![]() ![]() ![]() “We all owe a huge debt of gratitude to those who have not been swayed by the greed that can sometimes tempt landlords,” Guyer said. Still, he has a lot of respect for local property owners like Elder and Berman who are choosing to keep rents relatively affordable. Guyer understands that not everybody has the ability to offer a below-market rental rate, especially if they purchased their investment property in the last few years as the median price of a single-family home in Bozeman approached $900,000. At the end of the day, it’s the tenants who end up paying the costs or being displaced.” “It is like a game of chicken,” Guyer says, “to see who can set their rent rates the highest. “I am definitely aware that as the housing director at one of the area’s largest nonprofits - the person mostly responsible for the housing programs that assist low-income residents and the homeless - I am responsible for all these things, but there is no place for me in this community.” The irony of the circumstance is clear to him. “But we got a notice from our out-of-state landlord that the rent was being increased $600 a month, and that was it for us. “We really wanted to dive in and invest in this community and make it our home,” Guyer says. Perhaps no one in town better understands Bozeman’s rental market than HRDC’s Guyer, himself a former tenant.Īt HRDC, Guyer works on local housing complexities every day, but he has also experienced displacement firsthand due to a steep rental increase at his previous Bozeman residence. And one time when one tenant was sick, the other drove her to the emergency room. One of his tenants watches his dog when he is out of town. Like Elder, Berman views his rental home as a community. I hope by keeping the rent low it will keep some of the old Bozeman folks - and vibe - around. Sure, I would certainly like another $1,000 a month, but I remember what it was like to be a renter in Bozeman. “I know I could charge a lot more, but I don’t,” says Berman, a former manager at Bozeman’s Community Food Co-op who is now attending graduate school for counseling. “It’s a killer deal for two people,” he says. One apartment’s rent is more because he charges an additional $50 for a second tenant. The rentals are small, Berman says, but they offer “lots of extras like big shade trees, a nice large yard for everyone, shared laundry.”īerman charges $950 a month for one rental and $1,000 a month for the other, and he covers utilities. He has two rentals in his home on a quiet street on the north side about three blocks from downtown.Įach of the rentals is about 600 square feet. Berman has lived in Bozeman for 22 years and been a landlord for eight. “No one can afford to live here anymore,” he says. Landlord Chris Berman echoes Elder’s assessment. “I am not trying to get rich, I just am trying to live in Bozeman.” “The way rent is these days, it’s absolutely asinine.” When she raises her rent, she says, it’s simply because property taxes and utilities are going up. I bring food or dessert up to them if I have leftovers.”Įlder says she realizes the current rental market is inflated. Or my tenant will watch my chickens when I am out of town. I want working people to be able to live in this town. “I want working people like me in my rental. “Someone said, ‘lynch the landlord’ because they thought the rent I was asking for was too high.” And though she has raised the rent periodically (15 years ago, it was about $700 a month), she says it has never been unoccupied.Įven so, the last time she advertised the rental online she was harassed. The recently renovated apartment has a washer and dryer, air conditioning, and its own entrance. “Because I pay all the extras, I feel like I could easily get $1,500 to $1,600.” “I got about 60 applications for $1,100 a month rental so it would be pretty easy to get more rent,” she says. Her 700-square-foot rental is above a home that she has owned for 26 years in the recently gentrified north side of Bozeman, not far from the trendy Wild Crumb bakery. ![]() Michelle Elder has lived in Bozeman for nearly three decades. The market would allow them to charge higher, sometimes much higher, monthly rates, but they say they are instead prioritizing the preservation of the community and its small-town culture. While many landlords have capitalized on the high demand for rentals, a handful of property owners have a different perspective. Those facts, according to Brian Guyer, housing director at Bozeman’s Human Resource Development Council, have created a “growing separation between the haves and the have-nots.” In short, you’re lucky to find a place to live if you want to rent in Bozeman. Renters report dramatic monthly increases when their leases are up, and the vacancy rate is consistently below 2%. The average cost to rent a one-bedroom apartment in Bozeman is nearing $2,000 a month.
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