Why are rents going up so high in Sebastopol?
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Why are rents going up so high in Sebastopol?
Because they can!
There are a multitude of reasons, depending on who you ask. But the answers won't change anything. When we ask "why" we may receive many conflicting responses, all of which make logical sense to the respondents.
Why do you think the rents are going up so high in Sebastopol? (and many other places) Another question to ask is "why do people want to live in Sebastopol?" Why do you? The responses may contain the answers to your question.
When I tell people I don't want to live in Sebastopol, they seem genuinely shocked. I wonder why....
In my opinion, greed.
......said the renterQuote:
Posted in reply to the post by JayS:
Because Sebastopol is an enclave or relatively well-to-do white baby-boomer hippies who would rather not have the character of the town changed by adding housing and more people. So since there is no new housing, even as the county population grows dramatically, the limited amount of housing is bid up by people, like you, who would really like to live here.
If you would rather move to the River, or Roseland, or Rohnert park, the housing is much cheaper.
This situation won't change until the (very unlikely event) city counsel, representing the above population, decides to increase housing availability. Mostly this would need to be done by accepting market rate housing projects that will lead to vacancies in lower rate properties; or allowing something like junior units. But, none of you prospective neighbors want more people here, so it is not really a viable possibility.
It's really very simple.
Supply & demand. West County is a small beautiful place. There's more people who want to live here, than there are places for rent. Thus rents go up.
I hate to say it, being a landlord at the moment who just raised the rent (reasonably, IMO) , "supply and demand" makes the rents go up thanks to:Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by tommy:
Landlord born costs, generally, have not gone up as much as rents. So rents go up to a place that the market will support, because they can. Landlords could still charge the same or slightly higher rates, adjusted for slightly higher costs, but the "market rate" is significantly higher so they charge more because they can, which could be called greed.Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by JayS:
On the other hand, when renters are selling whatever they have to sell, typically their labor, but perhaps a used car etc, do they price it at "fair return" or a cost + return basis, or do they ask for as much as they can get? (albeit that too often what they get is less than a fair return).
To paraphrase Winston Churchill, our market based economy, which is based on greed, is the worst kind of economy, except for all the other forms.
One way to have lower rents, is to have less desirable living situations (because of size, location, condition, neighbors, etc) but the rent will always be higher here than elsewhere, because included your rent is that you get to live in the wonderful, and highly desirable Sebastopol area. Another way to have lower rents is to make the area less desirable (increase density to the point traffic and smog is unbearable, etc). :fie:
Especially within the city limits of Sebastopol, I don't think building another 120 units by 2022 ( as ABAG calls for) is going to make a difference in the rent level. Fundamentally, it's a demand problem, because supply is constrained. And when there's more demand than supply, prices rise, thanks to greed, to balance the market.
If only it were that simple. Much of the available housing has been set aside for vacation houses, rented out at high rates during the vacation periods. If an owner can make more money by renting out a residence for half a year at a much higher rent to vacationers than renting year round to residents they will; especially when there's no tax incentive or disincentive.
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Posted in reply to the post by tommy:
It's just the rental market. It may seem like a tired old cliche but supply and demand is absolutely in play here and is probably the cornerstone of our economic system. Believe it or not there are loads of people looking for housing and loads of them make more than enough money to afford these "high" rents. Try going to SF or Oakland, then you'll see high rents, more than double than in our little corner of paradise.Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by rukiddingme:
I suppose it depends on what kind of community you want to encourage and how you value its members. When membership of the community is reduced to the price of admission, like an expensive concert or sports event,then the only community you can build is from the people who can afford the price of admission. Only none of us live in concerts or sport stadiums, we live in communities that need teachers, firemen, police, and other working people to maintain the services (and luxuries) we partake in. Cohesive communities tend to be made up of the people who both live and work there, but when the price of accommodation becomes an object of speculation (as it has in most of the Bay area), then you encourage a situation where the people you need to maintain a community can no longer afford to live where they work, so they become commuters. And that's really become the reality of high priced residential towns like Sebastopol, comprised of wealthier and wealthier property owners tended to by working commuters.
