Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association
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  1. #1
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    Default Housing in Monroe/Pike


    Rent too high, pay too low in Pike, Monroe

    When the chips are down, it's not easy to live in Pike and Monroe counties, where the rent is higher and pay is lower than state averages.

    A survey by the National Low Income Housing Coalition shows that half of renters in Pike and Monroe cannot afford a two-bedroom rental.
    MAKING IT WORK

    Average rent, 2 BR

    $842/month- Penna.

    $978/month- Pike Co.

    $913/month- Monroe Co.

    Average wage

    $13.24/hour- Penna.

    $8.43/hour- Pike Co.

    $10.29/hour- Monroe Co.

    Wage needed

    $16.19/hour- Penna.

    $18.81/hour- Pike Co.

    $17.56/hour- Monroe Co.

    Renters who dedicate more than 30 percent of wages to housing are struggling at best and, at worst, are at risk for homelessness. Heat, food, transportation and other necessities claim too much income, forcing them to fall a little more behind each month.

    In Pike, the fair-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $978, including utilities. To afford this without paying more than 30 percent of income on housing, a household must earn $39,120 annually.

    Assuming a 40-hour work week, that works out to an hourly wage of $18.81. But in Pike, the estimated average wage for a renter is $8.43 an hour. At that rate, a renter must work 89 hours per week, 52 weeks per year. Or, working 40 hours per week, a household must include 2.2 workers to make a two-bedroom home at fair market rent affordable.

    The story is only slightly better in Monroe, where the fair-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $913 with utilities. A household needs to earn $36,520 annually to afford it.

    Assuming a 40-hour work week, that is $17.56 an hour. In Monroe, the estimated average renter wage is just $10.29 an hour, according to the coalition.

    "In Monroe, there isn't work that matches the rent, and I don't think you are ever going to find that, as long as people commute to New York and New Jersey for work," said Raymond Guernsey, executive director of the Redevelopment Authority of the County of Monroe. "Even with downturn in the economy, it hasn't translated into downward pressure on rents."

    In Pennsylvania, the fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $842. It would take $33,681, or $16.19 an hour, to afford that. The estimated average wage for a renter is $13.24 an hour.

    Many people may be good candidates for federally subsidized housing, such as senior housing or low-income apartments. However, getting into federally subsidized housing is painfully competitive.

    The Section 8 housing choice voucher program provides all or part of the rent for low-income renters. To get the voucher, you have to apply to get on the list.

    "Pike is one of the few counties accepting applications. If you came in today to get an appointment, you won't get an appointment to fill out an application for about a year," Wayne/Pike Housing Authority Executive Director Joseph Kohut said. Pike has some 300 vouchers in use.

    Because vouchers are funded with federal money, they are portable. Users can, and often do, leave Pike County with the voucher.

    It is that portability that causes an affordable housing shortage in the Poconos Guernsey said.

    "The problem we have in Monroe is when we build affordable housing with federal money, they come from New York, New Jersey and Maryland," Guernsey said.

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    Just more interesting news about Monroe/Pike housing. And yet everyone is trying to build "upper income"... sad
    The first vehicles normally on the scene of a crime are ambulances and police cruisers. If you are armed you have a chance to decide who gets transported in which vehicle, if you are not armed then that decision is made for you.

    Be prepared, because someone else already is and no one knows their intent except them.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Housing in Monroe/Pike

    Quote Originally Posted by Dredly View Post
    Just more interesting news about Monroe/Pike housing. And yet everyone is trying to build "upper income"... sad
    The economy is worsening every day. The poconos, monroe county in specific started off as agricultural with some manufacturing industry. It's always been a tourist destination, and today that's all it is. If the people from NY/NJ all up and left the local economy would collapse over night, the schools would shut down, the hospital would shut down, and everyone who didn't have their house completely paid for would be evicted. This area has been sucked into schemes and suckered by schemers. Greed has destroyed this place. The average wages are slightly over $10.18 for monroe county residents? What a horrible fucking joke that is. I'm suprised people can even survive out here, oh wait, they can't. That's why you've got almost 15,000 homes in the last 4 years foreclosed on and abandonded. It's probably more than that by now. Even the cheapest homes are too much for people to rent.
    Quote Originally Posted by headcase View Post
    let them eventually bring the FBI to kill my wife and son over fucking chickens....

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Housing in Monroe/Pike

    Quote Originally Posted by jcabin View Post
    The economy is worsening every day. The poconos, monroe county in specific started off as agricultural with some manufacturing industry. It's always been a tourist destination, and today that's all it is. If the people from NY/NJ all up and left the local economy would collapse over night, the schools would shut down, the hospital would shut down, and everyone who didn't have their house completely paid for would be evicted. This area has been sucked into schemes and suckered by schemers. Greed has destroyed this place. The average wages are slightly over $10.18 for monroe county residents? What a horrible fucking joke that is. I'm suprised people can even survive out here, oh wait, they can't. That's why you've got almost 15,000 homes in the last 4 years foreclosed on and abandonded. It's probably more than that by now. Even the cheapest homes are too much for people to rent.

