Family of 4 evicted and thrown into the street over $100

[BadDog40]

Arapahoe County sheriff's deputy Jim Osborn, right, arrives to evict John and Julie Holzhauer from their home on Sept. 15, 2011 in Centennial, Colo. Deputies served a court order to evict the family of five after they had earlier fallen behind in their rent payments. The owner sued for their eviction. John Holzhauer, a home building contractor, said he had lost up to 40% of his business due to the weak economy and continued housing crisis. He said he had paid the owner his outstanding rent balance the week before, except for a $100 dispute. An eviction team removed all their belongings from the house and changed the locks.



An eviction team removes the family's belongings from the home.



An eviction team member removes furniture from the house, including the family’s pet gerbil.



(Left photo) Julie embraces her children after they arrived home from school to find their belongings on the front lawn. (Right photo) Julie consoles her nine-year-old daughter Olivia.





http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/16/7799193-colorado-family-evicted-after-rent-dispute?threadId=3224219&commentId=58106603#c58106603

[Poll_Blind]

1. What is the name of the fuck who kicked them out over $100?

PB

[LonePirate]

2. No doubt the landlord's name will be found on a list of registered Republicans. This is disgusting!!

[BadDog40]

5. Its an investment corporation

Here is their wiki profile...

http://www.corporationwiki.com/Colorado/Littleton/atsah-llc/56768821.aspx

[Poll_Blind]

8. How did you derive that? Is it mentioned in the article somewhere?

PB

[BadDog40]

9. Research

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=2040+euclid+littleton,+co&gs_upl=4616l7239l1l7471l13l13l0l0l0l0l377l2768l0.6.6.1l13l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1024&bih=596&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x876c816adbd09763:0xc1a197580d933f09,2040+E+Euclid+Ave,+Littleton,+CO+80121&gl=us&ei=TOVzTrS2N4TEsQKcpfmLBQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBgQ8gEwAA


http://www.co.arapahoe.co.us/Apps/ParcelSearch/PPINum.aspx?PPINum=2077-23-4-06-023

[Poll_Blind]

13. Thank you!

PB

[avaistheone1]

96. Actually the home is Not owned by a corporation.

Per the link you posted this home is Not owned by a corporation. The public record referenced says the home is owned by Sandra Robinson and David J.P. Gwinn as joint tenants.

[onethatcares]

26. want to bet the address is a post office box?

or mailboxes etc type place? just sayin

[Safetykitten]

48. I won't take that bet. It's a sure thing it's a PO box.

[BadDog40]

50. Actually its not

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=6834+S.+UNIVERSITY+BLVD+littleton,+co&gs_upl=2068l7308l0l7594l15l15l0l0l0l0l252l2744l0.8.7l15l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1024&bih=596&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x876c8142f72da6a5:0x1b07d507d74ee6e5,6834+S+University+Blvd,+Littleton,+CO+80122&gl=us&ei=ttJ0TovROMrv0gHt_fCoDQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBgQ8gEwAA

[Safetykitten]

51. So it's a strip mall PO box/office?

[zeemike]

88. You are one bad dog...Welcome to DU.

I am always impressed by people able to figure things out like that.

[Jack Rabbit]

62. Well done!!

Good work.

[chill_wind]

11. From the comments section

Property owner info
http://www.co.arapahoe.co.us/Apps/ParcelSearch/PPINum.aspx?PPINum=2077-23-4-06-023

[bluedigger]

20. Looks like it's David and Sandra Gwinn, to me.

I don't see why they get to hide behind a corporate shell.

[avaistheone1]

95. You are correct.

The public record states those two people are the owners not a corporation.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

57. Sponsored by Jimmy John's? Look at the t-shirt in pic #3.

I feel so sorry for those kids.

[KansDem]

68. Not a "big time" operator apparently...

Here's information from ReferenceUSA, a national business database:

Manager: David Gwinn
Company Name: Atsah LLC
Address: 6834 S. University Blvd, # 431
Centennial, CO 80122
County: Arapahoe
Metro Area: Denver-Aurora, CO
Phone: [phone]
No fax
No website

Location Employees: 1
Type of Business: Private
Years in Database: 6
Square Footage: 0-2,499
Credit Rating Score: C
Location Sales Volume: $134,000
Number of PCs: 0-1 Pcs


SIC Code: 6531 (Real Estate--Rental Service)
NAICS Code: 53121006 (Offices of Real Estate Agents & Brokers

Accounting: Less than $500
Legal: Less than $500
Office Equipment & Supplies: Less than 5,000
Payroll & Benefits: Less than $100,000
Telecommunications: Less than $2,000
Advertising: Less than $5,000
Insurance: Less than $2,500
Package/Container: Less than $500
Purchased Print: Less than $500
Technology: $500 to $1,000
Utilities: Less than $2,000
________

I suppose someone making $134,000 in the Denver area would go after a paltry $100? :shrug:

But he's still an asshole...

