Public Housing Belligingham (Seattle, Bellingham, Olympia: low income, section 8, apartments)

[happyexpat]

Hello,

Does anyone have recent experience, knowledge or an opinion on pubic housing in the Bellingham area? I am on the waiting list for a unit in Olympia (LIHA) but it might take another year. I've read about things such as crime, drug activity, and lack of amenities and wonder if I should wait another year for a better opportunity. I am currently living with family in Huntington Beach, CA and don't want to move to Bellingham and wish I hadn't. I lived in Blaine for ten years so am aware of weather. I returned last year from Uruguay and need affordable housing but the wait lists in CA are ridiculous. So WA is my best chance to have my own place. Thanks for your thoughts.

[CrazyDonkey]

https://aptfinder.org/

What is your age (55+ or 62+?)? Disability status? Do you have a Housing Choice Voucher?

Your best chances of finding a senior/disabled or individual low-income apartment are with:

HUD Project-Based Subsidized Programs
(Section 8, PRAC, 202, 811 etc)

USDA Rural Housing and Rental Assistance Program

Washington State Housing Tax Credit and Bond Programs

These properties are privately owned and are not under the thumb of a housing authority. They maintain their own waiting lists. The HUD Project-Based and USDA properties set rents at 30% of income (minus medical expenses). Tax Credit properties offer "affordable" apartments in return for receiving a tax credit.

One strategy is to try to get a Tax Credit unit in the area where you wish to live and then, if you do, continue looking for a HUD or USDA unit with rent set at 30% of income.

Seattle, at 159, has by far the largest number of properties, but also has the largest demand.

[rkcarguy]

Bellingham/Whatcom County waitlists are all closed except one because they are backed up so far. The only wait list open is for 2 and 3 bedroom units in Everson for "Agricultural income households only".

https://bellinghamhousing.org/home/a...open-waitlist/

[jerzdevil]

I haven't noticed much vacancy around here for apartments in general. Recently there is a minor EO or a WA law that allows landlords to evict month to month renters in 20 days with a valid reason. In other words, I wouldn't count on vacancies or public housing lines to speed up. The welfare population is growing, not shrinking. I think living with your family sounds like a good deal, I wish I had family like that.

[momma4evr]

Originally Posted by happyexpat

Hello,

Does anyone have recent experience, knowledge or an opinion on pubic housing in the Bellingham area? I am on the waiting list for a unit in Olympia (LIHA) but it might take another year. I've read about things such as crime, drug activity, and lack of amenities and wonder if I should wait another year for a better opportunity. I am currently living with family in Huntington Beach, CA and don't want to move to Bellingham and wish I hadn't. I lived in Blaine for ten years so am aware of weather. I returned last year from Uruguay and need affordable housing but the wait lists in CA are ridiculous. So WA is my best chance to have my own place. Thanks for your thoughts.

I live in Bellingham and am familiar with the Public Housing units in-city. My adult son has a disability since birth and we were fortunately able to secure a public housing unit together when our rental was sold a few years ago. Normally, we would have rented a "regular" unit, but rents had escalated so much in Bellingham, I could not find a place where we would both qualify (all properties required we BOTH earn 2.5 - 3x the monthly rent. My son couldn't possibly meet that requirement). We looked at tax credit properties but we were considered over-income. So, as I am his caregiver, we were provided housing through the Bellingham Housing Authority. We were very grateful as the wait time would have been years for him to secure his own PH rental.



rkcarguy was correct in telling you the wait lists are closed except for a property that caters to agricultural workers. My son is still on a wait list for a one bedroom unit. He has been on a couple of lists since 2016. Five years now. Not to discourage you, but to give you an idea as to how long the wait might be.



If you are the only person in your household you will have a long wait as one bedrooms are in short supply. The complex we lived in had 2 and 3 bedroom units. It was a mix of low income and individuals who could earn up to 80k/year, but very hard to get into. There are a lot of tenants in that complex that have lived there for 15, 20 years and more. Several are "over-housed" - meaning they are single individuals living in a two-bedroom unit. Usually this is due to their children being grown and having left home. One woman I know of has lived in her unit for over 20 years. Her children have not lived with her in over 15 years. The housing authority has not moved her out. There are at least 4 other two-bedroom units with only one occupant. We're assuming they are all still allowed to remain in their two bedroom units due to there not being any one bedroom units available for them to be transferred to. It's unfortunate as there are many small families in Bellingham / Whatcom County that are really hurting and in need of housing who could use those two bedroom units... but where would the single people go then?



