HousingLink Blog

The Fastest Housing Link Ever?

dhylton@housinglink.org — Fri, 28 May 2010 09:46:55 GMT

Typically, users (both landlords and renters) access our website to list their own properties or conduct their own searches. However sometimes people stop by our West Broadway office or give a call for a little assistance.

This morning, a gentleman stopped by to ask if we could help him list a five bedroom duplex that was willing to accept Section 8. At the moment we were working him through the process of setting up a landlord user account, we received a call from a Section 8 Tenant Voucher holder, looking for a - you guessed it - five bedroom property!

At that point, it just made more sense to put them on the line with each other. They talked for a few minutes, and it sounds like there will be a showing this afternoon!

Tenant Bill of Rights Signed into Law

dhylton@housinglink.org — Wed, 12 May 2010 08:48:51 GMT

Yesterday, landmark legislation was enacted, formalizing protections for renters in the state of Minnesota. The bill, which addresses concerns on tenant screening fees, late fees, attorney fees, and security deposits passed with strong bi-partisan support. Minnesota Home Line has compiled this helpful summary of the agreement.

For specific language in the bill, read the conference committee report on the legislation.

Q1 2010 Minnesota Foreclosure Update

dhylton@housinglink.org — Tue, 04 May 2010 09:45:11 GMT

We are releasing the Q1 2010 Foreclosure numbers today, and the outlook is rather grim.

In Q1 of 2010, foreclosures in Minnesota reached the highest period in the past six quarters, with 6,716 foreclosures. This total was only exceeded in Q2 and Q3 of 2008, when there were 7,349 and 6,807 foreclosures respectively. The Q1 2010 number was up 11 percent over the previous quarter, and 28 percent over the same period last year, continuing a four quarter trend of increasing foreclosures.

To compile the figures, HousingLink collects and analyzes sheriff sales data, the primary means of identifying foreclosures, from all Minnesota counties.

See the report.

Why We're Here: A Landlord "Conversion" Story

dhylton@housinglink.org — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 12:53:56 GMT

HousingLink’s rental listings are FREE for both landlords to list and renters to search, and hList is far-and-away the most comprehensive resource for searching affordable rental housing in the Twin Cities. Our landlord property and listing management software is the best out there, packed with labor saving features. The “secret” of our success is that our hList is comprised by a combination of directly entered listings by landlords who have user accounts with HousingLink and a gathering of listings from other local listings services.

We also believe the only reason there are landlords who don’t list with HousingLink is because there are some who don’t know about us. Just this morning, we received a call from a landlord who had received numerous responses from HousingLink users to an ad he had originally placed only in a paid online listing service. The landlord's resident manager had reported a lot of calls and was wondering how the listing had ended up on HousingLink. After we explained how hList works the landlord asked us to close the current listings so he could register and enter them himself. He said he has 10 properties and he will use hList in the future

Those are the kinds of stories we like to hear and experience! Please pass them on!

(Slowly) Changing Views of Rental vs. Homeownership

dhylton@housinglink.org — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 11:09:58 GMT

During the current housing crisis, there has been some discussion about the unrealistic expectation of homeownership for all families that has been foisted upon our culture, with the concept of rental historically being one of a less desirable alternative to the perceived safer investment in purchasing a home.

A recent study by Fannie Mae, however, detected a change over the past six years in how these two options are viewed by the public. In general, survey respondents show a more cautious view towards purchasing a home; 83 percent of respondents in 2003 considered buying a home to be a "safe" purchase, compared with only 70 percent in 2009.

But what is perhaps most compelling is how actual renters view their own situation, having watched the foreclosure explosion from the outside looking in:

HousingLink graph of data from Fannie Mae (2010) Fannie Mae National Housing Survey. Washington, D.C.: Retrieved April 13, 2010 from http://www.fanniemae.com/media/pdf/2010/National-Housing-Survey-040610.pdf

HousingLink’s Monthly Affordable Rental Searches top 37,000

dhylton@housinglink.org — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 14:16:49 GMT

We’re excited over web analytics that show 37,413 searches in HousingLink’s hList affordable rental listings tool in March 2010. This is the most we’ve seen since hList launched in July of 2008 and a 28% increase in searches over the same month of 2009.

