Dirt Cheap Apartments for Seniors and Everyone Else!

Many people think of low-income, affordable apartments as crummy little hovels that are one step above life on the streets. Well, have I got news for you, some of these places are very nice and include luxury apartments in the very heart of Manhattan.

A friend of mine just moved yesterday. She is 77 and she moved into a senior citizens low income apartment that I had recommended two years ago. She is on social security and had never lived in a low income apartment before. I told her about them because when I was a single mother I had lived in a low income apartment while attending college. I have nothing but fond memories of those apartments. They were located right next to the college (so close that I could walk to class) and soon all of my college friends were in the complex as well (good news travels fast when I'm around :). My rent was $125.00 dollars a month. Now that was 25 years ago but still quite a bargain anyway you look at it. My friend's apartment costs her $387.00 per month. Her apartment includes ALL utilities, a balcony, a garden, a gym, they allow pets and even have a little general store on the premises.

I am writing because many people are unaware that apartments like these even exist. There are apartments for senior citizens and apartments that are just generically low income. Some private building owners in luxury apartments do this so that they can get a tax break. One program is called the 80/20 program because 20 percent of the building occupancy has to be low income. In New York that means that you can rent a LUXURY apartment that would normally rent for $2,500 for as little as $100.00 dollars a month! Yes, I said ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS a month! I personally know someone who has an apartment like this. Every single state has apartments like these. There are different income requirements for each state and each program. Each program is different, so you have to do your research and find out which apartments would fit your circumstances. It usually takes about 2 years after getting on the list to actually get the apartment and in some cases if you make too much money you will not qualify. In some cases if you make too little money you will not qualify so do your homework and find out which apartments could work for you. All of the rent in low income apartments are based on your income, so the rents can change, they can go up and they can also go down but rarely (in fact I've never heard of this before) will someone be asked to leave because they are making too much money after they qualified initially. We should all have that problem!

As more and more people who were working class slip into poverty these apartments can be the difference between having a decent place to live and living with your sister, her husband and their three kids or even worse homelessness. So if you know someone who could benefit from these apartments call your local HUD and find out where they are and for goodness sake GET THEM ON THE LIST!

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