Investors Drain the Affordable Housing Market and Inflate Prices

Investors Drain the Affordable Housing Market and Inflate Prices

Homeowners like Susan want to be left alone, but because they own a home in Fort Wayne, they’re under pressure to sell to businesses who’ve managed to track them down. “There have been two to three calls, emails, or letters every week for last few months asking if I will sell my home. I am so tired of it.” Across town, Matthew, who has owned his home since the nineties, can’t believe what sellers are asking—and what buyers are paying—for homes on his street. “It’s been like living in the eye of the hurricane for the last few years,” he said. “Prices just keep climbing, and I just keep wondering why.” Shirley Rork, the Interim Executive Director at Just Neighbors in Fort Wayne, weighed in on how increased housing costs have affected the community as well as the economy in Northeast...

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Fort Wayne Locals Agree: Housing Prices are Too High

Fort Wayne Locals Agree: Housing Prices are Too High

Part 1: The Rents are Too Damn High! Renting hasn’t been easy for Fort Wayne resident Abby, who has moved on from an apartment that felt like anything but a luxury even though “Luxury” was part of its name. “What kind of ‘luxury apartment’ has one working elevator 80% of the time and makes you go to the basement and pay to do your own laundry, with washers and dryers that also are not working 80% of the time? Then raise our rent anyway! Every year, wherever I lived, they raised the rent. Nothing in the apartment changed, but they always added a hundred to two hundred dollars.”  Another resident, Taylor, was lucky enough to buy a home in recent years, but her family members have to live further away because of high rent. She said, “The rent around Fort Wayne is way too expensive for...

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Land Banks: How They Work, and Why Fort Wayne Needs One

Land Banks: How They Work, and Why Fort Wayne Needs One

“We need land banks everywhere.” Nate Howard, the Executive Director of Muncie Land Bank, has seen what positive changes can come from rehabilitating abandoned and vacant properties in his area. An empowered land bank can reduce blight and save taxpayers money, plus contribute to the supply of affordable housing. He noted that in Ohio, most counties have their own land banks. Why not have more in Indiana? Within the state, the closest land banks to Fort Wayne are in Muncie and Indianapolis. “Where land banks really thrive, they are supported financially by the city, and the inventory they use comes through the county government. Where land bank legislation is more developed, a lot of those things are explicit in state law.” Land banks acquire property that has become tax-delinquent, and...

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Full House: Generations of Families Share Homes and Lives

Full House: Generations of Families Share Homes and Lives

What happens when the adult kids come home to ride out the Covid lockdown and then settle in? Where can Mom or Dad go when they can’t live on their own anymore? Oftentimes, to conserve money and other resources, adult family members consolidate into one household. Due to the sharp jump in housing prices in Northeast Indiana and elsewhere within the past few years, this trend is increasing. According to the 2020 census, 7.2% of US homes were multigenerational. These homes were most common in the southern US and across the eastern seaboard as well as in Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. By this measure, Indiana was only slightly below the national average, with the share of multigenerational households in most counties between four and seven percent. Similar trends were noted for children...

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Mobile Home Living in Fort Wayne: Get Grounded on the Rules, Rights, and Regulations

Mobile Home Living in Fort Wayne: Get Grounded on the Rules, Rights, and Regulations

Roiann Smolinski of Fort Wayne lived in a mobile home with her family about 40 years ago, and remembers it well.  “We had a small court, maybe only 30 homes, in a convenient location close to work. The court got plowed out early from snow. We had three bedrooms and two baths, and a nice sized kitchen. It served our purpose for living, until we bought a house six years later. My dad lived in the same court, so that was a bonus.” Smolinski also noted a few drawbacks, such as no access to covered or reserved parking spaces. Smolinski paid $135 for the home plus $190 for lot rent per month, which included landscaping and snow plowing but not utilities.  Despite the arctic chills that visit Fort Wayne each winter, their mobile home stayed cozy. “We didn't have any trouble with...