    Well said , and its going to get worst and not just for Northeast Pennsylvania, Just 2 weeks ago before his US visit, The Chinese premier devalued the US dollar by 32%, while strengthening US treasury notes (which China holds trillions of dollars in , smart eh?)

    THat means that everything made in China, which is almost everything we use, Walmart , Home Depot, Lowes etc, Best Buy, you name it will go up by 32% off the bat in 2011, Walmart already started raising prices since 2010.

    THe Chinese big banks is carrying over 80% of all US home mortages, sold to them in Chunks by US banks such as Wells Fargo, BAC, etc.
    THe future doesnt look so bright, you dont have an economy if you are not manufacturing anything , the biggest export of the USA , is paper, thats right waste paper that we export to China to be munufactured into actual products.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Housing in Monroe/Pike

    I lucked out to find an apartment for under $500. But with the electric rates and such, working two jobs 7 days a week for the past 2 years even I'm falling behind and I struggle with my bills. The good payin jobs are not here and the rent is too damn high. It's as simple as that.
    Guns don't kill people, it's mostly the bullets.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Housing in Monroe/Pike

    Didn't used to be like that. Years ago we paid a bit more for gas and groceries but housing and taxes were reasonable.
    80's came and the influx of Easterners and it drove every thing up to a premium with bidding wars on houses. I saw houses go 10 and 15K over the asking price. That was the turning point.
    With people walking away from mortgages it has now driven up the rental market because they need housing.
    It's even bad for the poor since the section 8's from the east come here and jump ahead of many locals.

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Housing in Monroe/Pike

    Quote Originally Posted by Exbiker View Post
    It's even bad for the poor since the section 8's from the east come here and jump ahead of many locals.
    The problem is there are no legitimate jobs in the poconos. They are few and far inbetween. If 90% of the businesses out here are retailers, grocers, or entry level resort positions how the hell can people survive if most of those places only pay 8$ an hour? I really feel bad for people in this area, they're cut off at the knees before they even start walking. No chance at all for them.
    Quote Originally Posted by headcase View Post
    let them eventually bring the FBI to kill my wife and son over fucking chickens....

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Housing in Monroe/Pike

    Quote Originally Posted by jcabin View Post
    The economy is worsening every day. The poconos, monroe county in specific started off as agricultural with some manufacturing industry. It's always been a tourist destination, and today that's all it is. If the people from NY/NJ all up and left the local economy would collapse over night, the schools would shut down, the hospital would shut down, and everyone who didn't have their house completely paid for would be evicted. This area has been sucked into schemes and suckered by schemers. Greed has destroyed this place. The average wages are slightly over $10.18 for monroe county residents? What a horrible fucking joke that is. I'm suprised people can even survive out here, oh wait, they can't. That's why you've got almost 15,000 homes in the last 4 years foreclosed on and abandonded. It's probably more than that by now. Even the cheapest homes are too much for people to rent.
    More so along the lines of Political Correctness and Affirmative Action have killed the economy and housing market, as well as...while some good....have had a huge negative impact on our society.

    People taking out loans far more than they can afford and getting them simply because everyone is scared that if they don't comply they will be deemed "racist" You're not allowed to deny minorities anything,even if they haven't earned or can afford it, or you're "racist".

    If a group of people go in for a job minorities have to be hired first, irregardless of whether or not they're qualified, same thing with housing.If not, you're "racist". In these cases the employer or housing can be fined by the Government.

    Same thing with a lot of jobs such as law enforcement and firefighters. The physical and academic requirements are less for minorities than they are for Caucasians. Don't believe me? Try out for a police department and look at the requirements for the physical fitness tests.

    If the city people left today I don't truly believe the local economy would collapse. True, a lot of businesses would close, but a lot of those businesses popped up to cater for the city people and mostly are supported by them.

    The burden on the schools and the local welfare system would be GREATLY relieved, as well as the need for road maintenance and expansion projects. Over all the tax demand for the area would drop dramatically. Schools wouldn't have to support 4 or 5 children per family living in low income housing that aren't paying school taxes for the schools that they are using, and the few and far between home owners wouldn't have to pick up the slack.

    It's all relative. The area grew to support the influx of people, and with that came a lot of good stores, but also a lot more expenses, resource devouring, and tax burden. Police are getting laid off while crime is on the rise, and the real issue is never addressed. We need to stop catering to, and promoting, entitlement and irresponsible behavior, and maybe then things would balance out.

    This is reality and fact folks..see it how you will.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Housing in Monroe/Pike

    Quote Originally Posted by CHEMICAL View Post
    If the city people left today I don't truly believe the local economy would collapse. True, a lot of businesses would close, but a lot of those businesses popped up to cater for the city people and mostly are supported by them.
    The problem is the local economy is nearly entirely dependent on money coming in from city commuters. If they all up and left, there would be near 100% unemployment in monroe county. The entire county is dedicated to service industries such as restaurants, grocers, resorts, retailers, etc. If nobody was buying their product, everyone would lose their job. The "native" population are the ones working in these service industry jobs. Yes, alot of these jobs popped up because of city commuters, but if they close up, where does that leave the locals who depend on those jobs? With no source of income and homeless.
    Quote Originally Posted by headcase View Post
    let them eventually bring the FBI to kill my wife and son over fucking chickens....

