It's just great they have now decided to be part of the solution. If it were my property I would have been around and not just collected "the check" Lesson learned (hopefully). Money isn't everything and this is a perfect example.The absentee landlord concept kinda backfired didn't it? Hopefully we can all take something from this. No one cares for your possessions like you do.
OUTSPOKENCITIZEN
· 1 year ago
Absentee landlord? Ha Ha thats entertaining to see that of everything in this article and those prior, that you choose to comment on the landlord not being present rather than the A$$HOLE parents who thought that this was acceptable. Im sorry i think thats funny, but be serious, how is any of these unfortunate happens have anythignt o do with the Landlord's.
sad but true
· 1 year ago
What's a matter bucket mouth ?... you are English language deprieved? Your lacking in the adjective department. Cuss words are limiting and shows by your responce that you are limited. No other words? No one said the tenants were right but the ABSENTEE landlord was wrong too. You must be one! Step around the pink elephant somemore. Where was the screening process before allowing the tenants in.
C-J
· 1 year ago
Again the landlord was an active participant- they are not the victiM in this- they rented - they volunteered! Give me a break! The tenants friends newfew twice removed.
kat333
· 1 year ago
Many times the screening process doesn't pick up this sort of issue. Also, if someone is denied rent, the potential renter can go after the landlord for discrimination. If a bad renter is allowed to rent, it is next to impossible to get that person out in MA. The laws are completely against landlords.
Xena
· 1 year ago
Thank you God that these children can be saved from that horrific living condition..the children deserve to have a normal healthy life and also counciling that might give them self esteem and to teach them that they deserve much much better, for their lives Parents also need extensive therapy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sgt
· 1 year ago
You sound like a bunch of people from Massachusetts. Blame the victim (landlord), not the people who trashed the house (and who are charged 5 times each with a crime). Typical Massachusetts scumbags blogging on ET.
JW
· 1 year ago
Copa - you are right on!
3 doors down
· 1 year ago
I am leaving this comment not to start debate about the Bell's or the landlord. I am leaving this comment to point out that the ET is a very questionable source of information these days. I also wanted to give my perspective, as a neighbor, and as a parent of one of the Bell children's friends. I am sure this will spark debate and a whole bunch of single minded retort. I do have to write this though, as I feel this family has been taken advantage of and dragged through the mud by various people involved with this whole situation.
I know for fact that the owners were not the ones who removed the alleged "3000lbs" of garbage from the house. I witnessed the Bell's during the whole month of July, into mid August, when they were forced to leave, working diligently to rectify the situation. They cleaned the flooded basement, removed the mold, moved out their belongings and attempted to make right this horrible circumstance. I even offered to help but was refused, politely I may add. I also know that Mr. Bell lost his jobs due to the publicity of this whole situation. The jobs he was working 80 hours per week that was probably a big cause for this whole mess. Yes, I do have first hand knowledge as I was a resident of this area during this time and my child was a friend of one of their children. I would not classify myself as a close friend of the Bell parents, but I did have chance to speak with them over the course of the two years they occupied that home.
From what I understood, the Bell's were in an option to buy situation and that they had thousands of dollars locked into buying this property. With all of the media attention, the owner forced the sale and they could not purchase. They had to leave losing a lot of money. Now the owners are renting again and the Bell's have to pay for the renovations. Renovations that the Bell's wanted to perform and /or pay for themselves, in July, but were refused to by the owner. Why hasn't this been reported in the ET? Why would the owner refuse a tenant from fixing a problem immediately? This sounds like people who were trying to take responsibility for a problem they caused and were refused. I guess that wouldn't make good press would it? To be fair, I do understand the owners not wanting these people as tenants after this. But were they tenants or buyers? Interesting thought, huh?
I had occasion to witness Mr. & Mrs. Bell being friendly neighbors who were involved with their children. I do not know the dysfunction that caused that awful mess they lived in when the police intervened, but I can honestly say that whatever was going on was something that we all were not aware of. Had we had knowledge of their issues, we would have informed the authorities to help them. I actually had chance to visit this house back in May. It may have lacked some interior decoration, but it was nothing like those pictures published in the news. No garbage or kicked in doors. I even toured the house when they were getting it fixed and it was not filled with garbage and the doors were not kicked in. This was in July. It was a house that needed new carpets, some paint and some serious cosmetic repair. Where is the ET getting their information? I really am at a loss to understand. These people, in my opinion, are not what you would classify as monsters and God only knows what went on in their lives to let things come to that. Think about it. Who would pay $2000 dollars per month, on time every month according to this article, to live in a mess? Something happened in their lives to cause this and luckily the authorities got involved before something really bad happened.
Those children appeared happy, vibrant little people who attended public school. They never appeared to be without, never dirty or reflecting attire that represented their "trashed house." They attended summer day camp with my child up until July. They rode their bicycles all the time in the neighborhood and were always happy little people whenever I saw them. The last I heard, these children were with family members and are still the healthy little people I remember them as. I will miss seeing them enjoying themselves in our neighborhood. My child misses them as well.
