Rental Crisis in Seeley Lake? Through the Renters' Eyes

Editor’s Note: One of the first complaints we hear from people moving to Seeley Lake is they cannot find a place to rent. Potential renters are faced with limited options, budget constraints and lack of availability. Several renters, property managers and landlords were asked the question: Does this constitute a rental crisis in Seeley Lake?

While not all agreed, they identified problems, challenges and potential solutions from their perspective. We choose to leave the renters anonymous to avoid any conflicts between their current or future landlords. They are identified as ‘Trailer,’ ‘Mother,’ ‘Owner’ and ‘Duplex.’

This three-part series will bring some of the issues raised to light and perhaps begin a community discussion.

SEELEY LAKE – When Seeley Lake’s newest Missoula County Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Sunderland accepted the position in Seeley Lake, he never thought finding a place to rent would be an issue. “Boy was I wrong,” said Sunderland.

Sunderland is not alone. Several renters, all requesting to remain anonymous, said that it is difficult to find a place to rent that is affordable on their income and once they are in a rental they are stuck because there are no other options if things do not go well with their landlord.

According to the 2010-2014 American Community Survey (ACS) five-year estimates available from the United States Census Bureau, there are 1933 total housing units in Seeley Lake. Of those 1153 are vacant, 649 are occupied by their owners while 131 are occupied by renters. The large number of vacant housing units can be attributed to seasonal and vacation homes and cabins. that are not necessarily available for rent. By comparison, Seeley Lake has 60 percent vacant homes while county-wide it drops to 10 percent vacant.

The ACS also shows a sizeable difference in household income between people who own their homes versus people who rent. The median household income of those who own their homes is $42,454 while renters’ median income is $18,750. It is important to note that the ACS has a high margin of error, (±50 percent) in the income statistics at the local level. However, the difference in owners and renters income follows the same pattern when the data is expanded to include all of Missoula County and drops the margin of error to ±8.6 percent.

If using these numbers and the general rule of thumb that a person will spend 30 percent of their gross monthly income on rent, an affordable rent for Seeley Lake would be $470 per month.

In Seeley Lake, rent for a one-bedroom, one-bathroom home starts around $550 per month. Houses with three or more bedrooms and two bathrooms start around $850 and are often more than $1,000 per month.

Apartments rent from $325 - $800 per month depending on location, size and if utilities are included or not.

Trailer homes on a lot rent for $425 - $550. For those that own a mobile home, they can rent a lot in Seeley Lake for $200-$300 depending on location. That includes a septic and electric hook up but they are responsible for utilities.

The Renters’ Issues

For renters the number one problem is available rentals are not affordable on the average wages in Seeley Lake.

Sunderland has been looking for five months for a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house with land for his horses and animals for under $1,000 per month. His family is currently living in Corvallis and he is sleeping on a cot in Seeley Lake.

Based on his contract with Missoula County, Sunderland can live within 30 air miles of his post.

“Technically I can live in East Missoula and fall within the guidelines,” said Sunderland who added that the closer it gets to winter with no luck, the farther away from Seeley Lake he will have to live. “But that doesn’t do the community any good.”

Sunderland feels for the local business owners because they are trying to hire people but potential employees have nowhere to live.

“What is frustrating to me is that I’m making a commitment to this community by accepting this position, uprooting my family and coming to this community to be a part of it,” said Sunderland. “Not being able to find a place to live is super frustrating. It is very stressful.”

Renter named Trailer said he lived in Seeley Lake for the past five years. He along with his wife and two children rented various properties from the same landlord because, “He was the only one cheap enough to rent from.”

Trailer said he and his wife paid the first and last month’s rent, plus a deposit for nearly $1,600 to get into their trailer. Rent was $425 per month. Both he and his wife worked at local restaurants. “In Seeley Lake when you work and rent is almost $500 a month, the jobs don’t pay enough, especially for a trailer house,” he said.

One day they brought their garbage to the Seeley Lake Refuse District and their dump ticket was revoked.

“They said that those trailers were not deemed livable and no one was supposed to be living there,” Trailer said. “So we couldn’t even dump our garbage anymore. Living in a habitat like that we were always worried about Fish and Game giving us a ticket for having garbage.”

After finding out their trailer was condemned which did not surprise them since it was full of black mold, they looked for other options.

“There was nothing else. There were a couple of other trailers, but the landlord said we had to do our own maintenance,” Trailer said. “You had to fill out an application to get into them and both of the trailers needed a lot of work. [The landlord] wanted $400 [per month] for one and $450 for another. We were already living in a situation like that. So why jump over into another place.”

Without any other options, Trailer and his family were forced to leave the area. He estimated three other families that rented from this same landlord left the area for the similar reasons.

“It wasn’t because they couldn’t get a job, it was that they couldn’t afford the housing on what they could make,” said Trailer. “Drive around the lake you see all these empty houses or summer rentals that are just going to waste. It doesn’t make any sense when there are good families, people that work, that are honest and that can use them.”

