SHERMAN, TX — If you’ve been on the hunt for an affordable place to rent, TCOG Texoma Council of Governments may have a solution for you.

They recently launched a free website aimed at helping both the elderly and disabled to find a new home.

At the age of 73, Barbara McCollum will soon be leaving behind precious memories collected through the years in her quaint Sherman home, all because she no longer can afford it.

“It’s just impossible really for elders to get decent affordable housing,” said McCollum.

Like many seniors, McCollum is retired and has to live on a fixed income, but a recent $250 hike in her rent is forcing her to move out, and the search for a new place hasn’t been easy.

“I’ve been looking for the past few months, actually since last year, that’s how hard it is, and there’s such a long waiting list too,” she said.

That waiting list is for section 8 and public housing.

“It’s about a one to two year waiting time before anyone can get in,” said Janet Karam, TCOG Program Manager.

However, a new website called TXHousingSearch.org launched by the TCOG’s Aging and Disability Resource Center, is hoping to fill that need for more affordable housing, geared towards the elderly and disabled, but also friendly for anyone to use.

“We needed a database to get people connected,” said Karam.

The free and easy to use site, which also has a toll free number for those who don’t have access to a computer, will act like a liaison between property providers and renters, providing a centralized location for both parties to either list or search with just a few clicks.

“Definitely easy to navigate,” said McCollum.

The site will have detailed listings for 12 northeast Texas counties, and you can specify your search based on your needs and budget.

“Caregivers can help search for their families, families can search if they’re looking to move, or agencies,” said Karam.

The freshly launched website currently has a little over 1000 listings, but TCOG hopes it will quickly populate, so they can better serve those in need.

For the link to the website, click here.

Toll free number for TXHousingSearch – 1.877.428.8844

Originally posted at http://www.kten.com/story/30379596/tcog-launches-affordable-housing-website-geared-for-elderly-disabled-and-more

The housing market is booming in North Texas, but that isn’t making the housing search easier.

“Across the board, I think there’s a housing shortage in all of our communities,” said Janet Karam, a project manager at the Texoma Council of Governments.

Rental property is in especially high demand in Texoma.

“A lot of landlords don’t have the opportunity to list a rental property before it’s rented,” explained Karam. “They put a sign out, and it’s rented.”

“I can put a sign out in the yard at noon and have it leased by one,” agreed Kyle Wiser, the operations manager at Southwest Management.

Some choose to rent based on need.

“It’s getting harder and harder to get financed to buy a house,” Wiser said.

But, there has been increased preference towards renting, rather than buying homes.

“You’re still going be responsible for your utility payments and all of that, but if something breaks down, you’re not left with a what do we do? You contact your landlord, and they take care of you,” Wiser said.

The Texoma Council of Governments was made aware of the rental demand.

To help prospective renters, they launched a new website, TXHousingSearch.org.

“Rather than have a static list, of an inventory that’s constantly changing, it’s going to be dated in two weeks from building that inventory,” Karam explained. “Why not create something that clients can actually use?”

Although the site is new, they have been underwhelmed by the number of listings.

“We had hoped by putting this out there, we would actually find out that there were more rental properties than we what we were actually seeing and what we’re finding is that there’s just really not a lot out there,” Karam said.

TCOG is hoping that more landlords will list their available properties so more people can find a new place to call home.

TCOG database: www.TXHousingSearch.org

Source: http://www.kxii.com/news/tx/headlines/Increasing-demand-for-rental-property-333023001.html

“When I first started in this job 27 years ago, I used to run the program by myself.”

Rayleen Bingham is seated at a conference table in the Texoma Council of Governments’ Sherman headquarters, where her Section 8 Housing Office now employs a full-time staff of four.

“We didn’t get but one call every two or three days, of someone wanting to apply,” she said. “We get 20 calls a day now. The need has increased and doubled and tripled and just kept on going.”

TCOG manages approximately 1,100 of Grayson County’s 1,800 Section 8 units, which are split about 40-60 between public housing, in which the tenants are their own landlords, and vouchers, in which the federal government subsidizes rent at a privately-owned home or apartment. According to a 2012 study prepared by TCOG, those available units are enough to meet only a fraction of the need, with at least 3,000 local families eligible for assistance.

“Basically, the wage in this area has not increased that much, but the population has,” explained Bingham. “So you’re getting more people coming into the area, working at the same jobs that maybe don’t meet living wage or barely meet living wage, who are going to qualify for our programs, but because of the need and the supply and demand, we can’t serve them because we only have so many slots available.”

For those who make it into the Section 8 program — oftentimes after a wait that can approach three years for the voucher program — the government pays the difference between what the person can afford and a fair-market rate for the lodging. That rate fluctuates year-to-year, and currently ranges from $620 for a one-bedroom unit to $1,002 for a three-bedroom.

The market is squeezed at both ends, said Bingham, with smaller units always filled quickly when they become available, and a general lack of larger accommodations.

“The smaller size units, one and two bedrooms, are only going up (in price) a little bit, but those are the hardest units to find,” she said. “When I started this program, it was primarily young females with children, or the elderly or disabled. Now, I’m finding that same young mother with children is actually taking in mamma and maybe brother. … Se [sic] we’ve got a different family dynamic going on.”

The program director said federal dollars for Section 8 have remained relatively flat over the past two decades, with most of the growth locally coming through supplemental efforts for veterans and fractured families. Programs to graduate people out of Section 8 — including a project that deposits money in a savings account for people who start making more at work — have helped to spark turnover, Bingham explained.

“We’re going to be there for you, once you get on the program, we’re going to help you and try to get you to a self-sufficient point,” Bingham said. “People are just not making enough money to pay their rent and all of the other things that they need, or think that they need. A lot of people aren’t real good at prioritizing, unfortunately, and they don’t make as good of decisions as they should. They get themselves in a bind and then that’s when they reach out and need help.”

To qualify for Section 8 rental assistance, a family must be at or below 50 percent of median income for the Sherman-Denison metropolitan area. For a single person, that amount for 2015 is $34,800. For a family of four, the cut-off rises to $49,700.

“It’s those that don’t get on the program that I worry about,” said Bingham. “Because they’re doubling-up. They’re going through a cycle of renting a unit when they finally get the money, and then sneaking out on the landlord when they can’t afford to continue paying.”

With no public housing projects planned for construction locally and little hope for more voucher money from Congress, Bingham said local housing authorities have looked to innovate, applying for grants, collaborating among each other and purchasing unused apartment stock to convert to Section 8.

Amid the challenges, however, Bingham said the spirit of charity locally is far superior to the situation in the Metroplex. She said the recalcitrant landlords that her sister agencies deal with are not among the problems in Grayson and Fannin counties.

“Our community rocks; they are really good,” said Bingham. “They like to take care of their own.”

Source – http://heralddemocrat.com/news/local/need-local-rent-assistance-outpaces-demand-say-officials