Nicest House In The Hood

Okay...
Maybe the burglar bars give it away.
But this house could be in any middle-class area of most parts of the country.
This is a photo of a house in the often maligned Compton, California.

And so is this.
The black steel bars of the fence are reminiscent of the iron bars that often surround most projects throughout most of the country.
But the home itself is better than many homes in areas that are considered to be middle-class.

But the biggest waste of money is in rebuilding the hood "one house at a time".
(Oh, the above photo is also of a home in Compton, California)

This past weekend, I spoke to a couple who were interested in building a bigger house on a lot they owned next to their existing house in the hood.
But why build a large brick home in a neighborhood of run-down homes?

Materials cost the same regardless of where the home is located.
Labor is often charged at a premium in many bad areas because of the likelihood of theft of a contractor's tools, construction materials and any unsecured appliances.
Any money saved on land costs will be eaten up the cost of the contractor having to rebuild structures or replace materials.

So...
If a nicer house can be built in the hood or in a "nice" area - choose the nicer locale.
Why build a home for $200k when the resale value of the home is going to be closer to $150 in the hood.

Having the nicest house in the hood usually requires one to add the ubiquitous iron bars to protect what one already has (or what many in the surrounding area will assume one has.).
These bars give the image of an unsafe area - further devaluing one's investment.
Who would pay the full price for a home in which they were essentially a prisoner?

Another school of thought is to rebuild entire areas of the hood..
But this gentrification leads to the raising of property taxes - even to those with the less desirable homes.
These new (higher) taxes lead to many having to move to a more affordable area (even though they've owned their homes for years) - or to become renters in an area where they were once able to be owners.
Eventually, the neighborhood becomes another 'Uppity Negro Neighborhood' - with national franchises and chains replacing the (once) family owned businesses.
Those who are displaced by these improvements are forced to move to an area that is worse than was their old "ghetto" neighborhood.

How many working class white neighborhoods have become ghetto Black neighborhoods?
It's not the immigration of Blacks that causes the ghettos.
It's the rapid influx of the ghetto mentality that facilitated the demise of these areas.
People stopped caring and allowed their areas to become someone else's responsibility.
It's the over-dependence on others that causes these problems to persist.
This mentality draws others who share the same views and exacerbates the problems.
The ghetto isn't the "Ghetto" because it contains simpler homes - the ghetto is the "Ghetto" because it contains simpler minds.

So, we can't save the ghetto - the ghetto must first begin to save itself.