single mom pays $1,000 a month for a garage in SF

[Liberal_in_LA]

http://www.cnn.com/videos/opinions/2015/02/25/change-the-list-poverty-garage-sutter-orig-ba.cnnSky-high rents in Silicon Valley are forcing parents into difficult living situations. CNN meets a woman who is raising her daughter in a single-car garage.
Meet the Silicon Valley mom forced to live in a GARAGE - that still costs her $1,000 per month - as San Francisco rents skyrocket
Nicole Jones lives in the tiny space with her 18-month-old daughter and she also has a son on the way
The converted home in suburban San Mateo includes a central space which is utilized as a living room, kitchen, bedroom and dining room
In the back, there is a toilet and stand-up shower
Jones says she used to live in a normal apartment but was forced to downgrade after losing her job
Although she has found work, she is going to stay put for now
The average property rent in San Mateo is $3,608, according to the real estate firm Zillow.com

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2979345/Meet-single-mother-living-250-sqft-GARAGE-costs-1-000-month-rent-continues-skyrocket-Silicon-Valley.html

[Warpy]

1. When she gets back on her feet, she'll look back on it with nostalgia

One good thing about one room living is that there is little cleaning to do. It's one impetus behind that "tiny house" movement.

It's a hell of a lot better than a lot of my living situations. It's light years ahead of a welfare hotel. She could use some better kitchenette facilities, though.

[2naSalit]

2. it only seems like there's less cleaning to do

I live in a two room palace compared to that garage but I do know one thing from living the majority of my life in small spaces is that it's pretty much mandatory practice to HAVE TO clean up all the stuff from one activity in order to have any room to begin another regardless of what those activities are. Not adopting this practice would result in living on top of your stuff and having your small space look like a disheveled mess and would bring great difficulty in getting much of anything accomplished.

[Warpy]

3. You also learn not to bring new things in until you have discarded the old things.

My house is a post WWII two bedroom tract house starter home, not much square footage but a converted one car garage that's big enough for my rug loom. My dad wanted me to move out of this area when I inherited but I told him living in some big yuppie barn meant cleaning the damned thing and no thanks.

[2naSalit]

5. This is also true.

My place would look like a "habitrail" if I didn't have a rather non-materialistic nature. But I do art-like stuff too (wish I could get a loom! but I'd have to rent a place for it) and my supplies take up as much space as do my bed and other necessities. My place is all of 11ft x 30ft, some of which is woodstove/bathroom/kitchen/closet. But it's warm when it's -40F and easy to heat with the woodstove. The nice part about living away from town and having no real neighbors nearby is I don't have to worry about how I dress when home doing chores or how I look when I venture outside, unless I actually go into town for some reason. I like that part, and that it's quiet and dark at night, except for the wildlife being vocal.

[Agschmid]

4. Tough situation, I feel for her.

I can't imagine that's legal...

But what is she supposed to do?

[kcr]

7. Legal or ethical

I wish there was a hell for that landlord to burn in

[ohnoyoudidnt]

21. So should the landlord let her stay there for free or not rent the space at all?

She doesn't have to live there if she doesn't want to and property values are not the landlord's fault. For all we know, the landlord needs to rent the space to be able to afford to live there himself. I'm sorry, but I fail to see anything malicious done by the landlord.

[kcr]

25. Oh. There's a law forcing that person to charge that woman who lost her job

and has a baby wth another on the way a grand a month for that tiny space? And the only alternative is letting her stay there for free? Huh.

[FBaggins]

29. You only saw one alternative in that post?

What do you imagine the landlord's story looks like?

How desperate does your own financial situation have to be before you're renting out your garage as a living space?

Your finger shouldn't be pointed at them... it should be pointed at the county that allows that usage.

[kcr]

31. Yes, I only saw one alternative when it looked like I was suggesting

the "landlord" let the woman stay for free.

Desperation does not excuse charging 1000 a month for a garage toilet.

