Neighboring property that is a pig sty, or industrial/commercial/church area, or a 'bad' area. 

I currently live in Falls Church, Virginia (Fairfax County) and am thinking about converting my basement into an apartment and renting it out.

I currently live in Falls Church, Virginia (Fairfax County) and am thinking about converting my basement into an apartment and renting it out.

The point to all of this (to me) is to A)Build up enough independent income such that you're largely immune from needing "a job", B)Have enough money such that you can provide some security for your family,C)Have enough money so that you can provide funds to things important to you (charity, church, etc),D)Have enough money so that you can enjoy things in life that genuinely make you happy.If you are all the way down to D, then I personally don't see what is wrong with it.

Or even shut the building down as unlivable.

Sent the owner a letter and a church reach back out to me and said they had three other occupIed unIts along wIth the vacang doubke I spotted for sale.

In any event, no offense to you, but I will pass on further opinions, yours included, I have gotten a lot of great feedback, and a bit of nonsense and trolling as well, and I have looked but can't seem to find a way to either delete this thread or shut it down to further comments.

You can have nice subdivision next to a dicey one, a bar next to a church, a school next to a pipeyard or a factory, etc. 

Or, is the "utility allowance" mainly left up to the owner's 'discretion' and the local housing authority won't penalize or shut you down as long as your rent seems fair for the tenant's income?

Asking because my wife tells me to shut up all the time.