Great story. South St. Pete... you’re brave.
We lived in a sort of enclave. We and the 90 year old man next door were the only whites. It was a nice little neighborhood. Everyone on our block and on the street behind us owned his own home. That home ownership thing makes all the difference in the world. A year after, the City bought the vacant lot, actually half a block, and put up some 235 (subsidized) homes. They moved in a bunch of drug dealers from Tampa. ALL the owner occupied houses went up for sale right then. I told the realtor I did not care what he got for my house so long as I got billed for nothing. My wife, two daughters, and I went up to Saugatuck where I got a job in a Holland furniture factory. The realtor sent me paper detailing how much I owed for closing costs. I called his office and said to read the instructions I had given him again and If it was going to cost me I would just keep paying the taxes on it. I never heard from him again. It was a pleasant little house and was costing me $52 a month after $150 down.