Craigslist apartment listing boasts "Quiet Asian neighbors"

Because Asians are apparently a very special kind of quiet.



Got this passed along to me from a reader, who spotted this curious apartment listing on Craigslist... In Philadelphia, this person needs someone to take over his or her studio apartment starting July 1. Conveniently located at Broad and Gerard, the place has a lot going for it, including almost new appliances, a big closet, hardwood floors... and -- the best part, in my opinion -- "Quiet asian neighbors."

Not just quiet neighbors, folks. Make no mistake. We're talking quiet Asian neighbors. Because everybody knows that we Asians are capable of a very special kind of quiet. Like, friggin' ninja quiet.

City sells woman's condo over $94.85 overdue tax bill

Xiu Liu was never informed of the outstanding balance due to a clerical error.



What kind of bureaucratic nonsense is this? In Georgia, a woman is facing eviction after her home was foreclosed on and sold at auction -- unbeknownst to her -- all because of an unpaid tax bill of $94.85.

Woman's condo sold over $95 overdue tax bill

Last week in Norcross, Xiu Liu received a notice informing her that her condo, where she lives with her 4-year-old daughter, had been sold at auction and she would need to move out of the property by November 25. This was news to Ms. Liu, who paid for the two-bedroom condo with cash in 2011.

According to city and county records, Liu has paid taxes on the property every year except the year she moved in. So what gives? Turns out, letters about the outstanding balance never reached her because of clerical errors -- and incomplete address. So how was she supposed to pay the 95 bucks if the bill never got to her?

San Francisco family loses eviction fight

Another household falls prey to the city's housing boom.



This is heartbreaking. The fight is lost. In San Francisco, the elderly Chinese American couple who were fighting to stay in their low-rent apartment near Nob Hill, were forced out this week. The Lees moved out belongings and went to a motel. Evicted: S.F. family loses fight, evicted after 34 years.

The plight of Poon Heung Lee and Gum Gee Lee, who had lived in the apartment with their mentally disabled daughter for 34 years, drew a great deal of support from community advocates, the mayor's office and several city supervisors -- to no avail. Another household falls prey to the San Francisco housing boom.

The evictions were legal under California's Ellis Act, which allows landowners to evict tenants to renovate apartments and sell them as tenant-in-common units. With San Francisco housing showing no signs of stopping the rent-sanity, Ellis Act evictions have shot up 81 percent in the past year.

Meanwhile, the Lees are trying to find a permanent place to live, with help from the community, but they haven't been able to find anything close to the $778 rent they paid for their apartment on Jackson Street, and it's evident that suitable options in the city are shrinking.

More here: Lee family bids heartfelt good-bye to longtime home.