Then of course the matter of where the owner's children can afford to live . . .
what do you mean, "Sebastopol"? It's almost not necessary to qualify the question with a specific city! Even the flyover states are having problems with high rents these days. the "rent's too damn high" meme started on the other coast years ago. "Why" isn't a question with a simple answer.Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by KatyO459:
I think many of you have made very good points in this discussion. I would only point out that nobody has dared to raise the dread issue of rent control. Rent control! Socialism!! COMMUNISM !!!YIKES !!!! I wonder what Bernie Sanders thinks about this.
Not to mention another dread topic that I seldom hear discussed: HUMAN POPULATION EXPLOSION! The ultimate elephant in the room that hardly anybody seems to notice. What is it going to take for the human race as a whole to get a grip on this? At this point it doesn't look very hopeful to me. One of the few things that makes my inevitable death look like a blessing...
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Posted in reply to the post by Barry:
Thanks to you and the other posts pointing out the "simple truths" of why Sebastopol rents are so high. I'm a young senior citizen who values the safety, beauty, walkability, senior discounts, parks, restaurants and stores, culture and surrounding nature that make this town so livable yet barely affordable. Those are the trade-offs, but in the long term, should we really accept it? A diverse community is a healthier community.
I for one am about to read the proposed General Plan and draft EIR in time for comments by 5 pm July 8th. (I was "too busy" to participate in the various public forums and committees that shaped it.) You can see a copy at the library or the Planning department or online at "Sebastopol general plan".org --Barry can you supply the url? Thanks!
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Posted in reply to the post by spam1:
Because we live in a de-industrialized capitalist economy where in the absence of a healthy diversified economy, housing is the new gold rush- until the next economic collapse. Get in while you can, get out before the bust. Everything must be monetized. Because the market.
Rent is theft.
Greed is a factor - for a landlady, landlord, or owner who tries to get as much they can for rent. That has its own karma. When you charge as much as you can, the tenant may feel they're getting screwed, may not stay long, & may complain a lot.
Another reason for the increase in rents is the healthy economy. More & better jobs - tho they may not be perfect - create more demand for housing. When the Graton Casino opened, that meant 1500 new jobs in the area … meaning more people looking for housing.
Our economy is a greed economy - it serves the ego. Just look at the advertising industry. However it's also full of opportunity. Some are more skilled at manifesting than others. Recently passed rent control in Santa Rosa is an example of the government intervening to protect poor people who have little power. However, rent control benefits those few who have rent controlled apts. But they stay in them a long time, effectively removing them from the market, creating a shortage, & raising rents for the vast majority.
In a place like San Francisco, however, rent control has maintained some degree of diversity, that is healthy for all. Otherwise it'd be all rich white bread. Economists generally don't like rent control - they'd prefer to see higher density, jr 2nd units, & new construction.
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Posted in reply to the post by JayS:
no, because private property. Rent's a way of converting your control of real estate into fungible assets - that part does become monetization 'because the market'. But it's rooted in the idea that an individual is granted the right by society to control real estate for his own benefit. The pragmatic root of that idea is that limited resources need to be allocated somehow, and 'the market' is used as a technique for that. In theory the invisible hand is better than any centrally-planned one.Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Joshua Shepherd:
says something about the lack of trust in any planner, when blind forces with a large chaotic and random component are given the job of distribution?
