I've been reading your rooming house post with great interest. One thing I must have missed is how the city fahters and your neighbors are liking this.

What zoning does your house have, and is it in the city limits?And what do the neighbors have to say about all this??

Thanks!

I've been watching the ongoing news feeds about how there is a growing gap between what people make. The feeds keep saying that the middle class is shrinking and that a growing number of people are getting poorer.

As owner of mostly C class properties, I find that rising prices on most things limit the amount of money available to pay rent. The renters are often in a bind and the smallest problem often means no rent and an eviction.

A wise and prepared person always has a plan B and C.

I'm thinking the rooming house model will become more popular. The opposition will come from the NIMBYS of course. They will pressure the town councils to ban them under the guise of attracting undesirables and lowering property values.

Some places already have people and groups buying places and turning them into rooming houses. I predict this will not only continue but accelerate. I think the reason for this is that these groups feel that this shrinking of the middle class will continue. The signs are there.

I'm thinking the same thing. Right now most of my tenants make under $15 per hour. They have little or no savings. They are a paycheck away from living on the street. Once any small thing occurs, they are going to give me a story and not pay. Soon they will be on the street. The social services people will find them a place to live. The taxpayers will pay. Call these places motels, shelters, or rooming houses, whatever. When people cannot afford a cheap house or a trailer, they go to a rooming house or a motel or a shelter. Rooming houses fill a need.

Wages are stagnet and have been for a long time. In adjusted wages and in many cases, actual wages, many people are making LESS than they did in the 1970's.

I think that until this wage situation and benefits come more in line with current prices more and more people will move lower on the economic ladder. This will mean more customers for roomng houses.

Susan, I have a rooming house license which was transferred to me upon purchase, so I didn't have to worry about zoning or getting a variance. Notwithstanding that, there was one particular neighbor who was really concerned about who would be renting--almost to the extent of dipping his nose where it didn't belong, but his concerns are allayed now. Prior to buying this place, I had looked at rooming houses earlier and specifically at buying one and converting another rental I have to one. The conversion is where you get into getting a zoning variance and is a PITA depending on the area. The property I'd like to convert would be ideal, so I may pursue once this new one is under my belt and I have a track record. There is another alternative to pursue known as a regulated rental. Student housing usually falls under this ordinance. You're required to have one lease covering all sharing tenants which can be a complicating factor depending on the tenant base. But one can apply the regulated rental scenario to non student tenants however you're dealing with LL/Tenant laws in that scenario. I don't think that presents a barrier however.

I agree completely with Richard's analysis. There's a huge need for this sort of housing and as the former working/middle class shifts down into this sort of housing, I think it may actually drive homelessness as the former typical rooming house tenants get driven out. In my brief experience doing this, there is absolutely no need to scrape the bottom of the barrel here. There are plenty of people who need this sort of housing. I think Richard's point on old strip motels is a good one also. Many of these places are sitting empty and unused and can probably be gotten very cheaply. We're not just talking about single people who need this sort of housing, but families as well.

Susan, another point as to why the neighbor's concerns were allayed. The tenants I have in my place aren't much different than everyone else in the neighborhood. They're working people in a Class C neighborhood of other working people.

I too have been following your story GKARL. I rent all Class C properties. My area is lower cost than yours, apparently. If I recall you rent a room for $600. Here in my hood, that will get you a decent, working 2-bed SFH.

Is the middle class disappearing? Yes, no doubt. But where are they going? I've seen the Pew Center study done using US Census Bureau data showing that the 11% of the middle class that disappeared since the 1970's moved into the upper class. At the same time, 8% fewer families are classified as lower class today.

Interesting.... Perhaps the promise of America is still alive and well today for those who position themselves for it? Another topic for another time....

Back to the subject at hand: are there people who need affordable housing? You BET! People like GKARL have found a way to provide it. In addition to re-purposing abandoned strip malls, RV campgrounds, etc. I've read where trailer living will probably increase over the next 10-20 years as Boomers who've not saved enough for retirement will downsize and live on Social Security only. Same issue with NIMBYs, though. Who wants a trailer park springing up behind their manicured estate?

We observe the 1 generation household trend reversing in many of our applicants. Seeing many cases where parents are moving back in with their kids and kids staying at home past college. I think soon we may see many more 2-3 generation households.

What is the economy going to do? Who knows? If I figure that out I've got a crystal ball to sell ya cheap! Maybe we see a return to more 2-bed, smaller houses vs. McMansions or large ranch SFH's. More duplexes, quad-plexes, etc.

Sid,

It's amazing to me to hear about entire houses renting for $ 600. That only occurs in the Midwest and the south. Here in the east, housing is expensive and my area isn't as bad as Northern NJ and New York City. Many folks are moving into my area from those areas due to housing costs and the effect has been to drive up rents here. Rent on a 3 bedroom SFH will set you back about $ 1200 a month. In NJ it's easily double that. I read somewhere that in California, the housing crisis is so acute that folks with six digit incomes are living in shared situations and renting rooms the size of a closet for $ 1000 a month. I think what we're seeing are economic refugees; some are moving geographically and some are moving down the chain and into shared housing and shared everything else. I think your assessment is correct and that we'll see multi-generational households return.