It is a shame to read what I have over the past couple months when I know what I witnessed, and what I have first hand knowedge of. I am not condoning what happened to these children in the least. But I do feel that these parents are not the monsters everyone is making them out to be. Something obviously broke down in their lives to let a house get that way. I do have the advantage of knowing these people somewhat to measure what is being reported about them. I personally thought they were nice people and I really wish I could have helped them avoid this.
The ET is a very questionable source of information and it really bugged me that they are still lying about this family to sell news. I hope our society can recognize the ET is a very biased publication, with intentions to sell papers, not the truth, first and foremost. I hope that this has not damaged the Bell's chance to have a fair shake in court. This family needs help, not persecution.
To the Bell family - You must know who we are and we want you to know we do not think you are evil monsters. Please get the help you need and get your children back. They love you and WE KNOW you love them. God bless.
sad but true
· 1 year ago
There ... see- I knew it was the landlords all the time- thanks 3 doors down for setting it straight.
Justice
· 1 year ago
youre an idiot. Why are the bells being told they are losing their money and not given a noption to rectify the problem> BECAUSE THIS SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! They dont need help, they need a kick in the ass. Mr Bell should lose his job for being a scum bag and neglecting his kids. The kids vibrant and happy in school? Were you in class with them? The pictures in the paper were no lie like you are depicting them to be. Cameras dont lie unless you are into trick photography. How do people allow their homes to get that filthy to the point it has to be condemed? Thats disgusting, and rediculous. And whats more rediculous is people like you who defend the Bells behavior.
The FACTS!
· 1 year ago
3doorsdown - I do not know were you got your information. If you really do live 3 doors down - I don't know who you are because when I count 3 doors down in all directions none of them have young children. AND you would have seen us there for the past 2 months an average of 5 days. I am the landlord of that house and yes the bells did remove a 30 yard dumpster of trash from the house by themselves. They also left lots of trash behind. When he came back to get his belonging he left us at least 3 truck loads of his belonging he didn't take with him.
If you want to see the work quality they were performing while they were "fixing" it up - stop by and visit us any day. You cannot paint over filth - you have to clean it first. They had from July 1st to July 31st to fix up the mess and they did next to nothing. Yes they removed the mold that was there because they chose not to fix a hole in the bathtub. But not correctly. They removed trash, but didn't clean anything.
We are there every Wednesday night (we made 4 more trips to the dump last night) - I can give you our permit number if you want to check the facts. We are also there some Friday nights and every Saturday, Sunday and Monday - from about 8 am to 6pm at night - since July 31st.
Don't you think we would have wanted the Bell's to fix the mess they made and not spend our entire summer at the house fixing it up? Not to mention getting it rented before school started so it would be easier to find tenants? The facts in the Eagle Tribune are correct - I should know I am living this nightmare. I worked with the Bells for over 2 years and yes they always paid their rent on time and Michael was always polite to me and told me he loved the house and was looking forward to purchasing it. I took him for his word and did not treat him like a tenant but as a buyer and that is what got me into this situation.
I have lots of pictures that I can share with you that tell the entire story. If you can stand to hear the truth. I did everything I could to help the Bell’s over the last two years and I have two years of emails to prove he was very happy with me as his landlord.
I can also tell you that I lived in that neighborhood for 10 year and I know most of the neighbors who have stopped by and told me a totally different story.
So stop by introduce yourself and see for yourself we are not monsters, just normal people who took a chance renting our home out to the Bells and lost. I wish things worked out differently and they could have experience what I did raising my family there I did all I could the rest was up to them. I know the Bell's love their kids; I know and have known some of his extended family for a very long time. It does not excuse him for ruining my house and allowing his kids to live in those conditions.
This story was about a husband and wife working together to get and unpleasant job done.
We hope and pray the Bell's get the help they need and are able to reunite their family in a happy healthy enviroment. But I as the owner deserved more respect for my property and to be repaid for all of my expenses cause by the Bell's.
My offer stands - stop by and see for yourself.
hehe
· 1 year ago
As they say kim and dave.... what goes around comes around. The piles of trash and feces is exactly what you deserve.
All Comments
No one said the tenants were right but the ABSENTEE landlord was wrong too. You must be one! Step around the pink elephant somemore. Where was the screening process before allowing the tenants in.
horrific living condition..the children deserve to have a normal
healthy life and also counciling that might give them self esteem
and to teach them that they deserve much much better, for their lives
Parents also need extensive therapy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know for fact that the owners were not the ones who removed the alleged "3000lbs" of garbage from the house. I witnessed the Bell's during the whole month of July, into mid August, when they were forced to leave, working diligently to rectify the situation. They cleaned the flooded basement, removed the mold, moved out their belongings and attempted to make right this horrible circumstance. I even offered to help but was refused, politely I may add. I also know that Mr. Bell lost his jobs due to the publicity of this whole situation. The jobs he was working 80 hours per week that was probably a big cause for this whole mess. Yes, I do have first hand knowledge as I was a resident of this area during this time and my child was a friend of one of their children. I would not classify myself as a close friend of the Bell parents, but I did have chance to speak with them over the course of the two years they occupied that home.