I dislike that analysis for the same reason I dislike where some analyses of health-care plans leads: at its root, it accepts the idea that there's not enough of a resource to go around so some must be denied it. I don't see how anyone staying in housing for a long time creates a shortage, or raises rents - unless you mean they should be removed altogether from the market and free up a slot for someone else. And it's hard to see how that's done humanely. The shortage isn't a function of who's staying, it's a function of the total number of people - which has staying/coming/leaving groups. If that function increases, a shortage happens no matter what. Implicit in your argument is that the 'leaving' group will expand if costs go up.Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by tommy:
No one has represented the homeowners yet! I've been here since 1974, and all of the expenses related to having a home in Sebastopol have increased, some of them recently by five times. Water in Sebastopol is about $100 a month (over $200 for a bi-moonthly bill); garbage/recycle/greens has just gone up it's about $60 a month now; P
G&E rates have gone up tremendously recently, and all of these costs for my home are at a very low basic or below basic level of use. Call a plumber? $70 or more charge just for the house call. Electrician? Same thing. Maintain the exterior of your home--very expensive. House taxes are up. Internet up. Yard work? Fencing? This is just off the top of my head...I'm a fixed income senior and I'm just trying to stay in my home, because it IS my home (home town now) and I love it here, even with all of the stresses and changes. If I tried to move into Sebastopol today, I wouldn't be able to, but I'm already here and trying to stay here. It's not all about greed, as some of you think....
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Posted in reply to the post by jbox:
A healthy economy also means COSTS go up for landlords and others alike. I was a landlord at one point in my life and I can tell you, it isn't a get rich scheme. Demonizing landlords is an easy hit. (Also, San Francisco has extreme rents and very serious housing troubles--not a great model, indeed.)
What I'd like to ask our WACCO audience who are homeowners is whether they can suspend their NIMBY feelings and get busy supporting affordable housing projects (subsidized, senior, and other)---and if so, are willing to push the issue with the Council and in the General Plan.
man, we can't even put up with a tower for local radio, which is otherwise something admired by much of the area's population. I'm afraid that new neighbors are even less desirable than radio towers around here.Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by gypsey:
The Draft General Plan is here and the Draft EIR is hereQuote:
Posted in reply to the post by gypsey:
For more information about these documents and General Plan process see this thread.
i hate that "you" had to say, you hate it. I'm a landlord too. i don't raise the rent on my tenant, ever.
if they move, and some have, Then the next person may have a very small increase.
but, we do have choices here.
and i hate to say it, but, Sebastopol is just not desirable anymore. at least to me it's not.
i'm moving farther north. it is beautiful, it is still affordable and it is a damn shame that so many people get pushed out.
true, so many can't afford to live here just to serve the rich. it doesn't have to be this way. we ALLOW it to be this way, we support it either directly or indirectly. suffice to say, greed has no limits.
peace
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Posted in reply to the post by Barry:
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Posted in reply to the post by Barry:
Let me take the other side for moment...It's really hard to say what a house/home actually costs, let alone what it's worth. Sure there are the fixed costs (mortgage, insurance, taxes, etc) and some standard maintenance costs, plumbing issue, etc, but then there is all the time when you were underwater, when even the fixed costs were above the market rate for rent, and the big maintenance issues, roof, septic, termites, mold and then there the tenants from hell (and no doubt landlords from hell) and the tenants just calling the landlord when there's a problem and not worrying about it, vacancies, etc., and, and, and...Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by beshiva:
So it's really hard to say what it costs, what is fair and what is greed.
And the fundamental problem remains: there's more demand than supply at price points than many people can or want to pay.
Who can blame anyone for wanting "safety, beauty, walkability, senior discounts, parks, restaurants and stores, culture and surrounding nature"? The reality is that these things come at a price that most people can't afford. This isn't the concern of those who can afford it.
These are actually luxuries, and out of reach for the average person. Sebastapol draws those who can afford to live in luxury. The exceptions are those in "affordable housing" units such as Burbank. mobile home parks, or who are renting a room.
Then there are those of us who choose not to live in places like Sebastopol, with it's boutique shops, high priced restaurants, unsafe traffic congestion, limited, expensive choices for grocery shopping and an un-diverse community of people who not only can afford it, but have the power of choosing these "luxuries".