[FBaggins]

32. Then you didn't read it.

What makes you think the owners of the home would be interested in renting out their garage for a price that you and I would consider acceptable for those living conditions?

Nobody buys a home with that thought that "hey... if things get tight, we can always rent out the garage". This isn't a slumlord charging whatever the market will bear, it's a ridiculously pricey market converting spaces that wouldn't otherwise be considered livable spaces into something that gets rented out. IOW, the landlords didn't create the price... the price created a new landlord.

This is basic economics. There will always be housing available across the broad spectrum of price points. If a bare minimum 1BR apartment rents for $2,000/month, then people who can only afford $500 will end up sharing that apartment with three other people and some homeowners will decide to rent out spare bedrooms. People who don't want to share a space with someone else and who are unwilling or unable to move to cheaper locations... will end up accepting something dramatically less livable than a bare minimum 1BR apartment.

You can mandate a lower price point with rent controls, but that ends up causing a housing shortage, since spaces such as this would not be on the market at all.

[PersonNumber503602]

14. Tell her kid to pull itself by its bootstaps and start contributing???

[CreekDog]

6. It's Belmont not San Francisco

but it is the SF Bay Area.

San Francisco rents may be even worse than this!

[arcane1]

8. It's in San Mateo, but would probably cost even more in SF.

Stories like this make me realize how lucky I am to have a great deal on my place! I'm paying $1,100 in SF for a studio that usually goes for twice that. Counting my blessings!!!

[WorseBeforeBetter]

9. Jayzus, the comments at the Daily Mail.

Why, why, WHY did I read them?!

[Liberal_in_LA]

10. they always focus on the parental/marriage status of those in need

[WorseBeforeBetter]

16. So much judgement from one article that's sorely lacking in details.

Where's the baby dad(dies)?! Just move! Find another job! Wood floors! Ugh.

[MADem]

27. Maybe the father or fathers are giving her the rent money.

The rent is too damn high, I certainly hope it includes utilities.

The doggone landlord could at least put in a door--how cheesy to have to raise the garage door to get into the "house."

[Starry Messenger]

15. SFGate's story link wasn't much better. nt.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

19. DU has its warts, but it's a freakin' sanctuary compared to...

more "open" sites.

[sir pball]

11. Hot damn, that's bigger than my studio!

Granted we have a large kitchen by reasonable NYC standards, but that's about all we have on her. And we pay $1775. Totes jelly!

I'm only sorta joking...in the general sense it's terrible that a single mother has to live in tight quarters, our apartment is literally that size and we'd never dream of having a child in it, but rolling door aside it *is* essentially a studio. It's not quite as bad as cots set up on a concrete floor.

[Matariki]

12. Oh look! A Tiny House.

Maybe Apartment Therapy will feature this clever, hip use of space.

[PersonNumber503602]

13. Crazy CoL out there. $1,000/mo where I live will get you some decent digs.

I used the term digs in an ironic way, or something. I don't actually use that word. I went onto craigslist to look at the jobs section for San Francisco to see if the wages fit the area. I can't believe I actually see jobs only paying $26,000 (for a customer service rep position) I went into the tech area and I saw a job offering to pay $55,000/yr for a systems analyst or something along those lines. Given what they wanted, I'd say that *could* be an acceptable salary where I live, but for sure not for a place like SF. Now, if this sampling is any indication of the wages out there, I don't see how anyone can afford to live there.

Just found another that requires a BA/BS degree that only pays $15/hr in SF. Oh, electronic technician for $14/hr.

[Xithras]

35. You won't find decent Bay Area jobs on Craigslist.

Decent jobs require that you dig through better job sites, and a HUGE amount of Bay Area recruiting happens directly off of LinkedIn. The really good jobs require that you know somebody.

[Starry Messenger]

17. I wonder how many others around here are scumdogging it and renting their garages out for $1k

A couple of years ago I read a news item about a woman who chopped her Santa Clara house up into several cubicles and rented those out. It was unreal. She got raided when the neighbors noticed their were like 12 cars parking around the house.