[NWLib]

82. I am a landlord.......

I own one rental. I bought a new house in 08. My mother passe and left me $80,000.00. I put It down on a new house. It is well over $100,000.00 under water. Rented the last house out in an attempt to "wait out the market" Glad I didn't hold my breath. The rent I collect is $75.00 less than the mortgage. It's a losing proposition on many levels. I have a family too. If someone got behind on the rent in my house and put my family at risk financially I'd toss them in a heart beat. I filed chapter 13 on 08/04/11. I am barely hanging on and am on a tight tight budget trying to recover. There are a nice couple living in MY house with two kids. If they quit paying I will toss them. The last tenants paid late constantly and smoked in and on the property and did damage on there way out. You have no clue what being a landlord means till you try it. It aint all that. Trust me. I wish I had never moved. In fact I am trying to convince my wife to dump the under water house and move back to the rental. Terrible decision. I got taken to the hoop and will never recover. Paid $380,000.00 and it's worth $265,000.00. OUCH! Yet I am a "landlord" I'm rich right? I can float your rent at my families expense? Think again.

[CanonRay]

90. Been there too

I had a duplex and the tenant was stiffing me on the rent...by the time the eviction went far enough that he left, I was scrambling to make my own mortgage payments plus those on the duplex. Not all landlords are rich, so don't jump to assumptions.

[BadDog40]

91. I agree

It's really just like any other type of business venture, sometimes it can be rewarding, other times its a risk, but with this you are also dealing with peoples homes. If money is your ONLY motive you should not be a landlord, IMO.

I've owned half a dozen rentals in my life and never got rich from it. It is irritating when someone is messing you around on the rent, but the fact is people would rather pay than not, but shit happens. I had one house where there was a family with two kids and the guy lost his job. He called and asked me if he could apply his damage deposit to the rent that was coming up, although I shouldnt have I agreed to it to help him out, he had been an excellent tenant for a few years. The next month comes around and no rent, no phone call, and he was avoiding my calls. Finally around the 15th of the month I went and put a 3 day notice on the door just to get his attention and to let him know not to mistake my kindness for weakness. That made him call me, but instead of apologizing he started telling me how could I even think of doing that to him. I told him I like him, but I like him, but not enough to lose my house and he needed to pay. Well that made him mad, they moved out the next week and intentionally trashed the house causing over $9,000 damage. I sued him and won and eventually got the money back. Even with all that I know to this day I could have never of thrown him and his family on the street over $100.

[NWLib]

132. For $100.00 no

I wouldn't do that. My point was simply that it is more complicated than - "Evil Landlord Bastard Tosses Family - film at 11" Many "landlords" are just like me. I expected to sell my house within 2 years tops. It's been over 3. I will never, ever support someone else and their family. Cause I am a bastard? Nope. I can't afford it. If I could afford it I may toss someone a helping hand. I can't though.

[Claudia Jones]

93. sad

Sad how we are pitted one against the other.

This is not about "rich" nor is it about bad people. We are all trapped within an exploitative system.

[NWLib]

131. I couldn't agree more

The system is rigged. I put every penney I am ever likely to have as down payment on what is a "dream house" for my wife and I. The Lords Of Wall Street have destroyed the housing market and economy. Their punishment? Trillions in bil outs and billions in bonuses. I haven't had a raise in over three years. My wife gets typically 2% a year. That is easily chewed up by healthcare premium and related costs increases add in some inflation, $4.00 gas and guess what? We're falling behind. I am literally ready for an uprising.

[Ilsa]

135. I rented my house out for $200 under the mortgage payment for five years.

I couldn't sell it, the market was so bad. I lost a lot of money on that house, BUT, the renters took good care of it and I didn't have to throw a family out. I also kept my credit rating.

I hate that they couldn't get it worked out to avoid this.

[rdking647]

98. what if the lanlord needed teh $100 to make his mortgage payment?

[Claudia Jones]

136. interesting speculation

Let's take that a step farther to its logical conclusion. Let's extend that chain. The first person needs to collect rent from the second person in order to make their mortgage payment, who needs to collect rent from a third to make their payment, who needs rent from the fourth to make their payment, who needs rent from the fifth person to make their payment....and then the fifth person, through no fault of their own, loses their job. The whole thing collapses and everyone gets evicted.

Get it?

[BlueJazz]

3. Damn....You made Bluejazz cry....

[Alameda]

4. Amazing, aren't there any tenants rights there? it's not usually

that easy to evict anyone, particularly in this case where "He said he had paid the owner his outstanding rent balance the week before, except for a $100 dispute."

[Poll_Blind]

6. I don't know the specifics, obviously, but I was thinking the following scenario occurred:

They'd already been served with an eviction notice and were able to make the payment except the disputed $100 and the landlord went ahead and kicked them out anyway. They may have some legal redress because disputes like this usually put action of that nature on hold.

Man, can you imagine being kids coming home from school to find all your stuff emptied out on the lawn? What a horrible, scarring thing.

