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Report of Housing Info Line Calls

2001 Annual Report

  JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
MONTHLY TOTAL 190 146 152 190 149 171 150 142 72 145 152 120
HOMEBUYING 6 4 6 7 10 5 3 2 6 5 4 9
HOMEOWNER 14 12 5 18 12 11 10 3 2 9 9 9
LANDLORD 10 15 7 30 17 11 7 3 11 6 11 1
TENANT 28 28 31 45 21 39 20 28 15 34 32 13
HOMELESS 10 5 6 10 7 19 9 4 3 8 7 3
DISABLED/ELDERLY 25 14 14 13 6 14 13 19 5 4 4 3
PUBLIC/SUBSIDIZED 18 11 20 12 12 11 9 8 3 2 12 8
AGENCIES 35 26 17 22 25 31 36 24 11 37 27 17
MISCELLANEOUS 23 14 29 13 19 15 29 11 6 13 19 7
PRED.LEND.ADMIN* 21 17 17 20 20 15 14 40 11 27 20 50

*"PRED.LEND.ADMIN" reflects taskforce and grant coordiination, education and media planning, etc.

Victims of predatory lenders are counted with other complaints under "OWNER."

2000 Annual Report

  JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
MONTHLY TOTAL 130 135 114 93 117 148 142 189 148 129 153 122
HOMEBUYING 9 11 9 8 10 11 13 11 8 5 10 3
HOMEOWNER 9 6 0 7 6 9 10 12 6 9 6 11
LANDLORD 2 6 4 6 8 7 3 3 6 10 6 2
TENANT 22 27 20 24 23 27 33 38 35 26 18 22
HOMELESS 15 17 10 2 7 12 8 7 15 9 18 11
DISABLED/ELDERLY 17 14 8 13 10 19 19 30 20 14 13 6
PUBLIC/SUBSIDIZED 8 13 7 8 13 10 15 13 23 11 14 10
AGENCIES 44 41 49 15 17 28 26 57 24 35 31 29
MISCELLANEOUS 4 0 7 10 23 25 15 18 11 10 37 28

Analysis of Changes in Calls To The Housing Info Line

Total Yearly Calls to Info Line:

  • 1995:  1267
  • 1996:  1131
  • 1997:  1165
  • 1998:  1176
  • 1999:  1445
  • 2000:  1620
  • 2001:  1779

    • Homebuying — These calls continue to go down every year because so much qualifying information and counseling is now readily available by phone. Remember when we were the first and only service like this in town? First Tennessee advertised a hotline the next year.

    Another reason numbers are down here is that we don’t have money to advertise.

    Homeowner — These calls are up because of predatory loan problems and foreclosure counseling.

    Landlord — Numbers are slightly lower–perhaps because we no longer publish the popular "Landlord Letter," due to loss of funding from the city Office of Neighborhood Services.

    Tenant — These calls are running about the same, despite the fact that we’ve stopped advertising in the classifieds. Many agencies (BBB, Legal Services, First Call for Help, etc.) refer these calls to us.

    Homeless — These calls were up significantly in 1999 over 1998. They are up again slightly from 1999. We’re not sure where these callers get our number, but we intend to gather information on "where are you calling from," in the next several months. Our service area is growing both northward, and southward into Georgia.

    Disabled/Elderly — Callers increased significantly in 1999 over 1998, and have gone from an average 12.5 per month in 1999 to an average of 16.2 per month in 2000. This aligns with demographics and will get more intense as housing for disabled is drying up.

    Public/Subsidized — Calls running slightly lower this year. Most callers want information on the HUD Section 8 program, and many are referred by the state welfare-to-work case workers. As of September, 400 new voucher holders are looking for Section 8 rentals, and CHA doesn’t seem to be doing anything to develop landlord interest. Another type of affordable housing, the HUD-subsidized apartments for families, is always full–with long waiting lists.

    Agencies — We talk to an average of 35 agencies or businesses a month. This compares to an average of 28 per month last year. This figure includes outgoing and incoming calls.

    Miscellaneous — This category includes weird calls like the one I got yesterday from a lady complaining of people "living under the dirt" beside her house who "make her bed shake!" It also includes inquiries about the Comprehensive Rent Rate Study, messages we leave on answering machines, and random others.