NEWS: 'Rooms for Rent' Abound as Economy Drags

Experts say many people turning empty rooms into needed cash.

PLEASE NOTE: This news article is from the USA.

SARASOTA | Isabella Wasser and her fiance, Thomas Ganter, are looking for a roommate to share the 2,600-square-foot home that they already share with Wasser's adult son, four dogs and three birds.

One room is unoccupied, and the couple wants to rent it out, even if it means a crowding a stranger into the family home.

"We're actually renting ourselves, and I really don't think the owners mind. They know what the situation is," said Wasser, 48, a graphic designer who has not been able to find steady work in a year. "I think if we owned the house, we'd be in foreclosure by now."

Florida's recession and foreclosure crisis is prompting people to take unusual steps in a desperate gambit to make mortgage payments, stay afloat financially and even avoid homelessness. People who once might have tapped into their home equity are instead parlaying empty rooms into much-needed cash.

While statistics tracking these ad-hoc living arrangements are elusive, housing experts say they are rising across the country. More people seeking housing assistance or falling into homelessness are clear secondary indicators of the trend.

Single-room rentals are often for tenants and homeowners who have run out of options. They frequently accept verbal rental agreements that can be short-lived and end in a sour parting.

Homeowners trade a loss of privacy and the risk of theft or other crimes for the promise of money for groceries and expenses. For renters, the arrangement eliminates the daunting burden of security deposits and other upfront costs.

"There might not be a lot of choice," said Linda Couch, deputy director of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a Washington-based nonprofit. "I think these are people who probably cannot go to the housing authority for assistance."

Neither Wasser nor Ganter have a car. Ganter drives a scooter to get to his job fixing power line transformers for a local company. After losing the last tenant, a day laborer who ran into health problems, the couple used grocery money to cover May's rent.

Wasser and Ganter have had five people rent temporarily in the past year. They called the police on one couple whose fighting got out of hand.

Others say they put up with major and minor inconveniences, ranging from inappropriate nudity to renters eating all the food in the refrigerator.

"We're just asking for someone who's sane and doesn't want to party all the time." Wasser said.

Sarasota has long struggled with affordable housing issues and the downturn exacerbated them.

The waiting list for the Sarasota Housing Authority's voucher program, known as Section 8, has been closed since 2004. Waiting lists for subsidized apartments are up 36 percent in the past year and continue to grow.

"If we opened up the Section 8 waiting list, I think there would probably be thousands of people applying," said housing authority Executive Director Bill Russell.

According to the University of Florida Shimberg Center for Housing Studies, even before the current downturn, working families nationwide were having more difficulty keeping up with rent and mortgage payments.

Carol and Mark Tuttle may open their 1,100-square-foot Bradenton home to another roommate. The tenant renting from them left recently, leaving them without $600 a month in much-needed income.

"We don't know what to do, and we're living off of credit cards," said Carol Tuttle, 47.

She refinanced during the boom and now owes $150,000 for a house that might be worth half that. Carol's 18-year-old daughter is staying at the house, and Mark Tuttle's son and daughter from another marriage stay with them on weekends, leaving space at a premium.

But with Carol suffering a back injury and unable to work, and Mark facing bankruptcy, they rely on a roommate to make ends meet. They need the cash, even if budgeting experts do not recommend it.

Carolyn Gregov, director and general manager of the Sarasota County extension of the University of Florida, counsels against renting a room to shore up budget holes, citing taxes and local codes that regulate boarders.

Instead, Gregov recommends people study their finances closely, then cut costs, save and look for other ways to generate income.

But many renters say they need money immediately.

SOURCE: The Ledger