Illegal Rentals in Levittown Not Fair To Honest Struggling Homeowners, Your Thoughts (Babylon: apartment, renter)

[ClarkStreetKid]

That slippery slope has been on the Island for decades and you're now on the downhill slide. Unfortunately Long Island by not having enough diverse forms of housing is finally starting to bite. Let's say you close down the illegal apartments, where do the young marrieds and singles go to live?

[Jrprofess]

Originally Posted by ClarkStreetKid

That slippery slope has been on the Island for decades and you're now on the downhill slide. Unfortunately Long Island by not having enough diverse forms of housing is finally starting to bite. Let's say you close down the illegal apartments, where do the young marrieds and singles go to live?

Apparently NC...

[Glad2BHere]

Originally Posted by Jrprofess

Apparently NC...

Or PA. LOL
No seriously, they can go to the boros for rentals...and there are some towns with legal two families on LI.

Originally Posted by ClarkStreetKid

Let's say you close down the illegal apartments, where do the young marrieds and singles go to live?

There has always been mostly single family housing on LI. Young people have lived on LI forever, and have been on budgets forever. I don't see why we need to make sure they have affordable housing NOW to be honest. LI is a suburb, for single family homes, not rentals. Move to the boros if rentals are what you seek IMO. Sorry but if you can't afford to buy a single family home here and you seek to live in what is not a legal rental, then you should not be living here.

To the OP, as you can tell, I am not a fan of illegal rentals. Some starter towns in LI have illegal rentals, probably always did (with a bit more now). Most second time homebuyer towns don't really have the illegal rental problem overall. It's not a problem where I live but I would report them in a heartbeat if it was.

[Kbinspections]

And who is jumpming to have affoedable or workforce housing in their town? No one......can you blame them. We all poay high taxes and don't want anything in our backyard! Its a horrible cycle.

This is one of the reasons I love Smithtown, nothing happens. Nothing gets approval. Little progress on many issues. Good.....thats why its still nice and has the old town feel. Same way with small towns in Nassau on the North Shore.

[ClarkStreetKid]

I was waiting for the NC.

Originally Posted by Glad2BHere

There has always been mostly single family housing on LI. Young people have lived on LI forever, and have been on budgets forever. I don't see why we need to make sure they have affordable housing NOW to be honest.

And there have been illegal apartments on the Island since at least the 70's, so why get upset about it now? Times have changed and LI now has a secondary housing crisis.
IRT, Young people on the Island have also lived at home longer than anywhere else I've lived. Most people that I know from the Island if they didn't go away to college went from living with mom and dad to an illegal apartment right after the wedding.
I'm honestly against trying to create affordable housing as it never works, but there has been a demand on LI for temporary housing and apartments for a very long time and for one reason or another nobody tapped into the market except for homeowners.
If you want to kill the illegal apartments then something better is needed to draw the majority of renters away from them.

I'm just using this link as an example of the kind of apartments that could draw many renters out of the illegal apartments.
Richmond Apartments for Rent - Find Richmond, VA Apartment Rentals

While most are fairly generic and affordable because of competition, here are a few that were old abandoned warehouses and factories. As you can see apartments don't have to be generic or "affordable housing".

Pohlig Box Factory
Richmond Dairy Apartments
The Lofts At Canal Walk

[Glad2BHere]

Originally Posted by ClarkStreetKid

I'm just using this link as an example of the kind of apartments that could draw many renters out of the illegal apartments.
While most are fairly generic and affordable because of competition, here are a few that were old abandoned warehouses and factories. As you can see apartments don't have to be generic or "affordable housing".

I don't buy that apartment complexes would be all that more affordable (compared to an illegal basement rental). Any apartments built would still be well over $1,200-1,500 a mth, whereas the average person in an illegal rental is not paying $1,200 for a basement apt. I think apartment complexes would still be too costly for most young people who are starting out. Or they would still be unable to save (hasn't this been an issue forever?) Even my parents had difficulties saving when they were in their 20s. This is nothing new or related to LI alone.

Most people I know lived at home until they were in their late 20s, or getting married. And this was in Queens/Bklyn, where they are plenty of LEGAL rental apartments to be had. So I don't think young people living at home until marriage or late 20s is the lack of legal rentals. It's that people realize that is the best way to save. Friends of mine were kicked out of an illegal rental (they thought it was legal, second floor apt, contracted through a realtor and it was still illegal. This was Queens, not LI btw). So they moved in her parents basement to save and then bought a house with their savings. They could have gotten another apt in Queens that was legal, but they realized they were just paying someone else's mortgage. So I really don't think the lack of legal rentals is the reason people live at home as long as they do.

Again, if you want rentals, then move to the boros where that is all that exists. LI is a suburb for single family zoning mostly, so there is no reason to add apts IMO.

[TomMoser]

Originally Posted by Glad2BHere

So I don't young people living at home until marriage or late 20s is the lack of legal rentals. It's that people realize that is the best way to save.

I think you are starting to get closer to the real issue here. I think that the problem is a lack of good jobs on Long Island. Housing is always afordable, if you can afford it. My twenty-something daughter makes $12 per hour, which on the surface sounds pretty good, until you realize that she brings home only $325 per week. There is no way that she can afford an apartment (legal or illegal) on that money. For someone to afford a $1500 per month apartment, they need to make at least $50,000 per year, and not many young people do.

[Glad2BHere]

Originally Posted by Kbinspections

And who is jumpming to have affoedable or workforce housing in their town? No one......can you blame them. We all poay high taxes and don't want anything in our backyard! Its a horrible cycle.

This is one of the reasons I love Smithtown, nothing happens. Nothing gets approval. Little progress on many issues. Good.....thats why its still nice and has the old town feel. Same way with small towns in Nassau on the North Shore.

I totally agree. Gotta love Smithtown.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by TomMoser

I think you are starting to get closer to the real issue here. I think that the problem is a lack of good jobs on Long Island. Housing is always afordable, if you can afford it. My twenty-something daughter makes $12 per hour, which on the surface sounds pretty good, until you realize that she brings home only $325 per week. There is no way that she can afford an apartment (legal or illegal) on that money. For someone to afford a $1500 per month apartment, they need to make at least $50,000 per year, and not many young people do.

A $1500 apt on $50K/year is still pretty tight.

[Glad2BHere]

Originally Posted by TomMoser

I think you are starting to get closer to the real issue here. I think that the problem is a lack of good jobs on Long Island. Housing is always afordable, if you can afford it. My twenty-something daughter makes $12 per hour, which on the surface sounds pretty good, until you realize that she brings home only $325 per week. There is no way that she can afford an apartment (legal or illegal) on that money. For someone to afford a $1500 per month apartment, they need to make at least $50,000 per year, and not many young people do.

Exactly where I am going with this...sometimes people don't get established in a good career until they are in their 30s, if ever. So those people would likely move off LI if they simply couldn't afford it and wanted to own a home. If they want to stay on LI badly enough to rent or don't mind renting, well there are always homes for rent available, often for close to what a rental apt might cost.