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Home Free: How the Forty Percent Live

Home Free: How the Forty Percent Live

Fort Wayne homeowner Kate was surprised to discover how she felt when she made the last mortgage payment on her home. “I thought the day I paid off the house would be the best day ever, but it is really the next month, when you don’t have to make that payment and you suddenly realize how much money you have to spend on something else.”  At first she devoted her extra money to fixing up her house, but once those tasks were done, her options expanded. “Now we have money to go on vacations and relax and look toward retirement with less stress. My husband says that this house is our guarantee that we won’t have to eat cat food,” she joked. Their home has nearly tripled in value since they purchased it in 1996. She recommended making a full commitment to the home and its location to make...

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Estate Planning Made Simple: Name a Beneficiary for Your House

Estate Planning Made Simple: Name a Beneficiary for Your House

Estate planning can be a slog, but some shortcuts cut down on stress and expenses for beneficiaries. One way to streamline the transfer of property is to establish a Transfer on Death (TOD) Deed for Hoosier homes. Similar to a Lady Bird Deed, which is available in Michigan, Vermont, Texas, West Virginia, and Florida, a TOD Deed allows an Indiana property owner to designate a beneficiary to inherit the property after the owner’s death. Having a TOD Deed in place means that the property skips the probate process, which can delay the transfer of ownership. Meanwhile, the owner holds the rights to the property exclusively until death.  Allen County Recorder Nicole Keesling talked about TOD Deeds in a recent interview, starting with the process of registering a TOD Deed with Allen...

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Renting in Cool Blue Illinois: Protections, Freedoms, and Support

Renting in Cool Blue Illinois: Protections, Freedoms, and Support

What a difference a border makes! Illinois, known for its Democratic leanings in the heart of the more Republican Midwest, has set up some of its laws to protect both renters and landlords. However, with an increasing demand for affordable housing, Illinois’ housing market continues to be competitive and expensive. Illinois Rules and Laws Protections for landlords and tenants start with the laws that govern them. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office publishes the “Landlord and Tenant Rights and Laws” to help navigate these roles. According to the AG, some protections that Illinois renters have are: They can ask that necessary repairs be made, and use this as a viable defense against eviction if they withhold a portion of their rent when the landlord has not paid for the...

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3 Fountains Cooperative with Board President Lynda Rogers

https://youtu.be/bfT1e6LF5NY Living in a cooperative makes you part of a community, because everyone there owns a share of the building or the property. Cooperative living can create opportunities for those who earn a living but cannot afford, or do not wish to live in, market-rate housing. Shareowners share in the risks and the rewards of living in a cooperative, so it isn’t like leasing an apartment. If you plan to live in an area for a few years, you may want to invest in a cooperative there!

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3 Fountains Fort Wayne Cooperative with Property Manager Kia Langston

https://youtu.be/IGNr9do0E9o Living in a cooperative makes you part of a community, because everyone there owns a share of the building or the property. Cooperative living can create opportunities for those who earn a living but cannot afford, or do not wish to live in, market-rate housing. Shareowners share in the risks and the rewards of living in a cooperative, so it isn’t like leasing an apartment. If you plan to live in an area for a few years, you may want to invest in a cooperative there!

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Fort Wayne Locals Agree: Housing Prices are Too High

Fort Wayne Locals Agree: Housing Prices are Too High

Part 1: The Rents are Too Damn High! Renting hasn’t been easy for Fort Wayne resident Abby, who has moved on from an apartment that felt like anything but a luxury even though “Luxury” was part of its name. “What kind of ‘luxury apartment’ has one working elevator 80%...

The Collaborative Corner | Christi & Amanda Hille

The Collaborative Corner | Christi & Amanda Hille

https://youtu.be/x6l437kZhq8 In this episode, we're diving into the vibrant film culture of Fort Wayne with Christy and Amanda Hilly from Cinema Center. As board president and secretary, they’re also festival chairs for the Hobnobben Film Festival happening October...