We’re certainly pleased that more and more people are turning to HousingLink as the source for their affordable housing information, but are also wondering what factors might be playing into searches being up so sharply in three of the past four months. There has to be something going on in the community beyond a successful HousingLink outreach effort

MN Homelessness Up 22% Over Past Three Years

dhylton@housinglink.org — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 09:58:34 GMT

According to an early release of findings from a homeless study by Wilder Research of St. Paul, the number of homeless in Minnesota has risen dramatically in the past three years, from 7,751 in 2006 to 9,452 in 2009. Intuitively, this is all about the economy, and Wilder's study bears that out, indicating a mere 20 percent of homeless adults with any employment, whatsoever (down from 41 percent in 2000). This recession has put an enormous strain on the resources of service agencies and government programs, such as the State of Minnesota's "Ending Long-Term Homelessness" initiative, while underscoring the importance of resources such as HousingLink's hList affordable vacancy listings service.

Look for a full release of the report at a presentation, Homeless in Minnesota: A Closer Look on May 25 at The Wilder Center. More information is available at www.wilderresearch.org.

Rental Apartment Vacancy Rates Are Quite High.

housinglink — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 10:42:38 GMT

According to the Star Tribune, GVA Marquette Advisors calculated a 7.3% vacancy rate for rental housing for the end of 2009. There are several factors that could be influencing this high vacancy rate: The federal first-time home buyers credit, decreased home prices and the poor economy resulting in people "doubling up" or moving back in with parents. Unfortunately, as we look at the data, we don't anticipate a drastic improvement in the vacancy rate in 2010.

So if you are a landlord, what can you do?

If your current tenants want to move out when their lease is up, attempt to renegotiate a cheaper rent with them. It can cost $500+ to turn an apartment over, not including lost rent due a unit sitting empty. It's cheaper to keep an existing tenant than it is to find a new one.
Offer special deals to new tenants such as free parking spots or a free months rent.
Create an incentive program that gives discounts to tenants who refer a friend to rent from you.
Check around to find out what other similar apartments are going for, if your unit is too high, it will not get rented.
Be extremely responsive when maintenance issues arise. Tenants really appreciate a landlord who fixes things quickly and are sometimes willing to stay in a unit if the landlord is good.
Find simple ways to show you care about your tenants -- write a hand written note thanking them for being a great tenant, send them a card or small gift on their birthday, have a pizza party for your residents, say good things about them on your Twitter or Facebook pages, give out free balloons to kids or create a message board where people can post times they've seen their neighbors doing something good.
Remember: Creativity doesn't have to cost a lot of money, but it does take a little bit of effort.
Finally, if you do have a vacancy, remember to list it for FREE with HousingLink!!!!

These are just a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing. What are you doing to help keep vacancies low? Let us know.

Foreclosure Prevention Workshop For Unemployed

housinglink — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:37:09 GMT

Our friends over at The Minnesota Home Ownership Center, the Community Action Partnership of Suburban Hennepin County and the Minnesota WorkForce Centers are working together to offer free workshops for homeowners who are worried about making upcoming mortgage payments, are already facing foreclosure or for anyone interested in learning more about the foreclosure process in Minnesota.

The workshop will provide information on what happens during foreclosures, homeowners’ rights, and solutions for long-term housing needs. Participants will be able to ask questions and get free advice – confidentially - from local, non-profit foreclosure counselors.

The first workshop in the series will be held on Thursday, February 18th at the Hennepin South WorkForce Center (Bloomington) from 10:30am to 12:00noon.

For a map to the Hennepin South WorkForce Center, click here.

For a press release of the upcoming workshop, click here.

For a flyer you can freely distribute to help promote the workshop, click here.

How Do You Calculate Home Foreclosures?

housinglink — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 11:47:22 GMT

An important question is being discussed in the media lately: "When you say a home is in foreclosure, what does that mean?" Minnesota Public Radio has been exploring this question. MPR recently reported that there seems to be a discrepancy between the foreclosure data that RealtyTrac produces and reports that are released by HousingLink and the MN Home Ownership Center.

RealtyTrac has stated that foreclosures in Minnesota were up nearly 50% in 2009 while HousingLink and the MN Home Ownership Center claim that foreclosures took a slight decline in 2009, rather than a huge increase.

Where's the difference?