PB

[Alameda]

14. It is a traumatizing experience....children are very sensitive.

Something like this could scar them for life. Can you imagine the teasing the other kids may do to them? I would hope they have serious legal redress....and sue and get punitive damages. Nobody should be treated like this, like trash.

[Odin2005]

45. The Greatest Generation lived through similar things as teens, that is why...

...they hated banks so much, and rightly so.

[Selatius]

42. It's far worse for kids who live in economically polarized districts.

Imagine the amount of ridicule the child will get at school once the wealthier kids find out his or her parents were evicted from home. They'd shower the victim with insults that they were lazy or that they are trash that had to be taken out anyway.

[kelly1mm]

17. Speculation but I have done a few of these cases so here is what I believe happened

The landlord's representative filed an eviction notice. The Court had its hearing and found that the tenants owed X amount of money and had Y number of days to pay X. Y number of days pass and the tenants had paid X-$100. It really does not matter why they did not pay the last $100 (didn't have it, thought they did not owe it, whatever) as the time to dispute the debt owed was at the eviction hearing. Though they paid a very high percentage of what they owed, they did not meet the terms of what the Judge ordered. Thus, the eviction went through.

[Poll_Blind]

21. Thank you for that perspective!

Another reason I love DU- people share their experiences and skills to help understanding stories.

PB

[Little Star]

7. Disgusting! Those bastards!

[BeHereNow]

10. That last photo is iconic- "The Death of the American Dream"

Huge Flag in the forefront of the shot with
the disenfranchised American in the background.
Hope they put it on the cover of a magazine or something.
It really sums it all up for the people of this country.
This is the future for so many people-
BHN

[riverbendviewgal]

15. I thought the same thing

America where did you go? Evil and greed now live in your place.

[Poll_Blind]

16. It really does sum it all up, this time right now...

:cry:

PB

[pacalo]

25. The Death of the American Dream...

[alphafemale]

119. Sorry. But I hope the next tenent totally trashes that ugly ass red house.

This asshole threw out a family over a trifle?

This asshole left these children with the lifelong shame of knowing their friends saw their belongings strewn ut on the lawn?

I hope the next tenant pisses on the wall in the closets in that ugly red house and rots the dry wall past the wooden bones. I hope the next person smears shit on the carpet. I hope the nest person shoves rotten hamburger into the ice maker.

[awoke_in_2003]

129. The American Dream...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acLW1vFO-2Q

on edit: beware the big red, white, and blue dick.

[Initech]

12. So... when does the revolt happen?

[Alameda]

18. People who have nothing to loose are very dangerous....

It's a new game now. Powers that be are feeling very secure in their power....be afraid.

[Auntie Bush]

19. How horrible! Those poor people...especially the children. Can you

imagine coming home from school and seeing your worldly belongs on the front yard?
What happens to their belongings? They have no money to hire someone to move it, or a place to go, Suppose it rains and ruins everything? My imagination is going wild with scenarios of their future. :cry: And this happens thousands of times a day all over the USA...the land of opportunity.

[Zax2me]

22. I bet 100 dollars that 100 dollars in not the whole story here.

Because it doesn't make sense.
Some/whole or part of this story isn't being told.

[valerief]

65. Yeah, it was probably more like $150. Republicans will sell their grandmothers for a nickel. nt

[SixthSense]

76. I agree with you

They have enough stuff that they could have fairly easily ebayed some stuff and gotten the extra $100. I wonder what the rest of the story is?

[JVS]

78. I'm sure there is more to it than that.

Here are the rules for eviction in Ohio
http://www.dayton-ombudsman.org/llt.htm

The process of an eviction is not sudden and takes a good deal of effort. This is not something that suddenly gets sprung on people.

First is the notice to vacated which has to be posted at least 3 days before filing a suit of eviction in court.
Then there is the filing of the suit with the court, which is accompanied by a summons to the tenant. The summons must be issued at least 5 business days before the trial.
At the trial any disputes can be made and judgment passed on those disputes.
"If the tenant fails to appear in court or the landlord wins the trial, the tenant usually still has up to ten days to voluntarily move out, depending upon what the judge orders. If the tenant does not leave voluntarily the tenant’s belongings will be moved and the tenant will be prohibited from returning." --- from link

So we're looking at a process of over 2 weeks and lots of paperwork.


I find it interesting that the tenant talks about how he's paid all of the balance but the $100 but is mum on what the balance was and what the judge had to say about the disputed sum.

[BadDog40]

92. That may be true...but

Lets not forget the landlord took the money and still evicted. Thats the problem I have with this.

[aikoaiko]

83. You may be right. The eviction proceedings take a while in most places to get to that point.

Its sounds like the family was behind by a larger sum and they had recently caught up except for the $100.

The landlord, it appears, decided it was time to sever the relationship anyway and could legally since the rent wasn't caught up entirely.

Rough on the family no matter what.

