry to hear about your family’s situation. A while back I had $20 in my possession and was fighting homelessness. It’s a horrible cycle where, like the motel room, everything costs more because you can’t access things the same way other people can who have their credit flowing.

I don’t want to brow beat. At all. Rather, just share a scenery that’s different.

I read the article because I am (these days) a mobile home park owner, and in over a decade now, I have only filed suit once. And that’s with 100+ tenants. I have not one penny of missing rent in that time, either. Sure, people have been late, on occasion, due to sickness/job/other but we work together.

I don’t know any other landlord out here who operates that way, either.

I’ve never seen a situation where there needs to be an eviction mill going. To me, that’s a toxic level of a kind of human interaction that’s just too impersonal.

As for work, I live in the middle of nowhere - farms all around - but everyone’s working. Last night, I got an application in from a guy who is an ag worker and his earnings were $645.99 last week.

I know there’s higher earning potential in a big metro area, but then again there’s higher costs, too. Space rent around here is $300-$400 a month, so life is generally affordable (except for being one health crisis away from bankruptcy like everyone else in the country, except for a few). Everyone in the mobile home parks around our area own their homes and they resell for $25K or less.

Renting a house or apartment generally goes for $500-$1000 a month.

I know a lot of people have a bias against farm work AND mobile home parks but just thought I’d share for whatever it’s worth.

The other thing that got my attention was the ID situation. Technically, on the I-9 employment form, after the date of hire you have three days to supply at least a receipt for application of required identification/eligibility documentation and then a full 90 days to get the actual doc to the employer “OR OTHER SPECIFIED TIME”. That’s quoted right out of the IRS instructions so there’s no reason an employer can’t make a reasonable accommodation and simply document it. If everyone is being reasonable and following through no ones going to get in trouble for not being able to collect a state ID on day one.

/r/Foodforthought Thread Parent Link - nytimes.com