Another housing option is to own a mobile home and rent a lot. Trailer was unable to afford this option because, even though they had saved nearly $6,000, the bank would not lend them money on a mobile home.

“We really love Seeley Lake,” said Trailer. “There should be something for families to afford and live decent, especially when both parents are working. When there is not, and no one is willing to help you, you have to leave.”

Renter named Owner has rented a lot in Seeley Lake since 2000 for a mobile home that he owns. He said with the exception of a few tight months in the winter, it is fairly easy to make the rent payments working as a contract log homebuilder and having his wife working miscellaneous part-time jobs. Finding a lot to rent has not been difficult because he feels they become available fairly often and the trailer court in Dogtown often has openings.

Another renter, identified as Mother, accepts foster children. Mother has been renting in Seeley Lake for the past 30 years because it is too difficult financially to buy a house. She said, “It’s hard to find someone that will rent to me with six kids. That is the first question they ask is how many kids I have.”

Mother currently lives in a two-bedroom, two-bathroom home for $800 per month. This is affordable for her family on her husband’s income who works as a manager in town. However, over the past year they have been looking for something more fitting for their needs.

“If we lived in a house that was sizeable for us, it would be anywhere between $1,200 to $1,400 per month, which is completely unaffordable,” said Mother. “You can’t find anything. And when you do find something, the landlord wants to rent it out but they still want to live there. You feel like you have no privacy.”

Another renter, identified as Duplex for the purpose of this article, has rented in Seeley Lake for the past 16 years while working for Pyramid Mountain Lumber. When he sold his home in 2000, there happened to be an opening for a two-bedroom, one-bathroom duplex. Because he was single and his job was uncertain with the mill, he chose to rent.

In the past 16 years, Duplex’s rent has gone from $450 to $585 per month. While he was fortunate to find a rental he has been able to afford, he agrees that the biggest challenge is finding a place.

“There is not enough housing. I couldn’t take a job and then drive back and forth [to Missoula],” said Duplex. “For those with low income, there is not a lot to choose from except run down trailers.”

Renters’ Challenges

The biggest challenge identified by renters was cost. They said it takes two incomes to afford most rentals in Seeley Lake and single parents who rent are often forced to work two jobs to make ends meet.

Another challenge is the requirement by the landlords to fix things at the renters’ expense. Renters interviewed said that if they are given credit on their rent for fixing something that is part of the rental that they did not break, they are happy to help.

“The landlords need to step up to the plate,” said Mother. “If they are going to rent their place out, they need to be responsible for whatever goes wrong. I’ll gladly pay for it if it was my fault but we get stuck paying for it because we need hot water or we want heat in our house.”

When landlords were willing to fix things and entertain renters’ special requests like a fence for animals or installing a more efficient heating system, the renters really appreciated “being taken care of.”

Another challenge is knowing when a property will be available before it becomes available. Renters said that “having an in” is a must to get into a property. Those that do not have the local connections or are forced to rely solely on the advertised rentals are left with limited options.

Homeownership is not realistic for the majority of renters interviewed. Whether it is they are new to the area and want to make sure Seeley Lake is a good fit, have uncertain employment or cannot afford the required down payment, they are either choosing or forced to rent. Most echoed the sentiment that a two-income family cannot afford the prices of real estate in Seeley Lake.

Renters’ Solutions

Most of the renters agreed that there are homes that would be good options to rent, however, they are being rented as vacation rentals instead of long-term rentals or not rented at all. Opening up more properties as long-term rentals could offer more options for families.

Renters suggested more apartment complexes or livable trailers to make another trailer court to help with the affordable housing.

Sunderland and Mother agreed that bringing in more housing and increasing the population, would make the area more like Missoula and not be the place people want to live. However, there needs to be a balance.

Some renters felt a sewer for Seeley Lake would be helpful. Others are concerned that while a sewer would potentially allow for more rentals, rent would increase exacerbating the problem.

Trailer feels there needs to be more enforcement from the county health department and Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). When his sewer was plugged, his landlord fixed the problem with a make-shift tank covered with roofing paper and no drain field.

“We couldn’t say anything because I didn’t want to get kicked out and not have a place for our kids. I would have thought a Missoula County Health Inspector would have come around and noticed it. Seventy-five yards from the make-shift tank is the creek. If that doesn’t tell you that the law is not involved enough, I don’t know what does,” said Trailer.

On the flip side, Owner purchased a lot and has been working with the Missoula County Health Department and DEQ since October 2015 that will allow him to get out of renting. He has been working to get his septic approved and a cistern to deal with a low flow rate on the property’s well.

“It was a little surprising all the hoops I had to jump through,” said Owner. “I think with the engineering and everything it is going to be between $5,000 to $6,000. Probably a little higher than we were expecting.”

Next week ~ Rental Crisis in Seeley Lake? The Property Managers’ Perspective