[Fuzzbuzz]

23. More pics

http://photos.denverpost.com/mediacenter/2011/09/centennial-family-evicted/#name%20here

[flvegan]

24. There are indeed lawyers who are a shame to their trade.

One should have gotten involved, if not 20 or 50.

Ethics...right thing to do...

You don't all have to stand up, but one of you should.

[JVS]

27. You either pay the lease or you don't pay the lease. There is no part of leases that says...

that you are to pay everything but some disputed amount. If Mr. and Mrs. Holzhauer had paid that $100, they'd be comfortably situated in the house right now.

[SpiralHawk]

28. Yeah - and look at all the good jobs the landlord (R) is creating

....you know, eviction teams and shit. The Republicon 'jobs' program is on the march...

[JI7]

127. what if the landlord needs the money to pay his bills ?

[Obamanaut]

29. Looks like not paying the 'disputed' $100 turned out to be an error in judgment. nt

[Froward69]

30. Granted Colorado is a landlords state... but

Pricks like this really make my profession look bad... Just this month I have had no less than three tenants late more than $100. I tell ya a little patience and BOOM All three paid off the remainder of their rent (and some late fees.) his month by this last Friday!.


Amazing as it took $80 dollars to file for this eviction. at the very least $1 to serve the tenants. and another $150 to get each of those sheriffs out there to do the eviction not to mention how much the eviction crew cost. so at minimum the Landlord spent upwards of $300 to toss a family in the street. over $100??

so it has to be an underlying reason like the Tenants were Democrats or stood up for themselves to the landlord.

[TwilightGardener]

31. Why renting sucks. Yes, you can be foreclosed on when you buy, but

you see it coming. It's not at someone's whim over $100. That said, had I been the renting family, and I had been late with the rent, I would not have argued over the $100.

[TwilightGardener]

32. One more thing: why is there a camera crew there for this?

[Supply Side Jesus]

74. Ding!

funny that....

[Earth_First]

133. Could be a lot of reasons...

Maybe the family being evicted notified the media.

Maybe a non-profit was there to document the case from an tenant advocacy standpoint.

Maybe the eviction team uses the photos to protect them from a legal angle.

Maybe the law enforcement team was documenting it to prevent theft...?

Lots of unanswered questions here, including the eviction itsself. As pointed out earlier, it usually takes a long time before it gets to this point...

[Lucian]

33. Some comments on here are disgusting.

What if this happened to you and I started making those types of comments? You wouldn't like that, huh?

This is absolutely horrendous that this would happen over $100. The landlord needs to be called out on this and no more business should be given to him/her/them ever again.

[TwilightGardener]

34. I think the fact that the family had not been current on the rent plays a bigger role

than the $100. We don't know to what extent they had not been paying on time--can't condemn the landlords without knowing the full story.

[Lucian]

35. They paid all but a disputed $100.

Is it worth throwing someone out on the street over $100? I would think that if there was a dispute, any eviction would be put on "hold" until the dispute is resolved.

The lack of compassion is disgusting.

[TwilightGardener]

37. Depends on why it's disputed. We're only getting one side of the story.

But when you don't pay your rent in full, on time, you can get evicted--you are violating the terms of the lease. It's sad for the family, and harsh, but maybe the landlord in question had had enough. We don't know what preceded this, is all I'm saying.

[Lucian]

38. I really don't care about the landlord in this case.

[dixiegrrrrl]

44. The landlord is a corporation.

which makes me wonder....all these illegally foreclosed houses are put up for auction, people are complaining that they cannot bid on the auctioned houses, that the "sale" has already been arranged to
"a bank representative".
I am wondering how many corporations are now in the house renting business.

[TwilightGardener]

52. Well, there are two sides to every story, whether you care or not.

Edit to add: I find the series of photos a little...weird. Lots of shots of mom holding a letter to Santa, crying, hugging her kids, here's a box full of little girl's dolls and clothes, here's a wedding photo. It's almost like the photographer was summoned in advance.

[COLGATE4]

59. Unfortunately that's not the way the law works. If you have a quarrel

about a debt, the only legal way to address it is to take the dispute to court. You are not allowed to offset what you believe is in dispute from the amount that you are required to pay as a mortgage or rent. These people made a serious mistake by not paying the $100- the could have handled the dispute afterwards, and they wouldn't be out of their house now.

[Supply Side Jesus]

72. not to mention there are COURT hearings before an eviction

these people dropped the ball

[COLGATE4]

61. Unfortunately that's not the way the law works. If you have a

disputed amount, there are ways to address it. You are not however allowed to try on your own to offset the amount in dispute against a rent or mortgage payment - to do so usually results in eviction and/or foreclosure. These people either didn't get advice or they got bad advice. If they had paid the $100 in dispute they would still be in their house, and could have pursued the matter at their leisure.

[quakerboy]

86. I find it interesting

Disgusting, perhaps, but expected. And I also note an interesting pattern, a strong correlation between the posters who come across as most heartless in this thread and those who I often notice supporting compromised policy/politicians.

