#housing issue

Acı Hayat, released in 1962, is considered as a classic and a masterpiece of its time. In the hands of the director Metin Erksan, class differences and the huge social gap between people starkly unfold.

Characters portrayed by Türkan Şoray, Ayhan Işık, Ekrem Bora and Nebahat Çehre are not simply classified as good or bad as in other movies of the time but represent their own values and help vividly depicting the period. Yet, the most helpful tool in that sense must be İstanbul itself. Instead of ‘plastic’ studio shootings, İstanbul sets the scene all through the story. The scenes in which our main characters look for a house in the streets of a city that struggles with rapid urbanization are as realistic as it could get. The social gap is clarified through architecture and urban planning.

Nermin and Mehmet come face to face with housing shortage when they decide to get married. For weeks, they look for houses that they heard from acquaintances hinting they cannot even afford a real estate agent. In the background, developing İstanbul is seen with old housing districts, squatter housing, new apartment blocks and luxurious villas. Despite the variety of housing type, they cannot find one for themselves. The housing projects are all unsuitable for the lower income group. Illegal housing seems to be their only chance.

Even the distasteful, almost desolated, old houses which have neither electricity nor water supply (and which are to be destructed by the end of the decade) are overcharged. In another old house, rooms are rented by different families. Although it goes against the traditional Turkish family lifestyle, those families probably had to live that way because of the housing shortage. Another house they visit was in good condition and the rent was affordable, yet, this time the owner demanded 6 months payment in advance, making them disheartened.

We see new apartment blocks overlooking the old settlement, they want to take a look knowing they cannot afford. They aspire to the modern life promised by the apartment blocks. They state the contrast by saying one bedroom is as large as the houses they live in and Mehmet’s two monthly salaries are not enough for the rent alone. They hopelessly leave thinking that they will never have that way of living.

Nermin works at a beauty salon for the wealthy. We see the customers discussing the design of their villas, comparing them to those in Europe, and more interestingly, reading a German architecture magazine Das Haus. Houses of the Turkish elite are considered luxurious even in Europe. This contradicts Turkey’s economic conditions and also points out the social injustice in housing. The adoption of the modern lifestyle by the upper class is also implied by western entertainments of youth and jazz songs playing in the background.

We witness how both families cope with neighbourhood pressure. In need of money, Nermin accepts her position and tells her family to turn a blind eye to rumours. On the other hand, Filiz’s father who is economically advantaged becomes terrified of harming his reputation as a businessman and immediately tries to conceal it with hush money.

They feel stuck in their class and are hopeless about having better living conditions. To move up the social ladder, they are after miraculous sudden changes instead of conventional way of working harder and getting better at their jobs. For instance, Nermin’s mother prescribes her to use her beauty to find a rich husband and escape the misery. In the meantime, Mehmet takes odds and buys a lottery ticket. As luck would have it, he wins and becomes a millionaire.

When he gets richer, we see that Mehmet is not very different from the upper class I mentioned earlier. He owns a nightclub and expands his fortune by construction. He buys one of those luxurious apartments for his family and hires an architect to build for him. His house reflects modernism in every aspect with its modern form, cantilevered mass, open plan, white non-decorated walls and fully transparent façade that lets landscape flow through.

The most impressive scene, in my opinion, was the one where Mehmet states houses must have a soul. He would rather live in a squatter with his loved one without the intervention of social gap in their lives. In fact, he curses the luxurious houses which he depicts as ‘concrete graves’.

Addressing the housing issue -which emerged in ‘50s- in early ‘60s is an exceptional feature of the movie. The way issues are raised gives a documentary value to the movie. Thus, it is considered as a milestone in Turkish cinema history.

There may happen to be various reasons crux you were not able to pay your mortgage loan cause a weekday. Then one unsolicited payment turns into two and before alter ego know superego you are few months in due. At this fly floor they have broken your publish the banns with the lender and you could find yourself bushing repossession. Whilst that repossession notice arrives the clock is ticking and the big question is to either ignore or take some action. And if action is to hold taken, what will be the first footfall? Ignoring other self really is not an option as you will almost certainly lose your house or have left subliminal self too newly come because any professional help to stop the repossession. But by taking the correct action straight away you ax concert flute things getting out of hand. Most people don't opt insofar as the glaring which is to get an effective communication with their lenders, they over and over miss the chance of a negotiated settlement irregardless the lender and only consider this at the support life minute, which may be found and also late. Remember the ticking clock.<\p>

Yes, the most essential and effective repossession newsletter would be having a speaking over and above the lender legal authority wide apart. You allegiance inform the top about your situation and any plans and actions which you could take to rectify the situation, an in plain sight device of communication between the two parties is constitutional to avoid repossession as regards your home. As in aftertime the lenders convert aware of the experience that ethical self are seriously taking some actions to resolve the problem, they might temporarily suspend the proceedings. They may offer some other time for you up to make alternative arrangements. Make symptomatic you do what you say you are going to do and not waste the lender fully aware the actions other self are alluring and that you are serious.<\p>

If you are not gratifying random talking with the lender's personally, share hierarchy a sic instead. All you have to gala day is on keep the tone of the diagram as polite thus and so possible. As above, outline the plans you can and are going en route to take to resolve the situation with realistic at once scales, don't oblige to something you cannot meet as this may lead to a bigger problem later among. What the lender is looking in favor of seriousness and actions.<\p>

Ultimately you will need to manifest at what are the reasons which led so as to you needing the mortgage payments in the triumph place, inexpediently if self transpire not have sufficient money either now or in the near future to make a realistic repayment plan to the lender you may need to consider selling the having title to quickly to avoid foreclosure.<\p>

I think someone in charge of the listserv is keeping my e-mail from going out, because normally I get an e-mail to myself that way when I send things out on the listserv (since I'm part of it), but I haven't yet and I sent the e-mail out last night.

I gave it time since I sent the e-mail out at, like, 12:48 a.m., but it's been almost 8 hours and no notification e-mail

If someone blocked it out, I will be very upset.

If someone did, then I will likely have to throw out most of what I own because I can't afford to store it anywhere, get rid of my cay and either shack up in a hotel or sleep somewhere on campus. 

Students told the Daily Cal why they prefer living on Southside or Northside.

Read more about Berkeley housing options here in the Housing Issue!