I'd rather live in the "un-luxury" of many choices within a 2 mile radius: 6 grocery stores, several thrift stores, big box stores like Target, Costco, Lowe's, Home Depot, parks in every neighborhood, several community pools, a beautiful library, several banks, Kaiser/Community Health, several gyms including those in the Community Center, Green Music Center, auto repair shops, beautiful nature, good traffic flow with alternative routes, bike lanes, easy access to 101/Smart Train, and plans for new housing. Maybe not "charming", but I'd take choices over charming any day. Oh, and there's diversity here too, although not as much as I'd like to see. Maybe because it's still not as affordable for many low income minorities, as it is even for a low income senior, like me, who's renting a room in a senior mobile home community.
There are things in a community that are considered "unacceptable", like unaffordable rents, but the question is what can the average person do about it? There are "acceptable" limitations to the choice of living in the luxury of a small quaint town. High rents is just one of those realities.
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Posted in reply to the post by gypsey:
I suppose we need to carry on and always debate what anything is worth- but we don’t want to debate the underlying problem of all this debate. why do we not even debate the whole
Concept of “landlordism”. The word – Lord over the Land. Some are the lords over the peasants and unfortunately, there are, as always have been, many peasants for a few Lords. And, somehow we justify
That being landlords is a good thing, a given. That people don’t somehow deserve their own places to dwell, to raise their families, to raise their crops and our “Right” on this dear green Earth and Blue Planet is to be able to
Just live
That some of us got to be the Lords and some the Peasants on the land is a Capitalist construct. It has always served only a few of course. The rest grovel for the scraps from the King.
it is why we don't want to talk much about affordable housing, and if it is discussed the numbers for what it really means for some folks is ridiculous-nothing affordable At ALL about it! if building affordable housing in Sebastopol means $400K studios, "that's Not Affordable"!
Peace
marni
Hey, when's the last time you saw a studio in Sebastopol for $400.00?!?
The point is that when you build a community that only the affluent can afford to live in, you have a community exclusive to the affluent, a minority.
Then you'll need a strong police force to protect the minority from the majority. I hear allot of lip service paid to so called spiritual, non materialistic values in Sebastopol. It would be nice to see those values put into practice rather than mere posturing.
You want to live in a more peaceful equitable world? Why not start in your own backyard?
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Posted in reply to the post by beshiva:
technically you're incorrect - this way predates the development of capitalism. And technically it serves everyone, too, not just the few. It's the way it serves them that is objectionable.Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by beshiva:
There's a limited amount of land. People invest their time in developing the land, or use the land as source for the resources they need to survive. Much of human history centers around the way social groups have developed more sophisticated means than just driving off or killing any prior occupants in order to access the land. Well, sometimes they've just developed more sophisticated means of driving off or killing prior occupants.
anyway, we're moving well past that as a species. We don't need access to 'land' as individuals, we need food/shelter/health care - and we suffer psychologically if those are only provided as the bare minimum for survival. So all these systems and cultural constructs that have taken thousands or hundreds of thousands of years shape our reactions and make it very difficult to just solve the damn problem. There's plenty to go around - it's allocation and perception ("hey, someone's getting what should be mine and they don't deserve it!", along with "hey I work hard (or I'm smart) so I deserve more") that are close to intractable problems - but it took a long time to get here, so it's going to take a long time to get out. At least the pace of change is accelerating to something unimaginable for most of our ancestors.
A healthy economy is when costs go up and wages rise to match them!
Nobody needs to be demonized but affordable housing requires regulatory incentives and restrictions.
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Posted in reply to the post by gypsey:
It takes a responsive government uninfluened by private interests to assure the equitable access to resources and housing. There's plenty to go around as long as those who feel entitled to a greater share are kept in check.
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Posted in reply to the post by podfish:
It's not just home rental...
