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I might take a job transfer there within my company, and it seems as if this oil boom might kill it if I cant find a place to rent. Not really trying to buy right now, so wanted to rent for a few years before possibly deciding upon that.
If I were to buy, is prices high or are there a bunch of foreclosures?
There are almost no foreclosures here, prices are steadily rising. Even if you did buy, you'd be waiting a few months as there are a shortage of inspectors and appraisers.
Renting and buying has gotten harder than it was a year ago as well as more expensive. If you can keep your job where your at, I'd recommend it. Finding a place to rent up here is close to impossible.
damn, what about living in Sidney and then trying to get into Williston later ... would that be good advice or is there a town closer to Williston that offers more? I've been to Sidney before ...
Sidney is getting just as bad as Williston because a lot of people are doing just what you said - living in Sidney and driving to Williston. You might be able to buy faster there though. I'm not sure on that one.
A friend went up with his camper (pickup type) and parked it down in Tioga. They recently made him move up to the shop in Williston (they have a shop in Sidney and one in Williston). He's still living in his camper and he had to park it at their shop. So I'd think housing is still a premium. His camper isn't very warm and he wants to get into an apartment. The closest he got to it was sharing a 4 bedroom house with 3 strangers. He decided the camper would have to do.
Wow this sucks, I got offered a really great increase in salary to take a job that would be 18 miles south of williston, or north of sidney and Williston just had a lot more to offer in terms of schools and such to please the wifey.
Wreck, does this company offer you temporary housing? Most of the oil companies work with their new hires. You would probably not be able to bring your family up just yet. Also, check into some of the new ManCamps popping up around Williston. Halliburton's is strictly for their employees, but there are 2 large ones just north of Williston a couple miles. Target Logistics and ATCO Lodge (I believe the names are)... several extended stay hotels are being built or in the works as well. Not to mention several hundred apartments, homes, and trailers...but as others have said, you almost have to get on a list. Check with your company, and see what type of housing options they can help you with. Most are so desperate for help, they have made arrangements to assist...but you probably will need to ask them.
This was also in todays paper about how busy the town is for construction:
This was a small article in todays Williston Herald:
Ribbon-cutting forman camp
BY NICK SMITH
WILLISTON HERALD
Area residents had a chance to see what a temporary workforce housing facility
looks like on Tuesday. The ATCO Williston Lodge held an open house from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., providing
refreshments and tours to people curious about their facility. The camp is capable of
housing 127 workers at any one time as well as up to 20 employees. A ceremonial
ribbon cutting was held at noon for the 10,560 squarefoot structure. City officials and ATCO
employees joined with Williston Area Chamber of Commerce leaders to celebrate the event.
Carolyn Best, manager of business development and marketing for ATCO, thanked everyone for coming.
Best said the purpose of the event was to allow the public to view their facility
and see that man camps are a positive for the community. Mayor Ward Koeser also spoke briefly. He said
camps such as the ATCO Williston Lodge are a big help to the local housing shortage.
Last edited by Roloff1976; 02-18-2011 at 12:26 PM..
They have some types of temporary housing and such but we'll be building on a lot of land where I'm thinking of maybe purchasing an rv/camper and just using that there until I can find something to rent.
Anyone know how long it takes for house rentals to become available? Like average? 4-8 months? And perhaps the range of what 3 br houses for rent would go for? I know all this can differ, but even if someone went through this them self I would be curious to know or be given a ball park range. As being able to talk as if I know what's going out there can help me through negotiations.
They have some types of temporary housing and such but we'll be building on a lot of land where I'm thinking of maybe purchasing an rv/camper and just using that there until I can find something to rent.
Anyone know how long it takes for house rentals to become available? Like average? 4-8 months? And perhaps the range of what 3 br houses for rent would go for? I know all this can differ, but even if someone went through this them self I would be curious to know or be given a ball park range. As being able to talk as if I know what's going out there can help me through negotiations.
If you find a 3 bedroom place for rent that's less than $2,000 I would consider that a small miracle. A 3 bedroom house... you're looking anywhere from $2,000 to $4,500 (from what I've seen).
There really isn't a waiting list... if you find one you have to jump on it immediately. I haven't seen a whole lot of them advertised... maybe 2-3 in the last 6 months or so. I had a friend contact the landlord on one of them, it's not unusual for places to ask for huge deposits (a few thousand dollars) plus the first and last months rent. If I were looking to rent a 3 bedroom house I would probably have $12,000 sitting in savings to pay for the potential upfront costs.
If you find a 3 bedroom place for rent that's less than $2,000 I would consider that a small miracle. A 3 bedroom house... you're looking anywhere from $2,000 to $4,500 (from what I've seen).
There really isn't a waiting list... if you find one you have to jump on it immediately. I haven't seen a whole lot of them advertised... maybe 2-3 in the last 6 months or so. I had a friend contact the landlord on one of them, it's not unusual for places to ask for huge deposits (a few thousand dollars) plus the first and last months rent. If I were looking to rent a 3 bedroom house I would probably have $12,000 sitting in savings to pay for the potential upfront costs.
Your math assumes a $4,000 rent.
It's interesting to hear the landlords talk about this. They have a hassle getting renters to pay early or on time in a high demand and high rent market. My personal recommendations to any landlord in the area who may come across this. I'm not an attorney but I have been a renter in several states for the past 10 years.
1) All tenants pass credit and criminal background checks. You don't have to rent to felons and people with bankruptcies. If they refuse to give a SSN, you can refuse to rent to them as you can't verify their credit. Requesting this is legal in all 50 states provided you require EVERYONE to do this and have a written standard. Any arbetrary stuff will eventually lead to a Fair Housing Act lawsuit. This is how corporations get around some of the, in my opinion, errant rulings in fair housing law.
2) Rent is early or on time every month. No excuses. Provide the mandatory grace period (5 days I believe). Many people, if they are committed to the area for a while, might even prepay 6 months or 1 year of rent. I've offered to do this and gotten some, "hmmm. Sounds interesting."
3) Utilities are paid by the tenants and set up in their names. Again, checking the credit first should weed out anyone who can't get service from MDU, et. al.
4) Damages are to be reported as soon as possible if the tenants want their deposit back. