Foreclosure Behind Las Vegas Gates
Krissy Clark
APRIL 26, 2008
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Just recently in Las Vegas, there was a perfect storm of booming home construction, some unscrupulous lending practices and lots of housing speculation by first-time investors. That's added up to some of the nation's highest foreclosure rates.
It's easy to find those neighborhoods hit the hardest by the real estate crisis -- just look for the nicest communities surrounded by brick walls and elegant wrought-iron gates. Weekend America's Krissy Clark recently visited the upscale Las Vegas suburb of Southern Highlands.
The first and most obvious fact of life in the suburban Las Vegas gated community of San Niccolo is, of course, the gate. It's an important feature in both a literal sense and a symbolic one.
The gate is the only way into San Niccolo. And to open it, if you're not a homeowner, you have to dial up your host at a call box in front. The gate is also what gives the new Hacienda-style homes inside a sense of security and exclusivity. Just a few years ago, homes here were selling for $500,000 and up.
At least, that's how the gate used to work, on both symbolic and literal levels, until one sultry weekend last summer. "I came home one night, and the gate was broken," recalls resident Karen Lewis.
Lewis, a business consultant, moved into a house behind this gate two years ago with her husband and their son, on a street called Arcata Point. "It was my dream house, in a way," she says -- high ceilings, a view of the mountains, a private golf course nearby, well-lit sidewalks for jogs after dark.
But the night that front gate was broken was a kind of turning point for Lewis. Some kids had rammed through the gate to get to a raging party next door to her house. They were racing up and down her block in their cars. And she realized the gated community she'd moved into was changing -- fast.
"It just wasn't what I expected," Lewis says. "The gate being continuously broken, the party."
And the list goes on -- one of Karen Lewis's disgruntled neighbors chimes in: "The break-ins which just occurred, the busted windows, the mysterious neighbors across the street who don't speak and come in the middle of the night, the roommates, the broken-down cars, the pit bulls..."
Three pit bulls now live on Arcata Point, Karen's neighbor says. She shows me her son's Louisville Slugger baseball bat, which she carries whenever she leaves the house to fend off the dogs in case they get off-leash.
To understand how San Niccolo went from a place you'd expect to see golden retrievers to a place where pit bulls are the in-vogue pet, you need to back up a few years. Back to when people were just moving in. Families like Lewis' were buying new homes for themselves. But investors were also buying the homes, sometimes two and three houses at a time.
"It was like, who needs to be a drug dealer when you can buy real estate in Las Vegas?" says Butch, a hairdresser who lives a few doors down from Lewis. "Not that I sell drugs."
Butch, who didn't want to give his last name, bought three houses in the neighborhood, each with an adjustable rate mortgage. His plan was to "flip" them for a quick profit. He lives in one of the houses now, and shares it with two roommates -- and his pit bull.
But now that the monthly rate on his loan has ballooned, Butch can't afford the mortgage payments anymore. He stopped making them in January. He says he guesses the bank will get around to seizing his house in another few months.
Butch says he won't miss San Niccolo when he leaves. Frankly, he's gotten a little sick of the gate. "One time I rammed it," he says. "I was drunk."
Twenty-four of the 214 homes in San Niccolo are currently in foreclosure. Many more are vacant. Karen Lewis and her 4-year-old son, Cooper, walk around the neighborhood trying to guess which ones they are.
"There's an empty!" shouts Cooper, pointing at a beige house with a pile of aging phone books on the stoop.
"That's probably a foreclosure," his mom agrees. "The lawn's dead."
A dead lawn is a tell-tale sign of a foreclosed house. Cooper is proud of his find, and starts singing a little song about it. "It's an empty house! I found one! I found one!" he sings.
Crumbling stucco is another sign of a foreclosed house. Lewis points to a gash on the side of one porch. "This has to be willful, because this house is only four years old," she says, explaining that some of her neighbors, forced out by the bank, have taken their frustrations out on their walls.
"I wouldn't blame them," she says.
Foreclosures are not the only thing affecting San Niccolo. With the sagging market, investors who have avoided foreclosure still can't sell their vacant houses right now. Instead, they are renting the homes out. Houses designed for single families are being rented to college kids, or multiple families at a time.
"The house on the corner, we believe, is a half-way house," Lewis says. "There are about six cars -- seems like a bit of an AA meeting." Lewis says she fully supports Alcoholics Anonymous. "I think it's a wonderful thing. But they don't say 'hi.'"
Later, I go to the house that Lewis believes is a half-way house. I knock on the door, and a minute later a young girl peeks her head above a window sill to see who's there. I explain through the glass -- loudly, so she can hear me -- that I'm a reporter doing a story about the neighborhood.
Suddenly, an older woman rushes out to meet me. "Shh!" she whispers. "Everybody sleeping." The woman is Georgina Simmons, and the girl is her 12-year-old granddaughter, Topaz.
"Everybody sleeping," Simmons repeats, in a heavy Mexican accent. "Everybody work in the night time. They are taxi drivers."
"They're graveyard," Topaz explains.
They tell me their family started renting this house a year ago. They moved in, Georgina says, "because we have more rooms here, and we are more together. And we are going to buy the house, probably. We really like the neighborhood."
I ask her how many people live with her. "Nine," her granddaughter volunteers.
"No," Georgina coos, looking intently at the girl.
"Yes," Topaz insists.
"No," Georgina says, more emphatically. "We have seven."
Then she excuses herself, says they need to go finish cooking dinner. And they shut the door.
These days, San Niccolo is about as un-gated-community-like as a gated-community can be. But now that all these people from different backgrounds have found themselves here together, inside this gate, interesting things have begun to happen.
When I ask Lewis how she thinks the real estate crisis has affected her life, she pauses. She doesn't mention the fact that her house was recently reappraised for $115,000 less than she spent on it two years ago. What she mentions is this:
"There are some biases that I had that I didn't realize. You sort of stereotype people -- whether they can afford to live in a certain neighborhood or not. Like the family next to me, they have a detailing business, so they actually have their customers come to their house. And they clean the cars, and they have music playing. And they'd be sitting out in their lawn chairs, drinking beer and talking to their friends, in the middle of a Saturday afternoon. I didn't expect to have that kind of traffic in my street.
"But they're awesome neighbors," she adds. "They're the ones that slow down whenever they see a kid in the street."
Who cares if they leave oil stains on the pavement? So what if it's a clear violation of the homeowner association rules? The really important thing inside these gates, she says, is having a few neighbors she can trust to look out for her family. And for the occasional pit bull.
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- Music Bridge:
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- Artist: Rainstick Orchestra
- CD: The Floating Glass Key in the Sky (Ninja Tune)
Comments
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From las vegas, NV, 05/03/2008
This history of Bull Terrier's: Although the exact history of the breed of dog known as the American Pit Bull Terrier is unknown it is generally agreed that they are descended from bull-and-terrier crosses brought to America from England and Ireland in the 1800s. The Bull and Terrier type dogs were created by crossing the English working Bulldog with English hunting Terriers. The Bulldog that is the ancestor of the APBT was used for many types of work including baiting, fighting, stock work, hunting, and as a farm dog. When bull-baiting was outlawed in England in by the Cruelty to Animals act in 1835 along with dogfighting, illegal dogfighting gained popularity since it is much easier to organize and conceal than a bull-baiting contest.[13]
Fighting dogs were bred for strength, speed and gameness, or the willingness to see a task through to it's conclusion regardless of serious threat of injury or death. While fighting dogs in England were not necessarily a singular breed of dog but rather a type of dog bred for gameness from different stock, in the USA the breed solidified and was named the American Pit Bull Terrier. [14] Breeders knew that a dog like this could be dangerous to people and difficult to control if it were aggressive toward people, so breeders would look for the crucial trait of nonaggression towards humans. Fighting dogs that showed aggression towards it's owner or handler were routinely killed and thus removed from the gene pool. This resulted a line of strong dogs that, while aggressive towards dogs and other animals, would be much gentler with people.[15]
In the late 1800s to early 1900s, two clubs were formed for the specific purpose of registering APBTs: the United Kennel Club and the American Dog Breeder's Association. The United Kennel Club was founded with the registration of an American Pit Bull Terrier and was the first registry to recognize the breed.[16]
As dog fighting declined in popularity in the United States in the early 20th century, many dog owners wanted to legitimize the breed and distance it from it's fighting roots. The name "Staffordshire Terrier" was adopted by some owners and was recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1936. Later, the word "American" was added to reduce confusion with it's smaller British cousin, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Not all breeders, however, agreed with the standard adopted by the AKC, and continued to use the name American Pit Bull Terrier for their lines. Much confusion still remains in regards to the APBT, the AST, and the SBT. Once an extremely popular family dog in the United States (in fact, the dog in the Our Gang movies was an APBT), the American Pit Bull Terrier's popularity began to decline in the United States following World War II in favor of other breeds.