Look at the small businesses in the area. There are no new small businesses forming here. Look at 116... all the consignment stores have moved closer to town or 101 & the land between is unrented. Many are closing up shop. I'm on the edge of moving my operation myself. Many more are secretly doing so (including a few very well known small sebastopol main st businesses).
Edit: Roughly 80% of the fine dining chefs I personally know in the bay area have moved out in the last 2 years (several each to Portland, Chicago & DC).
This underlines my general observation that inflating the value of property beyond what can be reasonably afforded by those willing to live in an area has the indirect result of undermining the very living value that attracted people in the first place. Look at a city like San Francisco that is no longer a viable place for middle class incomes to raise a family. It's attraction stemming from an arts and culture scene where artists can no longer afford to congregate. Communities are made by people and when those people can no longer afford to subsist there they move on and so does what made the community in the first place.
This is what happens when all value is reduced to property values. What good is moving to an area with quaint local shops if they all have to shut down eventually because of the increasing commercial rent?
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Posted in reply to the post by ChefJayTay:
Rents are just part...
Department of health is raising my permit fees roughly 45% over the next 3 years.
AB1871 increased farmers' market fees, more than tripling their cut, and (in my opinion) illegally charging my business fees for a department that doesn't oversee my operation.
I think of Yogi Berra's quote "no-one goes there anymore -- it's too crowded!"Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by IgorGold:
clearly it's evolving into something. I haven't a clue what it'll be.
If this is so, which it might be, then the desirability of the area is reduced leading to lower rents. But I don't think that is what's going to happen.Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by IgorGold:
Some accommodation will be made to increase affordability. I expect it to be a major issue in the city council and supervisor races coming up. That might kick start jr. second units and/or other measures. There's also good ol' supply in demand. Higher rents should encourage more units to be supplied, either by construction, renting out rooms, trailers, etc. But no doubt rents will remain at painful levels for many people who wish to live here.
What really needs to happen is an increase of wages. People making a "good" wage, say $25/hr, after taxes might be able to afford a $1200-1500/mo residence. But lots of skilled workers are barely pulling down $15/hr and it takes 2 wage earners to get a place.Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Barry:
The other factor is number of units. It's become too expensive to build, especially with the government trying to be the unwanted business partner of the builders. The fees and requirements to build are really quite high and serve to drive up costs for everyone.
The third factor is population increase. If there isn't anything new being built and more people are entering the housing market then supply and demand becomes paramount.
Rent control is not going to solve this, they tried that in Berkeley and SF. In Berkeley after rent control came in you could not rent a single family house. Then a class of subsidized renters who stayed put grew and the unbalanced market created an artificial demand for vacancies that actually increased rents as vacancies came on the market. Same in the City.
Spot on! IMO, the County and the City do not encourage businesses to come to our area with quality high paying jobs. The licenses and requirements for a business to open up is ridiculous. Yes, we have a low unemployment rate but when you dissect the jobs, the overwhelming jobs are in hospitality industries. While these jobs are great for young people just starting or college students, they are not able sustain a family with such a high cost of living and it's not just the rents. It's the water, utilities, sales tax etc..
Developers pay a huge amount of fees just to put a shovel in the ground making it impossible to build any affordable housing.
Having lived in this County for over 30 years, I can not imagine a more amazing place to be but the harsh reality is that not everyone can afford to live here and sometimes hard decisions need to be made. Current residents do not want growth and that is clearly evident by our meager 1% migration rate but they want affordable housing. The citizens will need to decide, What's it going to be, more housing so rents and home prices go down or limited population with high rents and high home prices? Can't have both
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Posted in reply to the post by jbox:
Thanks Barry to you and everyone else who has been part of this important thread. What I noticed especially was: there was barely any rancor, people were reasoned and polite, appreciative (many "gratitudes") , lots told it like it was from their POV yet nobody went on a rant or skewered the "other side." Kudos to all for the level of civility maintained which has not always been true on Wacco and certainly in national politics.
