How to part of the housing solution
Recently, RCED shared a chart that showed how many housing units are needed in Republic County for the County to grow to previous Census thresholds. These numbers were calculated by taking the number of units in the Census year, minus the number of units torn down in the period. The formula also took into consideration how many residents per household currently live in each house.
Population |
|
|
|
2020 | 4,674 |
|
|
2010 | 4,980 |
| 133.04 houses needed |
2000 | 5,804 |
| 290.30 houses needed |
1990 | 6,482 |
| 667.64 houses needed |
1980 | 7,569 |
| 1,057.50 houses needed |
1970 | 8,498 |
| 1841.61 houses needed |
The number of units needed seems daunting. If you are not a builder, how can you, as a resident of Republic County, help to tackle this housing issue? Here are some tips:
Use the Neighborhood Revitalization Plan and the Republic County Housing Program to build a new home in Republic County! Get started by contacting one of our Republic County banks.
Consider downsizing to a smaller home as you age. If you are still living in your five-bedroom house years later as a single person and you are ready to downsize, consider this option to open your house up for a new family.
Sell a house if you own one that is sitting unoccupied. Too many houses are sitting empty and this contributes to our housing shortage.
Gift a dilapidated home as a tax-deductible donation to the town land bank. Belleville and Courtland both have active land banks that can help with any property that has become a burden to an owner.
Consider selling or renting a home you’ve traditionally put on AirBnb or VRBO. While short-term and vacation rentals are a great solution for getting homes into use and an income-stream for owners, too many houses in these programs really limits the amount of rentals/homes to buy for permanent residents.
Become a landlord for your property by asking for references, an application, and a down payment as best practice. Make sure as well to keep up with the maintenance of the rental property and charge a fair but beneficial rent to be able afford improvements.
Sell an empty lot to someone to build new housing on. There are now builders and developers who are adding to the Republic County housing stock. They are looking for empty lots to build this housing on. One of the largest costs of building housing developments is extending the sewer, water, and electrical infrastructure to the site. Empty lots and downtown buildings already have this infrastructure available. If you get a call about your empty lot, please consider selling it.
Don’t consider tearing a property down as the immediate first option. If the structure can be saved, save it. Getting rid of structures, even if some were necessary, is what got Republic County into the housing shortage in the first place. Especially with historic homes and downtown buildings, modern-day building is too cost-prohibitive to rebuild something of comparable craftsmanship.
