Temporary Housing 101

Hollywood is seen as one of the richer places in America. However, even in one of the affluent places, there are poor people. That’s why the local government’s doing something about it.

The Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency approved a revitalization plan last Thursday to help finance a series of commercial and residential projects adding more low-income housing in the area.

Low-income projects planned over the next five years include the $7-million Villas at Gower, which will offer 70 “very low-income housing units” along with supportive services for homeless families and what the CRA calls “transitional youths.”

Source

If you’re alone or you’re with your family and you’re looking for temporary housing on the go, then there are three possible options for you:

Regular Hotels: If you’re just going to be out for a week or so, then a hotel would be a good place to go to. They offer a lot of full service amenities like housekeeping, etc. The problem with staying ina hotel is that it’s expensive .

Extended Stay Hotels: If it’s going to be more than a week, then this is probably a better alternative. It has a home-like environment that caters to everyone. It also offers full kitchens and on-site laundry facilities. No lease signing, no utitlites to establish, and the studio is fully furnished.

Rental homes & Apartments:
For those who need to stay out for a month or so, this would be the ultimate option. However, leases needs to be signed, utilities should be arranged, telephone & cable bills need to be paid. Expensive in the long run.

Source

So you’re far away from home, and living in a company sponsored temp house, what do you do in the meantime? Adjusting to the new town and people will take some time. People are more relaxed if they aren’t pressured to sell their homes or move all their things.

In order to make your temp house a bit more personal, you can try the following:

Source

The present administration is lobbying for home ownership but according to a study conducted by both the Center for Economic and Policy Research and the National Low Income Housing Coalition it should focus more on rental and affordable properties.

Due to the surging rates of foreclosures, people may choose the apartment or temporary housing options this year. There’s even a figure stating that 1 million people rented apartments last year compared to 139,000 more people looking into buying a house.

“With or without proactive policy, the transition from owner-occupied housing to rental housing is happening,” the report said. “In these bubble markets, policymakers must not only be less committed to sustaining ownership and home values, but also must proactively facilitate the conversion to rental of vacant, foreclosed and delinquent units to limit the pressure on the rental market.”

When a company moves you to another part of town (or state!), you and your family may be offered temporary housing until you find a new permanent house to live in. It’s better to live in temp housing than a hotel because it’s almost like home. Almost everything is there to make life a bit more livable.

Another reason why a company would place you in a temp house than a hotel is because it cost less. Unfortunately the minimum stay is 30 days. The price includes utilities, local phone service, and cable TV. You can add a bit more to get two bedrooms, housekeeping, etc.