With housing scarce, some Freeborn County residents have been forced into temporary solutions like staying with friends or family members, or sleeping in cars while they wait for apartments to become available.

Sunday, May 27, 2001

With housing scarce, some Freeborn County residents have been forced into temporary solutions like staying with friends or family members, or sleeping in cars while they wait for apartments to become available.

Kathy Sickels, Housing Coordinator for Community Action has known of as many as 27 people living in a single-family residence because they could find no other place to stay.

&uot;We have two or three families living in one home because then they’re not sleeping in the streets or in city parks,&uot; Sickels said. &uot;And I’ve had that. I’ve (worked) families with babies sleeping in cars.&uot;

The few apartments that are available are too expensive for many of Community Action’s working-class clients, Sickels said. The 24 new affordable units in Pickerel Lake Park were taken even before contractors broke ground. Rents are expected to increase this summer because of increasing utility costs for landlords.

&uot;Not only are we getting farther and farther away from affordability, we are also moving farther and farther away from availability,&uot; said Collette Turcotte, Director of Community Action.

Recent census results show an overall 5.5 percent vacancy rate in the county’s 2,848 rental units. Only 1.1 percent of the county’s 10,508 owner-occupied housing units are vacant. But with relatively low vacancy rates, landlords can afford to be very picky about their tenants, Sickles said.

&uot;I remember when you could walk into a place and say, ‘I like it, I’ll take this one.’ Now it’s the other way around,&uot; she said.

&uot;Rentals are going so quick,&uot; agreed Realtor Michelle Boone. &uot;Before, (landlords) used to bring them into our office and post vacancies on our boards, but they don’t do that anymore because they go too quick. It all depends on who you know.&uot;

Sickels said the newspaper classified section can’t even keep up with the fast turnover rate in rental units.

&uot;Before it even hits the paper, it’s already gone,&uot; she said.

Sickels said buying a home can be the answer for many people struggling to find shelter. Renters often pay double the cost of monthly mortgage payments, and have nothing to show for their expense. Landlords are commonly demanding two months rent and a security deposit before renters move in, making the up-front cash expenditure similar to the down-payment on a house, Sickels said.

Students in Sickels’ Homestretch classes learn about mortgage rates, home inspections, home maintenance, and being a good neighbor. In return, they become eligible for many federal programs designed to make home ownership more accessible to low and middle income people. Most of her students are younger couples or single people who are driven into home ownership by high local rent costs and apartment unavailability, she said.

&uot;A lot of those people have never even thought about buying a house until they started thinking about how expensive the rent is,&uot; Sickels said.

Home owners are freed from restrictions common to the rental market, she said.

&uot;There are more houses for sale than there are for rent,&uot; Sickels said. &uot;And you don’t always have the fear of making the landlord angry or relatives coming home (to take the property). You have the stability of knowing the home is yours.&uot;

Housing sales and purchases have recently picked up for the summer, Boone said.

&uot;Currently the market is excellent,&uot; Boone said. &uot;We’ve got a lot of new listings and people are snapping them right up.&uot;

The average price of homes currently available in Albert Lea is less than $120,000, but homes for sale range from $34,000 to $350,000 Boone said.