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Housing in Monroe/Pike

    Quote Originally Posted by jcabin View Post
    The problem is the local economy is nearly entirely dependent on money coming in from city commuters. If they all up and left, there would be near 100% unemployment in monroe county. The entire county is dedicated to service industries such as restaurants, grocers, resorts, retailers, etc. If nobody was buying their product, everyone would lose their job. The "native" population are the ones working in these service industry jobs. Yes, alot of these jobs popped up because of city commuters, but if they close up, where does that leave the locals who depend on those jobs? With no source of income and homeless.
    When I was growing up, before this place blew up the way it has, pretty much everyone I knew had a job and pretty much everyone that didn't could easily find one.The area is way too over populated and is growing faster than it can maintain. I walked into IGA when I was 14 and got a job in a heartbeat.

    I got pretty much every job that I applied for since the age of 14. Yeah, the pay wasn't great but everything was affordable cuz we werent paying "city prices", so if I wanted more money for nicer things I either got a second job or I got a job in New Jersey through a Pa temp agency. The difference with me working there was that at the end of the day I came home to Pa and didn't stay there and trash their neighborhood.

    A lot of these people also keep a residence in New York or New Jersey so they can cheat their way out of the Berkheimer tax. And to be honest with you the reason no one can afford anything here any more is because the influx of people from ny and nj drove the prices so high on everything because it was still cheaper than the cities so they were willing to pay it no questions asked. It still all boils down to exploiting the resources of an area that cant handle the insanely fast population growth.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Housing in Monroe/Pike

    The economy is worsening every day
    YES! There is no "recovery" so called, as any thinking person knows. Everything is upside down with real estate property values in collapse causing tremendous "deflation" in that major area. Meanwhile food and commodities are rising fast to cause rapid inflation to the essentials. Add to that the violent exploding turmoil now in the Middle East and we will see fuel prices likely to rise drastically.

    To be considered for Section 8 housing or any of those government subsided socialist give-away programs, it is best if a person fits into one of the special "protected" categories. There are multitude of types who qualify for the free goodies such as, card carrying handicap persons, especially really fat ones. Then we have most non-Caucasians, except for unwed females with many more than one or two odd offspring. Back years ago, probational criminals and ex-cons could receive Section 8 vouchers under one of the many "Former Offender" programs. And of course, in some places, a bunch of Section 8 vouchers are set aside for distribution among illegal alien community who sometimes get first consideration. There should probably be a sign up at these Community Welfare Offices . . . "Able Bodied, Law Abiding, Tax Paying, While Male Citizens Need Not Apply".

    The Poconos region has an oddball economy. Back in the old days, people from mainly New York and New Jersey used the area as a get away weekend refuge and vacation area. Some of the standing motels probably have heart shaped bath tubs for the honey moon crowd still in place. All that changed in the 1960s with the coming of places like Disney World and cheap jet airline fares. Add to that the retirement home real estate boom in Florida along with Carolinas plus a large prosperous middle class and the Pocono region as a primary resort area fades.

    It would seem that the real estate building boom in Pennsylvania coincides with the migration away from the crumbling crime ridden urban areas of New York and New Jersey starting in the late 1960s. Recall going into Newark, New Jersey in 1964 and it was a decent and relatively safe place. A half dozen years later, after the riots, the city was a dangerous bombed out ruin. About that time is when the out of control house building began in the Poconos making real estate the region's principle industry. The boom rolled on in various waves until reaching an unsustainable bubble in 2008. That's when it really went bust!

    There is a huge recently built community of giant McMansion homes just around the corner here. Some of them have five bathrooms. Starting price in the early 2000s for one of those houses was $500,000 and up. Some of the 1-acre mini estates were not sold and have never been occupied. The locals over there have set up their neighborhood watch to see that bums and vagrants don't move into the houses. About a third of those homes are empty and / or in foreclosure. It's insane! Even if the properties were given away for Free, it is doubtful that most working class people could afford the taxes which are over $15,000 per year. My wife has a friend from her church who owns a house in there and is paying over $18,000 per year in property tax. Have no idea how these people sustain that level of expense or how long it can go on with their businesses limping along or failing. There is only a shadow of an industrial base left is this country and the national infrastructure has been crumbling for decades now. There isn't even a recognition or assessment of the situation let alone an attempt at a solution. These idiots in Washington jabber about is windmills, solar shingles and high speed railroads to and from nowhere. All the official proclamations and bogus authoritative reports by hired media stooges can't change the facts.

    In the meantime, entrenched politicians are busy finding otherwise obscure places to increase fees and raise taxes. These self serving government parasites at all levels are scrambling to beat the bushes for "revenue" in order to shore up bloated bureaucratic fiefdoms while maintaining their cushy seat warmer jobs and fat pension deals.

    If this keeps up, perhaps the pissed off mobs will be at the doors of the politician criminals demanding an accounting for their incompetency and corruption.




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