Helms Says He Doesnt Know Where Wifes Property Is

The North Carolina Democratic Party brought up the "slumlord"dispute Thursday, saying the amount ofmoney generated by the property is much higher than Helms' tax formsreveal, and that there were other discrepancies in his written reports aswell.

Tax records show that the property is in some of Raleigh'spoorest neighborhoods, six of the units have no heat and seven ofthe homes are valued at less than $41,000.

``They need to condemn them. They put pictures on the wall. Youmove them and there are holes,'' said Billy Wayne Wise, who livesin a duplex in downtown Raleigh owned by Dorothy Helms.

While some tenants say they are very pleased with their rental homes,others, Wise included, say they have been asking for years for repairs orupdating. Some say they have to heat with space heaters or even theirkitchen stoves. Others say their plumbing doesn't work.

Helms' financial disclosure form to the Senate showsMrs.Helms owns nine rental properties worth between $250,000 and $500,000.But county tax records show the Helmses own 15 rental properties inWake County with an assessed tax value of $1,071,610.

Most of them are listed under Mrs. Helms' name. Two are listedjointly. One is listed under Helms' name.

Helms downplayed both the inaccurate report and the state oftheproperties listed under his wife's name in comments to reporters

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James Harrington, who has lived in a Helms' home in southRaleigh for almost 30 years, said that wasn't true. Space heatersand kerosene keep him warm in the winter, he said.

Harrington lives next door to a duplex also owned by Mrs.Helms.

Helms' aides said Mrs. Helms inherited her real estate holdingsfrom her father, Jacob Coble, a Raleigh businessman who died in1962. But county rental records show that only four of the 15rental properties were inherited or received from Coble.