I have two American Bull Terrier's and a Lab. All my dogs are well socialized with other animal, people and children. It depends on the owner of the bread, if you use a positive-negative reinforcement training or only a negative reinforcement training for any breed of animal.
My Eldes Terrier was abandoned in a home that had been vacant for sometime and she was less then 3 months old. But what a wounderful, sweet and pleasent little girl she is, everyone comments me on how sweet she is.
Most of the dog attacks that you hear of in the media is normally a mixed bread with American Bull Terrier, but again it's how you raise your dog. Lots of exerice, training and socialing will make for a wounderful pleasent pet.
From San Diego, CA, 05/02/2008
I have been listening to Weekend America for several years (via podcasts these days) and I typically enjoy the wide range of stories Weekend America offers; however, this story was disappointing and offensive. I agree with the previous comments that the repeated use of pit bulls as a symbol of undesirability was both racist and breedist. I was especially shocked by the way Ms. Clark juxtaposed golden retrievers and pit bulls. She may as well have said white/suburban people are good and minority/inner city people are bad. Equally repugnant was the way the story fostered the undeserved reputation of pit bulls. In reality, they are loyal, loving, and as sweet as golden retrievers. Just look at the nearly 50 dogs that were rescued from Michael Vick’s property. Even after extensive abuse, many of them were immediately placed in loving homes. The story almost left me feeling hopeful as Ms. Lewis revealed how she has re-evaluated her stereotypes. I wish it could have ended on a positive note rather than with the final jab at pit bulls and what this story used them to represent.
From Port Orchard, WA, 04/30/2008
Thanks for calling me a lower class person. Some people would call anybody living in the "city of sin" godless and damned. Guess it all depends on which ivory tower you are currently residing.
From Las Vegas, NV, 04/29/2008
This sampling is what is happening ALL over Las Vegas. The pit bull thing is symbolic of a lower class of people, pit bulls belonging to single guys living in communities of families. Just a few weeks ago in Rhodes Ranch, we were awakened by gunfire. A guy working in his garage had a neighbors pit bull approach him. Dog died and the other two dogs were taken. (True story, called Rhodes Ranch security for details)
What do dogs have to do with this? It's a sign of the times in Vegas. Everyone got in over their heads. Instead of upper middle class families moving into these nice "master planned" neighborhoods, we now are looking at a surge of renters who care little about the properties they're in and even less about their neighbors. The greed and stupidity of many home buyers and investors have turned this town into a cesspool of trash. Our schools have suffered as a result, with the inability to attract new teachers due to housing costs, and a rougher group of kids due to the lowered standards that are now evident in every community across Las Vegas.
Don't move here, not if you come from a society with strong family values and community. It's a dark time here, and it is getting worse every month. No gates or master planned community can prevent what's happened here.
04/27/2008
Whilst we do not have gated communties per se in Australia, we do have the same subprime issues. Any Australian reading the article would be nodding the head in recognition. Pit Bulls in the US, Rottys, Staffys and the like here? The canine ownership socio-economic demographic in the context of the article is the same here, "race" has nothing to do with it. It's not the animals nor their owners fault if they are similarly untaught in acceptable socialisation skils. It is just what it is. My 2 yr old Schnoodle needed some serious socialisation training right from puppyhood and still needs a nudge or three. The same as most all of us need from time to time. Heavens knows, my wife of 35 years still finds it necessary with me. It's not rocket science but neither will it happen spontaneously.