[pepito]

107. AGREED

you can see some of these posters,applying their cold cruel tactics to this young couple with young children and a pet....NICE real nice:puke:

[Broderick]

36. Coming to every block in every town/city in America

And the Government encourages it and condones it via foreclosure as more and more people are being thrown out of homes they bought; we are merely going to be renters from the 1% and government alike. Even the government recently stated it wants to get into the foreclosed home ownership and rental business. It wants big conglomerates to buy up the foreclosed homes.

Yep. We are done. Toast.

Corporations and government don't care about "people". We are merely numbers in the system.

[blueamy66]

39. I have yet to read any posts...

just have to say FUCKING ASSHOLES!

[Pooka Fey]

40. Pure unmitigated evil.

[xchrom]

41. recommend

[Odin2005]

43. Cruel. Evil. Dispicable. Those 2 kids, especially, will be traumatized for life!

:cry: :grr:

[blkmusclmachine]

46. Welcome to Teabag USA:

With zero opposition in sight.

[Claudia Jones]

47. want to know why the "tea party" gets traction?

People here frequently wonder how the tea party, Palin, GWB et al can pose as "regular folk" and get any following from working class people. They ask what the average "Joe" cannot "see' that Democrats are on his side, why people "vote against their own interests.".

Here is why:

"You either pay the lease or you don't pay the lease..."

"Looks like not paying the 'disputed' $100 turned out to be an error in judgment."

"I would not have argued over the $100."

"...can't condemn the landlords without knowing the full story."

"We're only getting one side of the story."

"...maybe the landlord in question had had enough..."

[NOLALady]

53. Yep

You are 200% correct.

[Safetykitten]

49. You know, if we work this right, this could be a good chess move for us.

[Dreamer Tatum]

55. What is this "we" shit? Looks like they suffer while you're looking to score political points.nt

[Lorien]

56. ??? Trying to politically benefit from anothers pain?

That's sick.

[valerief]

64. How very Republican of you. nt

[Quantess]

87. I get it.

I get what you mean, but you fail on tact and sensitivity, and humanity.
Fight republicans on their terms, I see...

[LadyInAZ]

54. this is happening a lot

in america. cars, homes, depleted savings... not knowing where your next dollar or meal comes from. deciding to pay this bill and skim the others... its hard... always threatened to be cut off... thrown out... repossed... this reality has become for many. what get me the most... ppl who have worked thru out the recession seemed to be non-sensitive to other situation... specific potential employees or consulting co... who continuous ask... why haven't you worked for so long.... duhhhh.... recession... idot... ppl do act like the recession isn't here at times... i dont get it... divided we stand... we all will fall in the hands of the elite...

[Mz Pip]

58. I would think that this eviction

cost the landlord a lot more than $100. Seems to me this was not a cost effective move by the landlord. Compassion would have been a whole lot cheaper.

[Supply Side Jesus]

77. it does...a lot more

you pay for the deputies to serve the noticed leading up to the resolution

you pay for the eviction team to do the actual conviction.

It might have started over a $100 but it went way higher than that. Sounds like a corporate decision if I ever heard one.

[JVS]

84. It started over more than $100

The tenant said that he paid all his balance except for $100 the week before. This means that he owed more money than that $100.

Anyway, landlords don't like being jerked around about money and if the eviction process has already gone this far then there has already been a judge who said that the disputed $100 has to be paid. Any reasonable landlord would want to give the boot to a tenant who still won't pay after being told to by a judge.

[Name removed]

108. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[StarsInHerHair]

121. yes. & get a rental unit & go hungry to pay it if need be, they may never be able

to buy new furniture again, new beds, lamps, etc. A storage unit & then they live in one of those homeless motels, like the boy from "The Nanny" series, he played Brighton.

[Hawkowl]

60. Amerika!! Fuck Yeah!!!

Bad Karma to all those who put these people out on the street. A pox on them.

[valerief]

63. Republican empathy. nt

[MissDeeds]

66. Along with the heartbroken faces of the family

the thing that hurts me the most is the US flag flying in the background. Really, this can (and does) happen in THIS country??? Over $100? It's a national disgrace...absolutely disgusting.

:wtf:

[TomClash]

67. If that were me

There would be some serious payback on its way.

[Liberal_in_LA]

69. hopefully someone starts a fund to get them into a new house ASAP

This is really sad.

[Joe the Revelator]

70. When you sign a lease, you have to pay what you owe...

....if contracts don't bind, the entire country would fall apart.

[Supply Side Jesus]

71. A renter is not evicted over night

there a couple court hearings before a Writ is served. I don't know where the fucked up occurred, if the family decided just to not go, or what. The family living there are given several notices which are posted on the front door of the residence. They are even given the date on which the Writ is served. So, to portray this as a "complete surprise" is plain bullshit.
This story needs more detail and less "REVOLUTION NOW" responses...