I'm sure this isn't unusual around here.

[madville]

18. That is unreal

My 1300 sq ft house on one acre is $540 a month (that includes property taxes and insurance), have 10 years left on a 15 year mortgage after refinancing.

But I only take home $2600 a month, I guess I would starve trying to live out there on this income.

[Generic Brad]

20. Looks like a zoning violation to me

At least that arrangement would be in my parts.

[SheilaT]

22. She's single. She has an 18 month old and another child on the way.

I know I'll probably get slammed for this, but why in the hell is she having a second child? And as someone else has already asked, where is the dad? Or the dads?

[zazen]

39. I agree, and I'm tired of being slammed for it: I had to plan my pregnancies

and I would have had more children if I could have afforded it, but that would have resulted in not being able to properly provide the necessary emotional time and labor in addition to health care, education, and frugal material comforts to my existing children (who are now thriving young progressives and are already "giving back". Maybe not a "quiverful" for the cause, but it's one way to contribute back to the planet some humans who can "take up our fight" so to speak.)

I understand if one really tries birth control and it fails, or if you've got endometriosis or something and if you don't have the child now you might never be able to. And of course, if you were planning carefully and then all hell broke loose with medical bankruptcy, an awful partner who abandons you. … that sucks. Barring that, I'm tired of not being able to question the practice of people who feel entitled to get pregnant again when they can barely support the child/children they have and don't have a partner (of either sex) or family member there to help. I don't see how that's privileged to ask, as long as we apply the same standard to ourselves (which I've done).

Thank you SheilaT.

[hunter]

23. Much nicer than some of the crap housing in my city...

...or some of the places I've lived, including in my broken car parked behind a church, beyond the reach of police who would harass "homeless" people.

Everyone deserves a safe comfortable place to live simply because they are human beings.

And I'd extend that privilege to other intelligent species too. Cetaceans, elephants, wolves, bears, condors, ravens, social plants... all of them

We humans, in this twisted international human "economy," are all shareholders in this planet earth.

Every intelligent being on this planet ought to be a "trust fund" kid, respectful of our ancestors.

As powerful siblings now, it's our duty as humans to protect the rest.

[elias49]

24. I think it's sad. nt

[abelenkpe]

26. Average property rent 3,000

Yeah that's what it is in LA too for anything west of Crenshaw. Rents have skyrocketed since the 2008 real estate crash. Good thing investors found a new cow to milk right?

[hobbit709]

28. Isn't much better here in Austin.

[steve2470]

30. That's really sad for her

It would have been nice if the homeowner could have charged her a lot less. Also, it would have been great if the Daily Mail had blurred out her house number.

[4_TN_TITANS]

33. Wtf - average rent $3,608???

Our monthly mortgage for a 3,500 sq.ft. house on 3/4 acre in Tennessee is $763 per month.
Granted the jobs available here suck, but the cost of living is low too. Why do people stay in such outrageously expensive places?

[Liberal_in_LA]

34. jobs, weather, cultural opportunities, family,

[Xithras]

36. It's Northern California.

I can be in my shorts on the beach in he morning, hiking through Yosemite Valley a couple of hours later, and get several hours of skiing in before dinner. You can't do that in Tennessee.

My mortgage is double yours for a slice of land that is a fraction of your properties size. I wouldn't even think about trading with you.

[Starry Messenger]

38. Family, the weather, gorgeous state

Jobs. Plus it wasn't this crazy until about two years ago. Picking up and making a major life change like relocation to another state means putting all of life on hold to transition unless you've got support.

[B2G]

37. Um, I thought Tiny Houses were all the rage

I could have sworn I saw a bunch of swoony posts over them.

[blackspade]

40. what asshole charges 1K for a garage?

Probably a rethug or libertarian...

I'm fascinated by the judgmental 'tough love' in this thread.
The first thing folks seem to zero in on are her pregnancies/child/lack of a man and that her fucking garage is better than some shithole that they once lived in.

Nothing about the prick charging 1K....