From what I understood, the Bell's were in an option to buy situation and that they had thousands of dollars locked into buying this property. With all of the media attention, the owner forced the sale and they could not purchase. They had to leave losing a lot of money. Now the owners are renting again and the Bell's have to pay for the renovations. Renovations that the Bell's wanted to perform and /or pay for themselves, in July, but were refused to by the owner. Why hasn't this been reported in the ET? Why would the owner refuse a tenant from fixing a problem immediately? This sounds like people who were trying to take responsibility for a problem they caused and were refused. I guess that wouldn't make good press would it? To be fair, I do understand the owners not wanting these people as tenants after this. But were they tenants or buyers? Interesting thought, huh?
I had occasion to witness Mr. & Mrs. Bell being friendly neighbors who were involved with their children. I do not know the dysfunction that caused that awful mess they lived in when the police intervened, but I can honestly say that whatever was going on was something that we all were not aware of. Had we had knowledge of their issues, we would have informed the authorities to help them. I actually had chance to visit this house back in May. It may have lacked some interior decoration, but it was nothing like those pictures published in the news. No garbage or kicked in doors. I even toured the house when they were getting it fixed and it was not filled with garbage and the doors were not kicked in. This was in July. It was a house that needed new carpets, some paint and some serious cosmetic repair. Where is the ET getting their information? I really am at a loss to understand. These people, in my opinion, are not what you would classify as monsters and God only knows what went on in their lives to let things come to that. Think about it. Who would pay $2000 dollars per month, on time every month according to this article, to live in a mess? Something happened in their lives to cause this and luckily the authorities got involved before something really bad happened.
Those children appeared happy, vibrant little people who attended public school. They never appeared to be without, never dirty or reflecting attire that represented their "trashed house." They attended summer day camp with my child up until July.
They rode their bicycles all the time in the neighborhood and were always happy little people whenever I saw them. The last I heard, these children were with family members and are still the healthy little people I remember them as. I will miss seeing them enjoying themselves in our neighborhood. My child misses them as well.
It is a shame to read what I have over the past couple months when I know what I witnessed, and what I have first hand knowedge of. I am not condoning what happened to these children in the least. But I do feel that these parents are not the monsters everyone is making them out to be. Something obviously broke down in their lives to let a house get that way. I do have the advantage of knowing these people somewhat to
measure what is being reported about them. I personally thought they were nice people and I really wish I could have helped them avoid this.
The ET is a very questionable source of information and it really bugged me that they are still lying about this family to sell news. I hope our society can recognize the ET is a very biased publication, with intentions to sell papers, not the truth, first and foremost. I hope that this has not damaged the Bell's chance to have a fair shake in court. This family needs help, not persecution.
To the Bell family - You must know who we are and we want you to know we do not think you are evil monsters. Please get the help you need and get your children back. They love you and WE KNOW you love them. God bless.
The pictures in the paper were no lie like you are depicting them to be. Cameras dont lie unless you are into trick photography. How do people allow their homes to get that filthy to the point it has to be condemed? Thats disgusting, and rediculous. And whats more rediculous is people like you who defend the Bells behavior.
If you want to see the work quality they were performing while they were "fixing" it up - stop by and visit us any day. You cannot paint over filth - you have to clean it first. They had from July 1st to July 31st to fix up the mess and they did next to nothing. Yes they removed the mold that was there because they chose not to fix a hole in the bathtub. But not correctly. They removed trash, but didn't clean anything.
We are there every Wednesday night (we made 4 more trips to the dump last night) - I can give you our permit number if you want to check the facts. We are also there some Friday nights and every Saturday, Sunday and Monday - from about 8 am to 6pm at night - since July 31st.
Don't you think we would have wanted the Bell's to fix the mess they made and not spend our entire summer at the house fixing it up? Not to mention getting it rented before school started so it would be easier to find tenants? The facts in the Eagle Tribune are correct - I should know I am living this nightmare. I worked with the Bells for over 2 years and yes they always paid their rent on time and Michael was always polite to me and told me he loved the house and was looking forward to purchasing it. I took him for his word and did not treat him like a tenant but as a buyer and that is what got me into this situation.
I have lots of pictures that I can share with you that tell the entire story. If you can stand to hear the truth. I did everything I could to help the Bell’s over the last two years and I have two years of emails to prove he was very happy with me as his landlord.
I can also tell you that I lived in that neighborhood for 10 year and I know most of the neighbors who have stopped by and told me a totally different story.
So stop by introduce yourself and see for yourself we are not monsters, just normal people who took a chance renting our home out to the Bells and lost. I wish things worked out differently and they could have experience what I did raising my family there I did all I could the rest was up to them. I know the Bell's love their kids; I know and have known some of his extended family for a very long time. It does not excuse him for ruining my house and allowing his kids to live in those conditions.
This story was about a husband and wife working together to get and unpleasant job done.
We hope and pray the Bell's get the help they need and are able to reunite their family in a happy healthy enviroment. But I as the owner deserved more respect for my property and to be repaid for all of my expenses cause by the Bell's.
My offer stands - stop by and see for yourself.
what goes around comes around.
The piles of trash and feces is exactly what you deserve.