[JVS]

80. According to the info I found, the fastest possible eviction would probably take 2 weeks..

And that's if everything is timed just right and no action is taken to delay things.
http://www.dayton-ombudsman.org/llt.htm

[Supply Side Jesus]

81. That's Ohio, but it's similar in CO

I'm a Deputy Sheriff in CO and I did a couple weeks when I was a rookie in Civil processing. Including Eviction. trust me, this is a long process for a reason.

[JVS]

85. Oh shit. It was a late night for me and I gotta put my glasses on.

I read Colo. as Ohio in the bleariness.

[Supply Side Jesus]

99. LoL it happens....

[AverageJoe90]

73. It's the Gilded Age all over again, it seems.........n/t

[StarsInHerHair]

122. yeah, the Silent Film Bankster, come to evict the widow & kids the day of the funeral

only here the father isn't dead. It was a staple scene for a reason, back in the day.

[Fire Walk With Me]

75. "Law and order puppets, remote-controlled by greed" -Devo, "Smooth Noodle Maps"

[Mr Deltoid]

79. Welcome to America!

Land of the free, home of the brave!

[TeamsterDem]

89. Absolutely sickening that that's what we have become

Well, what some of us have become. I can't even imagine the pain and fear that family is feeling. I'm not a very emotional guy but I'm not embarrassed or shy to admit that it brought tears to my eyes.

Where is Ron Paul's army of volunteers who supposedly help people in their hour of need? Where, Ron? Oh that's right, fuck em. That's the plan. Sickening.

[Dutchmaster]

101. Churches help people like this all the time

In just the last year Catholic Charities have given dozens of rent vouchers to my clients. Trick is, you have to ask for help.

[TeamsterDem]

105. Other trick is they can't help everyone in this same spot. nt

[Dutchmaster]

116. True nor would I suggest that they can.

But in an acute emergency situation like this they have never not come through for me. this is my personal experience. Ymmv.

[BadDog40]

118. Personally I try to keep my kids as far away from the church as possible

[TeamsterDem]

120. And I hope by the way I phrased it I didn't accidentally imply that they don't help

The truth is that they do, as you know. But Paul's ideology - the teabagger philosophy - bothers me more than you know because it assumes that the many will be taken care of whereas history tells us that they won't. It just sickens me that some are okay with chancing the very well-being of others because they don't wanna pay a few dollars in taxes.

[xmas74]

128. when they have the funds.

A friend applied six months ago and they were out of funding. She also applied with the local ministerial alliance for assistance. She was given a lecture (or, as they called it, a "financial planning course") and then given a very small amount of money-not anywhere near enough to cover the rent or anything else. In class she was treated as if it were her fault that she was on unemployment, due to a lay off, and her fault that her ex refused to pay child support. She has since moved back into her mother's home, far away from any employment opportunities outside of a Dollar General or Casey's convenience store.

Asking for help doesn't always cut it.

[Javaman]

130. it's not a trick.

you think the churches help every single family out with everyone of these types of evictions? or are you of the republican belief that "charities" will solve all of our needs and there is no need for 'GOV'MENT RUN SOCIALISM!!!"

go away.

[Dutchmaster]

94. I feel bad for the kids, really bad, but the parents . . .

Holy hell man. To make your kids go through this? Don't tell me this couldn't have been avoided, because it could have. The adult's chose not to.

First of all, if your income is slashed 40% and you can't make enough adjustments to keep up, then you have too much housing. They should have moved into cheaper dwellings long ago. Eviction doesn't happen overnight either. They knew this was coming. Let that sink in for a second. THEY KNEW THIS WAS COMING. And they STAYED and FORCED the Sheriff to toss them out like this anyway. This DIDN'T have to happen like this. They could have been long gone.

Or as far as the $100 goes . . . I am very liberal and progressive. I am a socialist, but even in a socialist system you still have to pay your debts. This is not the time or place to challenge the social injustice in this country. Your CHILDREN are being put onto the street. You pay the fucking $100. If you don't have it, you get it, so that you have a roof over your head while looking for a cheaper place to live. This family is obviously not dirt poor. They have belongings, they have a car. It would take me less than 1 hour to get $100 together just from what I can see in the photographs. And if they didn't have that ability, they could get assistance from any number of social agencies with a quick phone call. I have helped plenty of people get rent vouchers from Catholic Charities or local churches (oh no not God!) so that they were able to stay up on their rent. I don't mention possible civil services because I am not familiar with what their location has to offer.

I would also like to know how someone with a very nice, very expensive digital camera just happened to be on hand to take these photos. You don't get shots that clean and big without a pretty pricey piece of technology in your hands. Is this somehow a vendetta to make the landlord look bad because they got into a fight? And it was worth it to these people to put their children through this for that $100 vendetta? This whole thing is very, very fishy. In fact, it stinks. I hate republican assholes as much as anyone, believe me. But as someone who deals with this kind of stuff on a daily basis I can assure you that there is much, much more going on behind the scenes here than what is being presented.

