trailer parks for the homeless an interm solution
I once was homeless, and went with the last of my money to a trailer park, once there I bought a trailer for cheap, renovated it, and then rented three rooms to other homeless people, people on social assistance, and people with disabilities. I myself have a mental disability, and once worked for a crown corporation here in B.C. for some 15 years, until I left with a federal disability pension. After living in the park, not the best place I have ever lived, but at least safe, warm, and cheap. After being here for a few years, I bought my neighbors trailer, since the first one was paid for I bought the second one without a penny down. What is called a interalium mortgage, a leveraged purchase. Then I renovated the trailer to make it into a four bedroom, and rented the four new rooms to four more homeless people. Now there are eight of us. All with housing. The rents are paid by the government, and I have a little extra cash to pay down the loan. Everyone here enjoys cable t.v. laundry, parking, house insurance, wifi internet, hydro, and a community food bank. With counselling available, For forty thousand dollars I purchased two units, which is a cost of five thousand dollars per person. In six months I will purchase one quarter acre of land on another of the southern gulf islands, and will build three more small houses, suitable for two people each. Six more people, for a total of fourteen. This next project will cost seventy thousand dollars for six people. The reason for the increased costs is due to regulations. There is actually a trailer park act that states one owner in a park cannot own more than two units. So I decided to buy a small cheap piece of land, and build three small cabin homes for about ten thousand each. I dont know when I will stop building houses for the homeless except that eventually I will be in a position to sell all the homes that exist back to the renters, therby turning them into owners. Which just happened last month when one of my renters bought his own place for the first time in his life. He is my first really really happy person. In about three more years there will be twelve more.
Truly impressive, Craig. I admire your energy and initiative - and the fact that you direct them towards helping others. The world could do with more people like you.
Amazing! You're doing a wonderful thing... I'll echo shrub by saying that the world would be better off with more people like you in it. I hope people pay attention to your "housing model"... it could help so many more people.
Would you be able to post some images or video of the trailer park? I'd like to know more...
What are the terms? Who is this debt money going to? How long will you continue to pay this debt just to live in a trailer park? What happens if / when people cannot make the payments? How does one enjoy paying house insurance because as I understand, this addition payment is usually required in a high risk mortgage?
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I've yet to own land. I've spent a lot of money in my lifetime on rent. At a certain point in my life with no money and working at low wage $8-$10/hour part time temporary jobs did not provide me with enough money to pay for rent. There are additional costs to working for money, in transportation, time, stress, and other expenses that I wouldn't have if I wasn't working for money. I stopped paying rent and lived outdoors because of the stress of working at something I hated just to pay for a place I didn't like living in. Before the winter, I applied for social assistance and as a result of the process ended up in another $8 / hour dead end part time job that I hated. Once I had enough money to pay for the remainder of the winter's rent, I quit.
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I think that there are many many more creative ways to live than we realize. For me, living in a mortgaged trailer park with cable tv is crazy making, and this my own judgment of something I have not experienced. I admire that you are doing this, if this is what you really love. Our paths may be different, but we are very much the same. I love to live outdoors. I am home outdoors. This is not my choice. This is the way I am.
The terms of the finances are simple. The first house was paid clear, which gives the ability to borrow, the amount borrowed cannot exceed 50 percent of the value of each house, the interest on the loan, and an amount included to pay down the principal are calculated into the overall monthly fixed costs of running the two houses. The money goes back to the bank, with interest, because naturally, that is where I borrowed the money. Keeping in mind that I did take a risk by taking a mortgage on a house that was paid for. I would not have been able to do that unless I had a guaranteed pension, which I do. Which is why, whether there are rooms empty, now and then, is O.K. because I still have income to be able to cover the fixed costs, from my pension. The mortgage held is not considered high risk because there is ample equity in the homes, so, the insurance company is happy to sell me coverage. In about three years the second house will be half paid off, and In six months there will be enough new equity created to make it possible to purchase land. Once the land is purchased there will be a new loan that includes all three properties, which will carry a lower interest rate, and of course the equity to debt ratio will be higher, except the bank looks more favourably towards loans which have land as an asset. When two and a half more years pass there will be enough equity to sell the two trailers to the formerly homeless, and anyone who is a renter can continue to have the government pay there pad rental, and can go to a private lender to borrow money for a purchase, as private lenders do exist, and will lend money on a government check. The down payment is not an issue, as it is my intention to sell the trailers below cost, and without a down payment, as a way to pay back the renters for renting in the first place. Without the rents there would be no growth, as well some people here do work, and pay less rent because money for labour is harder to come by, at least in rural areas, and even though we are all equal as far as gender is concerned I still ask for less rent from a working person or a female, as women do not receive equal pay for equal work, at least not with every employer out there. It is funny that you mentioned T.V. as the government did complain to me that people on social assistance are not looked upon as being in the category of enjoying T.V. or the internet, as the government says those things are not neccessities, which is true, except that I pay all the extra stuff, with money that would be profit, if I thought that people would be happy just sitting in a house, which is not the case, people need stuff to keep busy, and sometimes the winters are long, and the internet can give people greater access to work opportunities, or social interactions, which are equally important.
Hi, Shrub, Thanks, for your good words, Thank You as well Chris-Aung-Thwin, the housing model may seem a little convoluted, but it does work, and here in the gulf islands, where there has been no affordable housing built in twenty years, I now have the full attention of, the land bank, the Community Centre, the Islands Trust, and the CRD director, and they have all wondered how I created eight spots for the local homeless, and I made sure to take the most hurt local people first. And everyone is in recovery, there are only two rules here, no hard drugs, and no violence. People are able to smoke herbs, and drink in moderation. It is the best feeling ever to be able to watch everyone gradually recover. We are all looking forward to having a good Christmas dinner with a big turkey and all the other good stuff. And the land bank lady is now my friend and I have shown her how to set up the same structure in any trailer park in bc, and she has way more connections than myself. I even received a letter from Rich Coleman offering to explain the housing grant process.
Hi Craig - after reading how the entire financing structure works, I must admit that I am even more impressed! You thought out many of the details and have developed, from what I can see, a very fair housing model. Instead of a letter explaining the grant process, I think Rich Coleman should offer you his job. I congratulate you on a job well done, on a life well lived.
It should be a very merry Christmas dinner.