If you’ve been trying to rent a house or apartment, you probably noticed a lack of options in Northwest Lower Michigan. Affordable housing has long been an issue in the region. Those who follow housing say the rental situation has reached a “critical” point this year and many families are being pushed out of their rentals.
Kelly Lemcool and her five children are one of those families. Lemcool had a place to live – in a small house on a quiet country road outside of Kaleva, in Mansistee County. She called the place home for two-and-a-half years, until her landlord decided this year to sell the house.
As soon as she got the news, Lemcool began the search for a new place to rent.
“We started looking (at) everything from rentals to land contracts to anything,” said Lemcool. “There’s absolutely nothing out there that will rent to a single mom with five kids.
Ideally, Lemcool would like a four-bedroom house for her young son and four daughters but she says she’s even broadened her search to include one-bedroom apartments – just so the family would have some type of shelter.
Lemcool works as a housekeeper in Thompsonville. She said she’d like to be within a half hour drive from her job but she’s come to the point where she’s expanded her search and may have to find another job.
Two weeks ago, Lemcool and her older daughters were helping to load the family’s belongings – furniture, mattresses and clothes stuffed in plastic garbage bags – into a rented U-Haul.
She said the upheaval has taken its toll on her kids, who range in age from four to 17.
“They’re completely stressed out,” she said. “It’s the summer break (and) they don’t get to do anything. My 17 and 15-year-olds work full-time just to make ends meet.”
Melody Linebaugh is homeless programs manager for Northwest Michigan Community Action Agency. She said children are often hit hardest by such instability.
“They say it can put children back 18 months to two years in their development, when they’re going from place to place to place,” she said.
Linebaugh said Kelly Lemcool’s situation is becoming more common. She said the loss of affordable rental housing in the area has been a significant trend of the last couple of years.
“We’ve found that people, maybe because of the bubble … are now selling their homes and taking people that are renting their places and giving them 30-day notices to get out,” said Linebaugh.
The rental shortage has become “critical” in the Grand Traverse area, she said, and rents have skyrocketed. A three-bedroom house that was $800 a month two years ago is now $1,100 a month.
“So the average person … who may be working two jobs in the summertime at 20 hours or 25 hours (per week) at $8 or maybe $10 an hour can’t find housing that can be affordable for their family,” she said.
Linebaugh said these trends are affecting people who normally would not find themselves on the edge of homelessness – working people on the lower end of the income scale.
There are some efforts to create more affordable housing in the area and help those that are struggling to find it.
Habitat for Humanity has helped more than 100 families become homeowners over the last 28 years. Wendy Irvin is executive director of the organization. She’s noticed a recent spike in the number of applications for Habitat housing.
“I do understand that there is a very serious need for affordable housing in this community,” said Irvin. “I have witnessed an increase in call volume in the last three to four months.”
Back in February, Habitat held an application fair to find ten families to put into its new Depot neighborhood development in Traverse City. Irvin said 65 families showed up.
Irvin says the Habitat for Humanity program is different from many others. Instead of focusing on the rental market, it seeks a partnership with potential homeowners to build permanent housing. Irvin admits the program has pretty stringent requirements for applicants.
Applicants must not have a recent bankruptcy or foreclosure on their records. They can’t have excessive collections or other debts and they must be willing to put in 275 “sweat equity” hours helping to build their home and homes for others.
Melody Linebaugh said two other housing projects in the works by Goodwill in Traverse City – the Brookside Apartments and Carson Square – should also provide some relief, once they’re completed. Until then, many of her clients are sleeping in campers, couch-surfing with family members or staying in local campgrounds.
She said that for renters – especially low-income renters – it all comes down to willingness of local landlords to give them a chance.
“All (landlords) want is to be paid every month,” she said. “Many of our clients … pay on a regular basis (and) they do have good history. But when you look at their background, it’s very difficult.”
For Kelly Lemcool and her family, camping is the short-term solution. Lemcool said it’s been tough to say goodbye to the country house they’ve grown to love. For the last two weeks, the family has been camping on state land.