I apologize to all the people on this thread who are using this as a place to dump their anger and frustration at today's political and economic climate but my God you all are jumping to so many conclusions here without knowing hardly any of the story.

[rdking647]

97. my stepdad owned apts for a living

he constantly was fighting with tenant who were late,refused to pay etc. they paid eviction roulette a lot. the would fall behind 4 months or so. my stepdad would file for eviction. they would pay up.stopping the eviction and then miss the next couple of months...

if your late on your rent and a cour orders you to pay up thats it... no excuses. pay up or get out.. Im sorry to sound liek an asshole buts that life in america.. If there wasnt consequences for not paying rent then everybody would quit paying.. sometimes people get screwed but thats teh way it works.
Its not like the tenants didnt see this coming. Eviction doesnt just happen... you know its coming and have time to prepare

[8 track mind]

102. Wow.......

Where to start on this one......


First the press were probably there, they have the flow to buy nice camera equipment.

Lets run through the typical American story right now. You have a good job, economy crashes, pretty soon you are fired for some off the wall bullshit reason. It's cheaper for a company to fire than lay off. You want to sue the fuckers but you cant because lawyers cost money. Anyway, you go from having health bennies to paying $1200 a month for basic care. Guess what? The rent didn't go away, nor did the electric bill, nor did the water bill, and the car payment. Now lets add kids into the mixture. They eat. They grow. They need stuff for school.

See where I'm going with this?

You start running out of cash reserves FAST. And holy hell the transmission just went out on your Accord and it's out of warranty - $2000 to fix it.

You send resume after resume and nobody will hire you because you are "presently unemployed". Sure go to work at Wal-Mart or McDonalds. those jobs don't pay shit, no where near enough to keep you going.


I know it far too well. My Family has gone through it before. They came close to losing the house, but they barely made it. This happened during the glorious Reagan years. Dad worked extra jobs on the side. It nearly killed him. Today, If you had told him that he didn't do enough back then you'd get at face full of knuckles.

I lost my job as well. I've had a job since i was 16. I'm 38 now. Fortunately, i have an extremely special set of skills that keeps me employed. So we are making it. But it requires me to live 250 miles from the wife and I'm working another job to help cover and costs that come up. I work my ass off everyday, sometimes only getting 5 hours of sleep.

Yeah we don't know the story behind what happened. $100 is still a lot of money. It's a Tank of gas or a weeks worth of food. This shit is happening everywhere and charities are tapped out. That's reality, something you could certainly use a dose of.

Respectfully,
Go to Hell.

[Dutchmaster]

106. This guy didn't lose his job. He had a 40% loss of income.

And you don't need to try and school me on what is happening right now in this country. I am a social worker. I became a social worker after the physically demanding job I used to do was no longer an option because of a severe injury I sustained. Going to graduate school for 3 years on a pissant income, I know full well the realities of living frugally and facing adversity. These kinds of situations are what I deal with every single day.

I don't know about where you live, or where they live, but where I am, if this family became clients of mine I would be able to, in less than 1 hour, get them a $100 voucher for rent from Catholic Charities, a large quantity of groceries for their refrigerator and pantry, a meeting with a jobs counselor, and a ride to the interview. I would also be able to set them up with someone to help them find cheaper housing. Charities are stretched and feeling the pinch, but they are not off the playing field as you suggest. Even if none of this were possible it would not change the fact that this didn't have to happen. It just didn't.

Now, why was the news there? Answer me that question. That's what stinks about this. Something isn't right here. All this over $100 and there just happened to be news people there to take the most heart wrenching shots possible. Why is that? there is clearly a LOT more to this story than we are being shown, and my instincts tell me that with a small amount of scrutiny we would likely see the majority of the blame lies with the parents for allowing it to come to this. I might be wrong, but I highly doubt it. Like I said, I have a lot of experience with these types of situations.

And it's okay I forgive you for telling me to go to hell. I know you're just frustrated. We all are, but turning on each other doesn't help anyone.

Respectfully,
Dutch

[pepito]

110. im so glad

you are sooooo smart,too bad everybody isnt as efficient and SMART like you:sarcasm:

[EmeraldCityGrl]

114. You got it right. Look at the possessions, the cars in the driveway,

the parents dressed like they just stepped out of the health or country club. The Mom checking into the hotel with
her credit card is going to run over a hundred bucks a night. That bike the mothers on with the son would probably
pay at least a months rent. There's something very staged about this photo journal or whatever you want to call it.

[StarsInHerHair]

123. I don't know-why are there crutches in the photo? what if any disability?

could be a number of things.


Bankstr still=evil

[totodeinhere]

100. I can't tell from the article if they simply didn't have the $100 or if they had it but

didn't want to pay it because of a dispute. Either way, it seems that there should have been some way to avoid this. If they didn't have it they should have looked for a charitable organization that helps the homeless and helps people from becoming homeless that might have been able to give them a grant.