The discrepancies comes down to what you actually count as a "foreclosure". At HousingLink, we believe the most accurate way to calculate foreclosures is to look at sheriff's sales--the point at which a homeowner loses their home to the lender or third party real estate organization. RealtyTrac tally's up all the properties that are anywhere in the foreclosure process--from the first pre-foreclosure notice a homeowner receives to the actual sheriff's sale. Given that there are numerous ways for people to avoid a sheriff's sale along the path to foreclosure, we feel that calculating actual sheriff's sales give the most accurate picture of homes that have been foreclosed on. RealtyTrac feels otherwise.

This debate will continue into the future. What do you think? Which method of calculating foreclosures seems to make the most sense to you?

St. Louis Park Public Housing Waiting List Is Open

housinglink — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:48:59 GMT

Waiting list for 1 bedroom is open February 10th – February 11th.
Applications may be obtained ONLY by calling 952-924-2650 between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm on Feb 10th and Feb. 11th. Completed applications must be returned or postmarked no later than Friday February 26th, 2010. Applicants must meet income and occupancy eligibility requirements. A lottery will be conducted of all eligible applications for 500 positions on the waiting list. Only the top 500 applications will be placed on the waiting list.

Public Housing Income and Occupancy Eligibility
A maximum of two persons are allowed in a one bedroom.
Family Size                Maximum Annual Income
     1                                        $44,800
     2                                        $51,200

CSH Releases Federal Budget Summary

housinglink — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:25:43 GMT

Are you curious about what President Obama is proposing in terms of funding for supportive housing? As a member of the Ramsey County Housing Crisis Response team, funding for supportive housing programs is an important issue to us. Check out this summary from our friends over at the Corporation for Supportive Housing. It details what's in the proposed budget and lists how CSH feels about the various budgetary items.

Our Office Building Was Nominated For An Award Of Excellence

housinglink — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:36:42 GMT

As you probably know by now, HousingLink moved to a new office building in September. Our new office space is pretty nice and we've settled in quite nicely. We were happy to learn that our buildings developer (and our friends from down the hall) Catalyst Community Partners/The Ackerberg Group, got nominated for an Award of Excellence from the Commercial Real Estate Development Association (NAOIP) for the work they did rehabilitating the 1200 West Broadway space. Great job on a great office building! If you are in the area, drop by and see our new space.

Affordable Housing Vacancy Rates Declining, While High Rent Vacancies Are Up.

housinglink — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 11:13:59 GMT

We all know the economy is in rough shape. Both lower income renters and higher rent landlords are feeling the effects of the difficult economy. Recently HUD reported that, nationwide, vacancy rates are extremely high, but vacancies in assisted rental housing are much lower than the national average. Unfortunately, as the economy continues to remain stagnant, fewer apartments are affordable to low income renters, according to HUD's latest report.

National rental vacancy rates rose above 10.5% in 2009’s second quarter. However, vacancies in assisted rental housing were much lower. This highlights that the demand for affordable housing is still quite high. Project-based Section 8 vacancies were below 5%. Public housing vacancies fell to 9.5%. In Minnesota, Low Income Housing Tax Credit projects had vacancy rates of around 4%. Additionally, the report notes evidence of households moving in together to save on housing expenses. Nearly 12% of households that moved in 2009 did so to join another household. This is up from less than 10% in 2005. This “doubling up” is likely one cause of the declining market demand for higher rent apartments.

It's been difficult for property managers to fill vacancies in apartments that have high rent, and this trend seems to be continuing into 2010. We will keep doing our best to help people find a quality, affordable place to live...even when vacancy rates are quite low for affordable rentals.

Protecting Tenants During A Foreclosure.

housinglink — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:03:01 GMT

Did you know that on May 20^th, 2009 the “Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act” was signed into law? Minnesota’s Rep. Keith Ellison helped pass this legislation. The bill requires landlords who are being foreclosed upon to give their tenants 90 days notice before they must move. It also holds the new purchaser of the property at the sheriff’s sale (either the lender or a private party buyer) to the prior terms of the lease.

The provisions of this law are "self-executing", so no federal agency (such as HUD) is responsible for making them work. It is up to advocates to make sure that tenants, landlords, public housing authorities, courts, the legal community, and others involved in the foreclosure process are aware of these new rights for tenants.

So, if you are landlord who’s about to lose your property to foreclosure or a tenant living in a building that’s about to be foreclosed on, you need to be aware of this law. The National Low Income Housing Coalition has an excellent Foreclosure Toolkit on their website.