Northern Vermont v. Northern New Hampshire v. Northern Maine (Williston: apartment complexes, renters)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm wondering if someone can explain why rents in northern Vermont especially are so incredibly high. Northern Maine isn't close to Quebec *or* New York State? Northern Vermont is more desirable for skiers? Northern Maine's poverty is more pronounced since the Loring closure in the 90s? (Far) Northern New Hampshire is more inaccessible? I just started to investigate for younger relatives relocation possibilities; they're so interested in Vermont. But the rents there are kind of shocking.
Thank you for the reply. The Northeast Kingdom area is currently difficult (according to my relatives) to find available rentals in. The St. Albans area… Maybe the water there has gold in it that stops right at the border of New York
With Vermont Act 68, rental property pays the commercial rate on the state school property tax. The landlord has to recover that expense by charging more for rent. Act 68 is pretty invisible to middle class homeowners since it’s means tested but it hits renters pretty hard indirectly. With that kind of taxation, nobody is going to build rental units. The ownership cost is too high and the economy isn’t strong enough to support the required rent.
=GeoffD;62443436]With Vermont Act 68, rental property pays the commercial rate on the state school property tax. The landlord has to recover that expense by charging more for rent. Act 68 is pretty invisible to middle class homeowners since it’s means tested but it hits renters pretty hard indirectly. With that kind of taxation, nobody is going to build rental units. The ownership cost is too high and the economy isn’t strong enough to support the required rent.
Wow! Thank you. This is truly valuable information I'm positive my young family members know nothing about. Sincere thanks.
I would also add that the laws here favor tenants over the landlord so it's rather slow, difficult and expensive to evict bad tenants. The recent eviction ban only made problems worse. Many landlords are going to be far more careful choosing tenants and already many want a lot more money up front to move in. All of this is going to be factored into the rent charged, and some people have simply left the business since last year, making for a tighter market.
I would also add that the laws here favor tenants over the landlord so it's rather slow, difficult and expensive to evict bad tenants. The recent eviction ban only made problems worse. Many landlords are going to be far more careful choosing tenants and already many want a lot more money up front to move in. All of this is going to be factored into the rent charged, and some people have simply left the business since last year, making for a tighter market.
The eviction ban is ugliness all around, and anyone who won't appreciate the other side's anxiety and losses is a close-minded fool. I'm particularly grateful for your answer because the young family I'm writing about receives government subsidies. They are decent, clean, and because of a family member with a disability, not given to "coming and going" or to loudness and lack of hygiene. None of this matters to a state or an economy overburdened (like every state) with more people to maintain than money to maintain them with.
Now with the winter coming and Covid not seeming to be leaving anytime soon, I will make sure they read the answers I've received here. I told them that learning the assets *and* drawbacks of Vermont's government policies and economy would definitely be worth their time. I'm sure laborers willing to work can find some sort of job in most parts of the U.S. But with rents so unusually high, I'm positive Vermont is not the right choice at this time.
I would also add that the laws here favor tenants over the landlord so it's rather slow, difficult and expensive to evict bad tenants. The recent eviction ban only made problems worse. Many landlords are going to be far more careful choosing tenants and already many want a lot more money up front to move in. All of this is going to be factored into the rent charged, and some people have simply left the business since last year, making for a tighter market.
Good point. Another thing to add to the list of Vermont public policy limiting the supply of rental housing. And obviously, urban people bailing out of southern New England and the NYC tri-state region to telecommute from Vermont also had an impact.
Vermont public policy is biased towards middle class homeowners. I don’t have a stake in this but you’d think it would make some sense to do things to encourage adding residential rental housing. Perhaps have two tiers of tenant protection law where it’s easier for mom & pop landlords to evict people. Perhaps tax rental property rented by residents at a lower rate.
Good point. Another thing to add to the list of Vermont public policy limiting the supply of rental housing. And obviously, urban people bailing out of southern New England and the NYC tri-state region to telecommute from Vermont also had an impact.
Vermont public policy is biased towards middle class homeowners. I don’t have a stake in this but you’d think it would make some sense to do things to encourage adding residential rental housing. Perhaps have two tiers of tenant protection law where it’s easier for mom & pop landlords to evict people. Perhaps tax rental property rented by residents at a lower rate.
I see all kinds of massive apartment complexes in Williston in particular. I thnk that is their solution to the housing problem here. But I don't think they are 'affordable housing' units.
I see all kinds of massive apartment complexes in Williston in particular. I thnk that is their solution to the housing problem here. But I don't think they are 'affordable housing' units.
The old joke about Chittenden County being nice because it’s so near to Vermont. Generally, the rest of the state doesn’t have the local economy to support much in the way of apartment complexes. We had a defense of the upper Connecticut River valley but even that acknowledged that most of the jobs are over the river. Of course, this problem exists in all rural areas and isn’t unique to Vermont. It just has a few more impediments to development than some other places.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