Here is Elko there is an organization called "FISH" (Friends in Service Helping) that can help people with short term financial emergencies like this. It's a lot easier to come up with $100 to stay in a home than it is to find another home once you are homeless. Then you are dealing with a security deposit, utility deposits and perhaps first and last month's rent and that will all come out to a lot more than $100.

Or if they had the money but didn't believe they owed it and refused to pay it there might have been a way for them to put the money in an escrow account for the time being while the dispute is sorted out.

[oldlib]

103. Eviction!

I am truly sorry for these people. It is a sad day, in America, when this can happen. This has to stop. We have to provide protection, OBAMA! So that this will not happen again, and that you will give immediate aid to this family.

[pezDispenser]

104. We are not getting the entire story

Does the Denver Post show up to all evictions? Also, from looking at all 30 pics, they are checking into a fairly nice hotel. Sure, it's an emergency, but I'm betting that La Quinta is around $100/night. Maybe someone put up the money for them, who knows. I agree with the above poster, there is $100 easy shown in the pics and evictions don't just happen overnight. I'll reserve judgement on both parties, since I don't believe I have heard the entire story.

[marmar]

109. Some of the responses in the thread give a depressing glimpse into the mindset.....

...... that has gotten this country to the cruel, inhumane state that it's in today.

[QC]

111. +1

[pepito]

112. really callous

cruel peeps post here it seems:cry:

[TeamsterDem]

113. In my view that's what's wrong with the country. We went from being

fairly compassionate (not perfect but there was compassion) to an "I've got mine, fuck you" attitude with everything. And it's not just rich people anymore. Now working class Janes and Joes act that way as well.

I'm not a communist but we really need a more collective mindset in this country.

[Dutchmaster]

115. It's inhumane to suggest that maybe they should have sold the digital flat screen TV . . .

. . . and used the money to pay the rent? I have had to part with material things that I enjoyed to make the rent or to buy food in the past. And I am a single male. If I had a wife and kids you can damn well bet that we would've been enjoying family story time instead of American Idol for a while until we found cheaper digs.

[Imajika]

125. Is wanting to know the full story cruel and inhumane?

We are obviously not getting it from this photo blog.

Do you think no one should ever be evicted? You realize no one would rent property to anyone if that were the case right?

Do you think it's okay to fall perhaps months behind on the rent to the point a landlord has to go through the legal process to seek eviction, then pay at the last minute (minus $100 in this case) only to repeat the cycle and continue forcing the landlord to seek legal remedies?

Do you realize that if, for humanitarian reasons, we made it easier to fall behind or otherwise not pay rent, that property owners would simply make the requirements of a lease even more stringent (raise the minimum salary requirement, demand a higher credit score, etc)?

We simply do not know the whole story here and before you or anyone else uses this as an example of all that's wrong with America, it would be nice to know all the facts.

[totodeinhere]

134. I agree with you. Too many people on this site automatically jump to a conclusion

without having all of the facts because it happens to fit their agenda.

[scentopine]

117. Time to evict DLC corporate types and toss them out in the street. Along with their blue ink. -nt

[Imajika]

124. I'd bet there is far more to this story...

For the eviction to have gotten this far, this family must not have been paying their rent regularly. They were probably constantly behind and the landlord wanted them out for being habitual late payers that he couldn't count on to make the rent. For whatever reason they chose to dispute the $100 (or just didn't pay it), which probably gave the landlord the opportunity to insist the eviction be enforced. I have a difficult time believing this family could not just sell $100 dollars worth of stuff to tide them over. Even if they had to sell the family TV or computer for $100, it's just something you have to do to make ends meet.

That does not mean there aren't a lot of people in dire straits that need help and are regularly screwed over by landlords for all manner of reasons, it's just we are not getting the full story here and this might not be such a case.

[scentopine]

137. Thanks for looking out for the corporate interests. On the other hand, it should be illegal

to throw a family with kids and their belongings during a time of unprecedented prolonged joblessness and poverty out into the street over goddamn $100. There are other legal avenues to collect this and or dispute this. Talk about cruel and unusual punishment. Jesus Christ. This thread proves a democrats can be every bit the dangerous monsters as republicans.

Not every family has lawyers at their disposal to represent them. And they certainly no longer have democrats to represent them. Not any more. Democrats first run to the aid and comfort of corporations (and rich people).

That property was in excellent shape. As a landlord myself, I am thoroughly disgusted by the so called democrats and other right wingers on this thread who say "they must of had it coming". The corporation can afford the lost income which will be far more than $100 while they find a new tenant. Normal people don't have the luxury to punish corporations on an equivalent scale.

This is about pure and unequivocal cruelty and the use of overwhelming force against people with limited means.

Reading so called "democrats" defend this cruelty and then offer apologies for the landlord is sickening. And then democrats wonder why people don't vote.

[JI7]

126. i love the trees , we don't see that in southern california much

they are like christmas trees we only see around christmas with many being fake.