Housing and the Single Parent

Posted on | September 9, 2010 | 2 Comments

Single parents have a disadvantage when it comes to housing in this economy. Most of it (let’s be honest) is designed to be afforded by those with two paychecks.

Unless you hit the lottery, or have a rich relative pass away, you will NOT be able to afford a fancy place. Realise this now and deal with it. It does not mean that you are a failure, or that you are less than human–it simply means that you cannot afford to support your kids and keep up with the Joneses.

Do NOT move your family in with a boyfriend, girlfriend, roommates or relatives to save money. Relatives will see you as a freeloader, roomates will inevitably be unable to afford their share of the rent, and relationships end. Stand up and get your own place; it will be more stable and peaceful this way for everyone.

The goal is to locate a safe home with as low of a financial footprint that you can find. Going smaller in size will mean that your utility bills will be lower, and you will be able to better afford any repairs or upgrades.

If it is just you and a single child, consider renting a small one-bedroom apartment in an inexpensive part of town. The child and toys can have the bedroom, while you take the living room. In the country it was common for the parents to sleep in the living room; my grandparents, despite having an empty nest, would move their bed in the living room near the stove every winter to heat as little of the house as possible.

A futon, sofa bed or Murphy Bed can be used for sleeping in this situation. By taking a page from the Japanese you could put your futon up by day and lose no space in the living room whatsoever in the daytime hours.

For those that wonder “What if I bring guys/girls over?” –Why would you want to expose your children to something like that? Go rent a room if you can’t control yourself! Your children and your financial health should be more important than getting laid, and if it isn’t, you have bigger problems than affordable housing.

If you have several children, consider purchasing a used mobile home on a rented lot. These homes can be found from the price of free to several thousand dollars depending upon budget, and the lot rent should run at most a couple of hundred dollars a month–a far cry from traditional renting expense.

Take the money you would normally use for deposit and first month’s rent in an apartment and visit the local mobile home parks. Some may not be safe to live in, so scout around. Stop and talk to the residents about the neighborhood, and you will find a wealth of information about the location. Residents will be happy to tell you if the area is safe for children, if child molesters live about, who owns the park and if they know of any empty homes for sale.

Contact the owner of the park and express your interest in living there. Sometimes he will have mobile homes that are abandoned that he will give or sell you, but these may need a little work, so be prepared if you go this route.

Ask friends and family and post a listing on Freecycle concerning your search for an inexpensive mobile home. I located the mobile home I live in by simply asking around–We started at an asking price of $1,000 and ended up trading around until finally settling upon $100 and most of my furniture. I now own a home in a quiet area of town, just out of the city limits. It is on a private lot, and my rent is a whopping $100 a month. You can find something similar if you look, and save hundreds a month in housing expenses.

The lower you reduce your housing expenses, the less you will have to work to support your kids.  The less you have to work to support your kids means more time to spend being a parent to those children and more time to seek out at home employment and build a home-based business.

If you don’t have any savings whatsoever, you can also consider public housing. The rent will be based on your income, but you will be constantly monitored and inspected, as well as be forbidden to save more than a couple of thousand dollars for your future. They also discourage entrepreneurs, and some housing areas are dangerous to live in. This would be a good place to start if you had to, but not a good place to stay in because they breed complacency. These areas are filled with people who will give you tips on how to sponge off the government and not work at all, so avoid pubic housing if you possibly can, or use it as a temporary solution.

I have lived in public housing in the past; the houses were in good condition, and one apartment I absolutely loved. However, there was a limit on what I could accomplish within government restrictions, and I resented the control so I moved on without regrets.

Now go out and find a simple home that you can raise your kids in without breaking the bank or whoring yourself out. I’ll be here when you’re done.

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