| There are many ways to find affordable housing. | | | | bedrooms. If you have a basement you might build |
| There are even ways to make the home you have | | | | two bedrooms there for very little investment. I |
| more affordable. Here are some of the best. | | | | used to get over $300 per month for rooms in a |
| Move to a cheaper location. This is often not | | | | mobile home. |
| considered by people, but the difference in housing | | | | You might do something similar even if you are |
| costs between two cities within an hour of each | | | | renting. If it's okay with the landlord you could rent |
| other can be dramatic. This can be true whether you | | | | out an extra bedroom in your apartment and cut |
| are renting or buying. If the new location isn't too far | | | | your costs in half. If the landlord says no to that he |
| away, you can commute to your job. On the other | | | | might agree to two of you splitting the rent and both |
| hand, if the difference is enough and you can find a | | | | being on the lease. |
| similar job, you might do well to move hundreds of | | | | Refinancing is another way to create more affordable |
| miles away to lower your living costs. | | | | housing. If your interest rate is higher than the |
| Find cheaper types of homes. Often there are many | | | | current rates available you might substantially lower |
| types of housing in an area, and some are definitely | | | | your payment. This is especially true if you also only |
| more affordable than others. There are apartments, | | | | have fifteen or twenty years to pay on the current |
| seasonal rentals, mobile homes you can rent, mobile | | | | loan and the new one takes that back out to thirty |
| homes you can buy in a park, mobile homes you can | | | | years. |
| buy on land, modular homes that look just like regular | | | | Finally, we have the more creative approaches to |
| houses but sell for less, recreational vehicles in parks, | | | | affordable housing. I had a friend that lived in a tent |
| rooms for rent, and more. Make a list of the options | | | | for half of the year so he could bank half of his |
| and investigate to see which cost less. | | | | paycheck. He then moved into a hotel room on the |
| Find cheaper parts of town. In some cities the same | | | | beach for the winter months. These rooms were |
| house can be half the price in one neighborhood | | | | cheap seasonally because it was a summer resort |
| versus another. Now, in some places you wouldn't | | | | town. |
| want to live in the half-priced areas. But sometimes it | | | | Then there are the three young guys we met living |
| is more a matter of aesthetics than safety, so this | | | | in a school bus parked for free in the desert in |
| might be a temporary solution while you save money | | | | Arizona. They lived within walking distance of a hot |
| to someday upgrade. | | | | spring for bathing, and cooked some of their meals |
| You can create affordable housing right where you | | | | over a fire. Now that's affordable housing. |
| are if you own your home. Just rent out any empty | | | | |