Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services (INHS) — Attraction in City of Ithaca

At the fear of retaliation from a callus property manager, I give this rating. The promise is very good. I have lived in my current apt for ten plus years. It has been a mixed bag. The pandemic wrecked what ability INHS has to contact anyone and get a response, as they can not retain workers due to the low pay and expensive housing in Ithaca. Mostly thanks to Cornell University's inability to pay a reasonable amount to support the city, with 60% of buildable land off the tax rolls due to Cornell. As a result, workers can not live within the city and generally Tompkins County. The company as a result can not hire workers as the city is bifurcated with very rich and very poor residents and a scant middle class. Homeowners in the middle class generally pay over 50% of their income for property tax and a mortgage in paying for a single family home in Ithaca. Maintenance is busy swatting emergency issues as best they can, and I have not had a direct response from any attempt to contact since 2021. Maintenance does show up when called if the heat goes off in the winter, luckily. This not for profit is nearly the only game in town for a decent home that is not badly maintained, water damaged as this city is in a flood plain on a drained swamp, with of course the Cornellians on the best high ground in the area. The lack of a manager does not bother me as they generally are out of touch and callus, ignorant of the day to day of what being poor in Ithaca is like. As a result, I was harassed for a broken car parked in my provided driveway while I save money to fix it. A car is needed to get any medical appointments as public transportation serves Cornell first as always, cutting service for residents, while cabs and ride shares are out priced (again the price of having Cornell not pay a fair share for the services and land they consume) and unreliable. Most services are a tremendous expense due to the price gouging "Cornell duty" added to gouge the many wealthy students throwing money around, as a result everyone...

Where to begin if you have nothing positive to say. For a company that in theory is meant to assist and help the public, this company will and does everything in their power to avoid helping those it is intended to service. If your intent is to engage in INHSs first time home buyers program, I urge you now to seek else where. After spending 200 dollars on a needless class in order to qualify for the INHS down payment grant they will string you along for months at a time. At which point you will deal with The head of the grant department. A man we will call P who is grossly and morbidly incompetent, who will continue to request information he already has even after communicating with a bank, make false promises, and gas light you. This service is not set up for the people. This service is set up so that this company APPEARS TO be “for the people”. Meanwhile not caring if the disservice they’ve done does the opposite of what they supposedly stand for and leaves you homeless. INHS is simply a joke. I would leave a zero...

As a local Realtor, I have had many clients take advantage of the great services and support at INHS. This is a very challenging time to buy a house and though the financial parameters for the IHNS program can be limiting, they are changing the lives of some people who would otherwise not be able to purchase a home without their help. In addition, the education department at INHS provides a fantastic program open to ANYONE. The class offers a solid foundation of knowledge about purchasing a first home. I've had so many buyers come to me from the INHS Homebuyer program and they are better prepared, more confident, and less intimidated by the process. I recommend it to everyone. Within the parameters of what is allowed by their funders and donors, I believe INHS does the best they can with what they have and they are an important part of increasing housing equity in...