What Gives? Why is it so difficult to rent a house in the Midland/Odessa area? (Houston: apartment complexes, rentals)

[RetroSarah]

Ack! I'm so lost!!! I've been searching Crigslist, local newspapers, online classifides, realtor's sites. All I seem to find are scams, spam, and the occasional rental that is outrageously priced. It's really strange. Most cities have professional property management companies for houses, lots of options for neighborhoods and price ranges. Realtors and home owners splash their listings everywhere. It's not like Midland and Odessa are tiny towns or anything.

I need options, but can't seem to find any. My husband has already moved there for his job (he's living in a hotel) but we're still 8 hours away. I'd like to move by the end of October, but I'm having such a hard time finding anything. Apartments are not something we want to move to (btdt) but I'm afraid that may be our only option.

Anyone out there have any recommendations? I just don't understand why home rentals are so limited there. I'm just not seeing anything in this area. Is there some sort of secret society or something? Are houses really that few and far between there? What gives?

[Cathy4017]

Midland is a hard place to find a rental because it's booming. When oil activity/prices are up like they are now, there is a huge influx of workers, and a shortage of rentals.

[SVTRay]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

Midland is a hard place to find a rental because it's booming. When oil activity/prices are up like they are now, there is a huge influx of workers, and a shortage of rentals.

Bingo,

Midland has swelled an extra 10,000+ people all due to the recent oil and gas boom...not to mention construction jobs like the massive hospital exspansion. They can't build apartments and houses fast enough, people are living in motels and RVs etc.

Anyhow, I've tried asking around for someone else with zero luck. I don't know what to say other than check out some of the new apartment complexes going up, I don't know the names but one is located on Loop 250 in between Garfield & Midkiff, North or Loop 250 on Midkiff and Midland Dr. Also there is a new one off 191 near Odessa (Bill Hex exit).

[Cathy4017]

It's definitely the same old story for Midland-Odessa. In 1979-80, people were living in TENTS in one area, and rents were astronomical. Apartments went up so fast--and were sometimes so shoddy that they were torn down later rather than refurbished.

I just hope that the ensuing bust isn't quite as bad as it was in 1984.

[RetroSarah]

Wow! I didn't realize there was that much of a shortage. Something they forget to mention when they recruit you I guess. :/

We've looked into getting a travel trailer (his company allows them on their lot) but we'd still need to find a place for me & the kids. I've looked into Lubbock, since it's only a 2 hour drive, and that looks promising. That doesn't fix the paying two rents problem though.

I will check out the new apartments that are going up though, thank you for the tip.

This whole thing makes me wish I had lots of cash to throw around. I'd buy a few houses and rent them out.

So...what happened to the area after the bust in 84'?

[debzkidz]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

It's definitely the same old story for Midland-Odessa. In 1979-80, people were living in TENTS in one area, and rents were astronomical. Apartments went up so fast--and were sometimes so shoddy that they were torn down later rather than refurbished.

I just hope that the ensuing bust isn't quite as bad as it was in 1984.

I repped you for this Cathy. We were there during that bust, and it was bad. I remember seeing all those bumper stickers that said "Dear Lord, please let there be another oil boom. I promise not to p*** it all away this time!"

Midland was a boom town to the max in the late 70's and early 80's. There was even a Rolls Royce/Ferrari dealership. Basically, when the price of oil dropped through the floor in the mid 80's, the bottom fell out of the Permian Basin economy. Tons of people lost their jobs, businesses closed up right and left, the price of housing went through the floor, and lots of people lost everything they had. Many of the major oil companies closed up, or considerably shrank their Midland offices. Many people were moved, usually to Houston, but many more just lost their jobs all together. We lost touch with so many friends that ended up leaving Midland and the oil industry in general. Very few of us remained.

We were extremely lucky in those days, as my husband worked for a very egocentric man, who no matter what, was not about to lay off staff, especially professionals, until the bitter end. It made him feel important and successful to be able to say he still had a geologist, landman and accountant on staff. No matter the fact that these people just sat around and read the paper most days. Then when the bankers came in, all of these people suddenly became VP of land, geology, finance, etc. As soon as they left, it was back to reading the paper. He did a lot of creative accounting, shuffling money around in lots of shell corporations. DH was able to hold on long enough until stuff began to turn back around and he was able to get on with another company before the old company finally filed bankruptcy.

[Cathy4017]

So...what happened to the area after the bust in 84'?

Given that it was so overbuilt for the time in both housing and apartments, housing prices plummeted. The market value of my little townhouse was at one time half of what I had paid for it, so I waited it out. I left in 2007 while it was booming, and got a great cash price for the place. But I lived in that house for 25 years, so it took awhile.

It was really depressing overall, but nothing new for the area. That has been Midland's history for a very long time. Jobs vanished, so quite a few left for greener pastures.

This boom is different in that interest rates are still at historic lows. During the boom that ended in a huge bust in 1984, interest rates on some loans approached 21%, and people were under water, with many just walking off.

I remember getting 15% on CD investments back in those days. I had a nice fat extra check coming every 6 months!

I don't think the next downturn will be quite as severe as 1984, but.....!

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by debzkidz

......I remember seeing all those bumper stickers that said "Dear Lord, please let there be another oil boom. I promise not to p*** it all away this time!"

You summed it up quite nicely.

I remember that one well......quite a few people learned a very hard lesson, because so many had lived so high on the hog, not ever dreaming that there would come an inevitable end to the high prices and activity!

Some lived as if there were no tomorrow. Tomorrow finally came.

I don't know that Midland will ever be any different--there is very little diversity in the economy/businesses, etc.

But boy, the living is good when it's feast time!

[LookinForMayberry]

I believe the greater question is: Why in heaven's name would anyone want to live there at all?

[RetroSarah]

Ack! I can't figure out how to quote on here. Sorry guys...the newbie is still getting the hang of it.

I find the boom / bust thing really interesting. The same type of thing happened where I'm from. Our town was built for the mine. When the mine closed, everyone was so lost. Most people lived off of unemployment for a time. The mine never reopened to it's original capacity, so families moved on, and the prospects for jobs never got any better. They finally rely on tourism (lots of lakes, forests) but the memory of the mine being able to sustain a family is long gone.

Forgive my ignorance, but what else sustains Midland besides oil? The people my husband work for told him there was 10 years worth of work for him there. Are they just pulling that number out of nowhere? Is the industry really so fragile? I'd hate to move the family, only to have to do it again soon.