housing. part 1
the why.
1444 words, a 6 minute and 4 second read.
It’s a big subject. For every city right now, not only yours. Perhaps we are below the curve here, which is why it’s important to discuss and engage on this. It’s been something you have heard candidates speak a lot about when running for office (again, not JUST here…but definitely here…lots). In recent cycles, housing has been a ‘top priority’ for folks looking to represent you, and I realize we are making progress to some degree, however there is more we can do. More on what I think CAN be done and some response to the efforts made so far in part 2.
To begin this discussion, I wanted to take a little bit of time to explain to you why this subject is personally so important to me, and what my wife and I have been working on along these lines for a while (and we will continue to advocate for positive change on these things whether I am elected or not). We live right in the center of Downtown Oshkosh…on Main St….and we hope to never leave. There are some of the most amazing loft apartments near us, and some of the lowest-income housing in the city across the street. So, we live, first-hand, lots of these items every day.
4 parts below…(second installment ‘what next’ and what I would do in Part 2 coming soon…stay tuned or subscribe!)
-Your community is a better place when the folks who need a place to live have a place to live.
A handful of years ago, we had a superb employee who was always on time, worked hard, and was a true joy to be around. One day he was late…then again the next…and little by little things got progressively worse. It was easy to tell he was having a tough time (but this was the sort of fella who would absolutely never complain, or share, or ask for any help). I did some asking around and figured out that he had recently been in a court ordered housing sort of situation (we do not do background checks at our businesses, so I was not aware of a criminal record…not that it would have affected his employment), and that housing had ended abruptly, leaving this guy with no place to go (for a couple weeks). I pulled him aside one day and asked if he wanted an apartment (my wife and I had a unit coming available…good timing). Faster than anyone has replied to me ever, he said ‘yes’ (I asked if he wanted to see it first or hear about the rent etc…and he said he had applied to dozens of apartments, and that nobody would even consider him. Period. Not one. He made plenty of money, had a car, everything he needed…but nobody would rent to him. Nobody).
SO…he took our apartment. Was a perfect tenant. Wound up quitting his job with us after a few months (sadly) as he got a better offer doing something he liked better. He was quickly promoted there to a managerial position (no surprise). Took another even better managerial job a year or so later. THEN enrolled into college to get a business degree which will wrap up shorty, and I am certain he will be on to even greater things next.-Your community is a better place when the folks who need a place to live have a place to live.
2. A longer time ago, one of my most favorite people in the world had a stroke…a bad one. So bad that when he got out of the hospital, he was mandated to state assisted living. Before he had a stroke, he used to do some drinking (don’t we all) and had 2 minor things on his record that come with that territory sometimes. BEFORE he had a stroke, he had stopped drinking for years. Thankfully for all who know this fella, his condition improved, and he was ‘graduated’ from assisted living after a few years and sent back out to find his own place to live. This fella had had a successful career, retired, AND was now collecting social security, so could literally afford to live anywhere he wanted. He could not, however, drive a car on account of the stroke, so he desperately wanted to live near Downtown Oshkosh so things were walkable to him.
He toured a few apartments and found one he LOVED. Even better, it was a building with specific age requirements that he fit. the location was great, the price was great…and I’m sure you can see where I am going.
Being in a slightly different class than my first friend in the story above, this gentleman got a tour, an interview, and did not find out until the very end of this process that the apartment he loved would not rent to him on account of his criminal record. The assisted living facility director wrote a letter of recommendation, I emailed and called the property owner with the same glowing recommendation. The answer in the end was ‘we employ a property management company to handle these details and do not make any exemptions from their rules (which include, 0 criminal record).
The icing on the cake for this story is that the apartment building in this story was partially funded with a TIF. So, your and my tax dollars were spent to (correctly) build housing for folks who need it (above a certain age, below a certain income level) and that property will not rent to folks it is intended to help.
-Your community is a better place when the folks who need a place to live have a place to live
3. There are lots of landlords in your city. Some better than others, all with seemingly different rules (as thus far, Oshkosh is not great at controlling that playing field for the renters…more on THAT in part 2). I have a favorite ad that pops up every so often for one such company that reads essentialy:
’If you have a misdemeanor drug charge in the past decade please do not apply as we will not rent to you’
Every time I see these ads I wonder: why misdemeanor, and why 10 years? But…that’s what it says. I wonder also what happens when marijuana is legalized in WI. Can the folks with misdemeanor possession charges 7 years ago now rent these units? What is the point of preventing them from even applying to rent an apartment.
-Your community is a better place when the folks who need a place to live have a place to live (even if they smoke a little pot).
4. Here’s how my wife and I treat our apartments and the folks who might live in them:
As I mentioned above, our businesses do not perform criminal background checks for employment. We do not do so for housing either. We’ve never charged an application fee, and we also do not do credit checks. I like to think we keep our apartments very nice, and in the 13 years we have owned apartments in this city, we have never had a vacant month in a single unit. Ever.
That last stat should not be surprising at all, as well all know there is a lack of housing in Osh (the housing study that you should have read by now is here). The last time we advertised a unit for rent, we got 70 applications…in 18 hours.
We are making a change right now: Instead of posting units for rent when folks move out, we’re first contacting Winnebago County Housing and submitting units to their section 8 applicants. It’s a simple process and we do not mind having our apartments inspected one bit.
This seems like a great way for us to take a tiny step in ensuring the folks who might need a place to live the most at least get a shot at getting a nice one.
Hopefully some of the above helps to convince you that everybody does deserve to have a nice and safe place to live (AND that there are ways we can make this better).
If elected, I would love to keep working on these issues on your AND my behalf…but elected or no, I will continue to do so.
-Your community is a better place when the folks who need a place to live have a place to live.
ooooh and seriously, take 5 min and read this too, it’s great!
Thanks as always for reading. It’s appreciated. Part 2 of this discussion will be a LOT less fun and will probs make a few folks unhappy…so stick around for that soon:).
And as always, questions, comments, and suggestions welcome (click the button):