Perhaps the the positive side of the bringing down of the gates is that that social groups that were previously separated can learn some of these skills from and about each other.
04/26/2008
I was shocked to read such barely cloaked racism from NPR. I know many responsible dog owners who own "pit bull" type dogs. They are delightful to have around, lovable, and born commediens. Any dog, regardless of breed, can become the neighborhood problem if raised to be that way by an irresponsible dog owner. The two problem dogs in my neighborhood by the way, a chocolate Lab and a Shar Pei - surprised? My dog regularly plays with a "pit bull" that she met in obedience class, the sweetest dog I've ever met. When are you in the media going to stop using the "pit bull" as code for non-white, urban blight, low income?
From Federal Way, WA, 04/26/2008
I am an Anglo-American college degree holding, middle class, NPR listener/member homeowner who shares my home with a Lhasa Apso/Shih Tzu mix. I listened to this story today while driving home and decided to immediately post my commnet once I got home. I felt mine might be the only comment regarding the "pit bull" references but was pleased to see that others have posted. I agree with the poster who thought this was hidden racism. The impression I came away with was that golden retrievers was used as code for "Anglo/wealthy" and pit bull was used as code for "non-Anglo/poor". Not only is this form of racism particulary bothersome but to add breedism on top of it? Kind, responsible dog owners of any race/income/education level are welcome to be my neighbors regardless of the breed of dog they own. I wonder what Ira Glass, owner of a rescued pit bull, would think of this story?
From Port Orchard, WA, 04/26/2008
I am actually happy to see that two other listeners picked up on my cause for a comment. I was almost ready to let the first comment about pitbull vs Golden Retriever slide.. but then the whole piece had to end with it?
While I found the piece interesting, it was completely marred for me by using "pitbulls" as a synonym for "undesirables". Why not say straight out what kind of PEOPLE are "undesired"? Is the writer of the piece afraid of appearing racist or prejudiced and instead uses "pitbull" as her way out?
I happen to own American Pitbull Terriers and American Staffordshier Terriers. I compete in multiple dog-events with them, ie: agility, obedience and weightpull. All the while, the neighbor down the road owns three out of control Labrador Retrievers who have chased me down the road on my bicycle and have accosted me, my dogs and multiple other walkers-by on our neighborhood walks. I am not so sure that the interviewed woman would have preferred the Labradors over my "pitbulls" when it came to a real life choice.
This is my first year to pledge during an NPR pledge-drive; I plan to pledge again. But please, in return, keep the kind of dogs I own out of your stories, unless it is pertinent to the content.
From Providence, RI, 04/26/2008
Yet another example of the media using pit bulls to gauge the negative downturn of our society. I own a pit bull and he plays with my 10 and 11 year old sisters a gently as the golden retriever might. In fact, I have seen goldens act more aggressively toward children than any pit bull. It is sad to hear this sort of ignorance on NPR, shame on you. Not all pit bull owners are low lifes. I am college educated with a respectable job. Perhapsthe problem is the lust for these gated communities themselves. It is an unnatural way to be living. Not to mention most of these exclusive communities are built on the cheap and not meant to last so that when their prices do fall, they fall hard. Overall I am very disappointed in hearing this sort of blabber on NPR, more like FOX News.
From Sacramento, CA, 04/26/2008
Once again, a negative comment towards pit bulls. I was very disappointed to hear the negative reference of the breed in this report. I guess the negative reference added to your story, the visual of a vicous dog running rampant in the neighborhood since the "bad" people took over the gated community??? Not all pit bull owners are low-life, druggie thugs - but normal, responsible, respectable memembers of society with normal, high level jobs. Talk to Rachel Ray, John Stewart, both who are proud pit bull owners. Other than that, the story was interesting. Thank you.
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