Thanks again,
Gypsey
Actually the biggest all round employment opportunity is for caretakers as this is an aging population. Several voices raised here have mentioned that if they hadn't previously acquired property in Sebastopol that they couldn't afford to move here. That's the dilemma in a nutshell: Sebastopol can choose to accept the steady increase in the cost of living and accept that it's community will become less diverse as time passes, locals die off to be replaced by more and more affluence so that it become more like a northern Mill Valley. Or it can choose to invest in its own community by opening up to a less elitist cross section of society through lower income housing schemes and cost of living sensitive wages so that young people can actually afford to rent in the town they graduated high school from. Cohesive communities are often built on the cohesion of families. Real affluence isn't measure by the listed price of a house but by the richness of the community you live in. IMHO
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Posted in reply to the post by rukiddingme:
In response to Gypsey's question, I have another one: what is the status of the development across from Fircrest Market? Tombe Realty is handling renting/leasing, but I'm afraid to ask them if there are any HUD or other subsidized units there. Anybody?
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Posted in reply to the post by gypsey:
Economic studies have shown that people w rent controlled apts stay in them for many years. It becomes an increasingly valuable place the longer u live there, as market rents continue to climb. People forgo job opportunities that would require them to move. At a gross level, therefore, rent controlled apts do not have the normal turnover, & are not available for others. It's similar to how Airbnb adds to the shortage of places to rent. Those who don't have rent controlled apts are then competing for a smaller share of apts, thus rents go up.
As older rent controlled apts lose value, bec of declining income, there is an economic incentive to tear them down & replace w new units. Again, increasing the cost of rents. Like any govt programm, rent control has unintended consequences.
I truly wish we had more choice about how community evolves than Marin or orange county. But the world we live in, the way decisions about land use are made, limit possibility. The forces which push sebtown in the direction of a gentrified gerontocracy are established and persuasive, dominant. As a landowner who rents homes to people (I hate the term landlord since I hold that all royalty should either abdicate or be beheaded!), I can play on the margins of affordability, funkyness, creativity and community, but in the end the market rules. If I rent a home to someone way below market they are stuck, like rent control in sf, we both suffer. People hate hearing that!
The current construction will be three stories, parking below, offices at the street, and apartments above. I don't know if any of the apartments are reserved as affordable, cris might have paid the inclusionary housing fees instead.
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Posted in reply to the post by Diane Darling:
I can guarantee there will be no affordable or HUD housing in this new development. Tombe Realty aka Chris Pellascini will have nothing to do with HUD.
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Posted in reply to the post by rossmen:
Agree, have been looking for a year now and it is very bleak. Down right scary if one does not have a lot of contacts. I am in need of housing now, hoping by the 1st of July or sooner. Thank you for posting this.
Janis Adkins.
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Posted in reply to the post by beshiva:
This link to a variation on tiny homes came down the cyber pike today: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/sha/5643423045.html. FWIW.
Great thread and thoughtful opinions ...
I'm tied to England through marriage so I'm aware of what's going on there ... they just voted to leave the EU ... though the stated reason was immigration policies, many have been screaming about their standard of living steadily decreasing, and indeed it has ...
What Sebastopol is going through seems to be happening in most parts of the world right now, have you noticed? ... prices for everything rising and wages stagnating ... so what's going on? ...
Many say that we are now an oligarchy ... that would suggest that corporate profits have taken center stage obliterating every humanity based concern that we might have ... this is the function of business, after all ... increasing profits ... and while small business might be content to survive and provide an income for the owners, corporations have investors to support ...
So it isn't the landlords, it's something bigger ... it's the current focus in the world on the accumulation of wealth by the upper tier of society, and the rest be damned ...