I'm a little confused by your post where you state: "I am currently living with family in Huntington Beach, CA and don't want to move to Bellingham and wish I hadn't". If you are currently living in CA, how can you wish you hadn't moved to Bellingham if you're not living here? In addition, if you don't want to move to Bellingham, why are you even bothering to do so? Is it simply for housing? If so - I get it - home is very important. But if you have any doubts or qualms about Bellingham, I would encourage you to stay put and stay with your family if that continues to be an option. You mentioned "lack of amenities". What amenities and from where? If you're looking for amenities through public housing authority in Bellingham, well, I'm not sure what your expectations are or what you will find. I don't know of any amenities. I would not move here just because there is PH.



This was our experience in PH in Bellingham: We had to buy our own washer / dryer (there is a laundry room but no way we would use it due to safety/hygiene concerns). We bought our own fridge as the one in the unit was old and did not keep cold enough. We had food spoiling and finally had enough of that. Housing would not replace the fridge as it was still under 15 years. We had problems with mold and mildew. We had new carpet when we moved in. In less than a year it was buckling to where we could hardly vacuum it; it needed to be stretched. We have cat and dog poop all over outside (one benefit people like here is they are allowed to have pets; not something affordable or attainable for a lot of Bellingham renters). Unfortunately a lot of the pet owners don't keep their pets inside or clean up after them. We planted flowers in an outside garden bed only to have the housing authority yard crew dig them up and re-plant them (they said they were too close to the house... not true, they were small and almost 12 inches away from the siding). They killed all the plants we bought ($90 worth of flowers from Lowes). We've never re-planted.



I had never lived in public housing before and it was an experience to say the least! There are some good people at the housing authority but we did not enjoy the people at our complex at all. Unfortunately, every stereotype about people on welfare / in welfare housing came true to life in our situation. We had a meth unit next to us that the housing authority could not evict for over 18 months. Supposedly non-smoking property but everyone smoked (both cigs and pot). Loud, rude kids (and some parents as well!) Garbage and recycling dumpsters are overflowing, trash on the ground everywhere. People too lazy to break down their boxes or recycle. No assigned parking spots so tenants fight amongst each other and with guests for spots. Many tenants - especially now during COVID - have friends "staying" with them... couch surfers who end up living here. It's frustrating as none of these people have their household income re-assessed, none of their live-in guests have had background checks run, etc. To be honest, it was the most depressing living situation I've ever been in... but at the same time, we were very grateful to have a roof over our heads. Sometimes, this is all that's available to those of us seeking shelter and a roof over our heads. Sadly, a far cry from where I came from and how I was raised.



Bellingham, like the rest of the West Coast (& nation), is severely challenged when it comes to rental housing. The public housing properties are in high demand, especially for those with children. Again, one bedroom units are difficult to score. This is not meant to steer you away from Bellingham, but hopefully gives you an idea as to one person's experience with PH in Bellingham and what the current availability is. We are WA natives and moved from another area of Washington state so my son could complete college. Much has transpired in those five years and I can't say it's gotten better. We love the beauty and the weather of Western Washington, but staying here is not sustainable as far as housing goes.


To the best of my knowledge, you cannot apply to live in HUD housing in Bellingham if you don't already live in the county - unless you have a portable Section 8 / Housing voucher? If you're hoping to find Section 8 housing, good luck with that! We turned down a voucher that was offered to us as we saw little to no rentals being advertised that would accept Section 8. We decided it wasn't worth the stress trying to find a landlord that would accept it. Our goal is to no longer be in a rental. Period. So, we continue to save and trying to maintain hope that we'll find the right place to buy. Public Housing is an option that my son will likely still need in the future, but I am doing everything I can to try and change that. I wish you luck.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by momma4evr

rkcarguy was correct in telling you the wait lists are closed except for a property that caters to agricultural workers. My son is still on a wait list for a one bedroom unit. He has been on a couple of lists since 2016. Five years now. Not to discourage you, but to give you an idea as to how long the wait might be.

"Public housing" units are not the only subsidized low-income housing units in Bellingham or the rest of Washington state. See: https://www.aptfinder.org/