For too many people, finding an affordable home or apartment to rent is not as easy as it once was.
Whether it is a recent college graduate or a family looking for a home to rent, the high cost of rent and finding a home is becoming a challenge for many.
Caitlin Furborough with Scams.info, an online organization that helps people avoid being swindled, said the number of applicants for each vacant rental in the Chicagoland area is 14, making it a fierce competition for prospective renters. She said this has led many to forego real estate agents and turn to online media social groups advertising properties for rent.
For those who do use that option, Furborough said some may find themselves the victims of rental fraud. To avoid being duped, she suggests confirming property ownership by making sure the landlord is the legal owner; requesting copies of rental contracts; and make secure payments with a credit card.
According to NerdWallet, a personal finance company, rent prices are now 30 percent higher than they were before the pandemic. Perusing the Internet to search for apartments in Will County for example, the monthly rent for a one-bedroom unit at HighPoint Reflections in Romeoville is $1,624. A one-bedroom unit in the Woodlands of Crest Hill is $1,220, or $1,546 for two bedrooms. A two-bedroom apartment in the Redwood Lockport complex is $2,699.
Jamie Garcia of Joliet, who opted to live with his parents instead of getting an apartment of his own after graduating from college last spring, said he, like his friends, cannot afford an apartment.
“With inflation, I cannot afford to get a studio apartment for $1,800 per month, make my car payments and afford groceries,” he said. “When my parents first moved to Joliet 30 years ago and rented an apartment, it was like $500 per month.
“The sad part is I have a good job that pays a high salary, but I just cannot afford to live on my own.”
Those who do have their own apartment or home, like Maya Santiago of Bolingbrook, the 23-year-old said she is sharing the cost of her apartment with two friends.
“That is the only way we can make this work,” she said. “There is no way none of us can afford our rent of $1,900 per month. Things are so out of control.
“I truly thought I could buy a house five years down the line, but that American dream is out of reach especially with high interest rates right now.”
While there are more apartment complexes and affordable start-up homes being planned or built in surrounding communities, Plainfield has targeted singles and married couples, with zoning codes that have prevented village trustees from proceeding with mixed-use projects. Such was the case with a plan set forth by Dandelion Development Inc., which proposed two mixed-use buildings that would have housed 84 apartments all above 800 square feet on the second and third floors of each structure.
But this proposal at the southeast corner of West Village Center Drive and South Van Dyke Road in downtown was denied last year as some viewed the unimproved land as an extension of the 20-plus acre Settlers Park, prompting them to deny the special use permit. For families in need of affordable housing, The Will
County Center for Community for Community Concerns may have a program available to assist families also the Housing Authority of Joliet, who had been planning to build a mixed use housing community.