I am in the middle of this whole mess and I really don't know how to proceed... my long term house mates are now leaving because of dissatisfaction by my management company regarding their rental performance ... I'm in the middle and I would not have chosen to evict them, but off they go ... so now I have a house that I can't afford with no house mates ... before they were asked to leave, they managed to complain about all kinds of things ( that suddenly broke ) that led to all kinds of costly repairs ... branches on the roof turned into thousands and thousands of dollars worth of tree work ... and, of course, my rent went up ... still, it's a good deal compared to other houses ... but the whole experience did make me reluctant to get other house mates ... and then there's the changes in Sebastopol, which are obviously beyond our control and not conducive to what we once had, which was a human based, diverse community ...
Now go back to the world situation ... read the stories ... listen to the rants ... all very similar ...
I was walking slowly down one block in Seb the other day with my fine imported Englishman, an elderly intellectual who's glad he won't be around to see the worst of it, having already lived through post-WWII London, and I had to chuckle wistfully when we were in the new rock shop. This new place vs the old rock shop is emblematic of what's happening to Sebtown: old Deadhead rock hound with lots of strange and wonderful stuff retires and posh people from down south bring in gorgeous, astonishingly expensive pieces. This reflects who we were and who we are becoming, as a town.
As we learned from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, resistance is futile when you're in the paws of the Vogons. We who didn't invest our time in money, or who did but were sucked dry by the economic machinations anyway, are being cleared away in favor of mid level wealth, people who will probably also find themselves emptied by the system when they reach their later, more vulnerable years.
Meanwhile, I'm casting a wider net: yesterday I visited 10 senior citizen villages/apartment blocks in Seb and SR. I'm pleased with the quality of the buildings, landscaping, quiet, etc, and will return to four of them to make application. Leaving Seb after most of 16 years will be sad and very inconvenient, but I'll land on my feet, park myself until my son and I are ready to buy - wait...um...can't buy now because prices too high, prices still rising...well, one can only hope. Literally: one can only hope.
Except that the de-industrialized, consumer capitalist model no longer sustains the well being of the people or the environment they occupy. Monetization is a measure of value, not the value itself.
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Posted in reply to the post by Joshua Shepherd:
To those writing to me to share my home, I'd like to have you over to discuss possibilities ... I just read the posting about the intentional community ... that's what interests me but I don't know if this is the property for it ... the house is small but on acreage in an old apple orchard ... I would like to take in everyone who is facing homelessness but, of course, there are rules to be followed and I must respect those rules ... is there nowhere in this county where we can realize this concept? ... I need very little and actually want to get creative with my life ... we are in a rough times and it would be good to make it into something better ...
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Posted in reply to the post by arthunter:
My favorite analysis of world and us economic trends is from marx. As citizens of empire we have been bought off so that our military will participate in imperialist wars of domination. As us empire fades the funds to buy us off decline, the trend is even more apparent in our UK senior partner.
Is this a bad thing? Could we live with less, in line with world standard? what is preventing this; our expectations and/or regulations and laws?
As a renter your options are limited, reads like you can pick new landmates and there are plenty of options. Take time and care : )
Does Sebastopol have a substantial plan to addressing housing challenges? Healdsburg may be a model for Sebastopol. In response to what is probably a further developed affordable housing crisis in Healdsburg their City Council has been developing a Housing Action Plan because the community "Recognized that today’s housing challenges could not be resolved with yesterday’s tools". That is what we need to do in Sebastopol If we want a diverse community and to have a workforce that can afford to live here, but it is up to residents of Sebastopol to make it a priority for the Council.
:idea:
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Posted in reply to the post by rossmen:
:Yinyangv:
so why the costly application fees per rental application,,,PER address?....Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by KatyO459:
I believe these fees are a strategy for extra income for rental management businesses. As a long time rental property owner I currently don't charge application fees, I just ask applicants to provide a credit report which they can get free. The current market brings lots of applications, 30$ for each application with an application required for each adult = hundreds a day for a rental agency which they keep, the rental owner usually pay a fee for the agency renting a unit and a % of the rent for management.
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Posted in reply to the post by KatyO459: