Monthly rents spiral up

SANDUSKY — If a Register survey this week is any indication, there's a lot of worry and concern among residents who rent homes in Erie County about escalating monthly rent costs. With real estate assessments expected to be adjusted upwards next year resulting in higher property taxes, landlords are expected to pass that cost on to tenants, too, and continue the trend of higher rent. "Can you imagine what will happen with the rental cost when the real estate taxes go up?" resident Linda DeMarco asked. Property assessments could be 20% to 30% higher than what they are now, according to experts, but how much of that will be reflected in the tax bills property owners receive is still unknown. One woman told the Register it's already been difficult for her to keep pace with the rent increases she's experienced. "My landlord raised my rent from $700 to $1,165 in three years," she said. Save this date Be sure to make your reservations to attend the affordable housing forum from 3-5 p.m. Aug. 15 at the UAW Hall, 4114 Hayes Ave., by calling Serving Our Seniors at 419-627-1856. The forum is a Q&A with a panel of experts, designed to give residents who are market renters more information about what the future holds and what their options are. Serving Our Seniors, the agency that helps Erie County residents age 60 and older maintain independent lives, is sponsoring the forum and is especially urging older residents to make reservations to attend. "I am 74-years-old. I live in an apartment with one bedroom. My only income is Social Security. I am single," one woman told the Register. "Rent is going up every year and cable TV is outrageous and then there are groceries. What are our senior citizens supposed to do live in? Our cars or in tents? This is very depressing." Some families are left with hard choices, according to another reader. "Seniors and disabled people living on a fixed income can't afford to pay sky-high rent prices," she said. "We have to choose between housing, food, or meds." For disabled residents there are very few options, another reader explained. "I can tell you there isn't any affordable housing in the area, especially if you are disabled, on a fixed income, and there's definitely no handicapped-accessible housing in the area," she said. Tony Cummings, whose company is a mortgage service company in Sandusky, offered the following information from the U.S. Census: • To be affordable housing, expenses should not exceed one week's pay. The median income for non family individual in Erie County, according to the 2020 census, was $41,686, which makes $802 a month affordable for 50% of the county's individual population. • The median income for households in Erie County, according to the census, was $65,720, which makes $1,263 a month affordable for 50% of households. That's why there are "more multi generational households or multiple families living together, more kids coming back to live with mom and dad, a growing homeless population, and a horrible situation for seniors on fixed incomes," Cummings said. The fixes will require sacrifices and "rethinking our priorities as a society," he said. "We should be promoting individual owned properties by having policies and legislation that levels the playing field for as many people as possible," Cummings said. "We should also be revising zoning restrictions to allow more homes to be built. Other policies and legislation to consider could include investor restrictions and lending standards that promote individual ownership." Those ideas and others from audience questions will be fielded by a panel of experts at the forum that includes: Eric Wobser, CEO of the Greater Sandusky Partnership and former Sandusky city manager; Joe Recchie, CEO of Praxia Partners, developer of affordable housing and solar energy; Colleen Gilson, Sandusky's community development director; Matt Lasko, Huron city manager; Ralph Chamberlain, CEO of the Erie County Metropolitan Housing Administration; Pete Schade, Erie County Health commissioner; Tom Sarko, a U.S. Census data dissemination specialist.