x
Breaking News
More () »

Abandoned government housing costing taxpayers money

KENS 5 has discovered houses meant for low-income San Antonio families that sit boarded up and abandoned.

SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Housing Authority-run homes are supposed to be available for purchase for qualifying low-income families. Instead, people in the neighborhood say they’re just taking up space.

Greg Pape has been a property manager and landlord in the area for more than two decades. “The houses have been vandalized from the inside," he said. "The copper has been stripped and the air conditioning systems have been taken.”

Pape said some of the houses were occupied at first. “But then, they went vacant and stayed vacant for close to 17 years,” he said.

SAHA confirmed one house on J Street has been vacant since 1998. Another, just down the road, has been vacant since 1995.

Because these homes are SAHA-owned, they’re exempt from taxes, meaning they aren’t contributing to the district’s schools or hospitals.

“The houses continue to deteriorate slowly and a lot of public funds are being extended on routine maintenance and yard work,” Pape said.

Pape said neighbors have even noticed squatters in the homes.

According to a recent list from the San Antonio Housing Authority, there are a total of 64 SAHA-owned single family homes currently vacant across the city.

Pape said he’s been back and forth with SAHA for over a decade and wants to finally see something be done with these homes.

KENS 5 contacted SAHA, below is their response:

The properties located at 526 J Street and 614 J Street are a part of the San Antonio Housing Authority’s Section 32 Homeownership Program to assist low- to moderate-income families purchase SAHA-owned homes. When SAHA received the HOPE VI Springview Grant, these properties were designated for SAHA's Lease Purchase Homeownership Program, which extended eligibility to low- and moderate-income families with earnings at or below 80 percent of the Area Median Income.

The homes were purchased by first-time homeowners under SAHA's Lease Purchase Program and the Section 32 guidelines requirements, but these homeowners were unable to fulfill the program requirements. SAHA's Lease Purchase Program ended in 2009, which coincided with the beginning of the housing foreclosure crisis, resulting in an increase of available housing units. As a result, the houses that were vacant at that time, remained for sale due to the large housing inventory in the city.

SAHA has submitted a waiver request to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Special Application Center to allow the housing authority to sell the housing units "as is" to homebuyers who qualify for a HUD FHA 203K loan which would allow a homebuyer to purchase the housing unit and have the costs of rehabilitation in a single mortgage.

Before You Leave, Check This Out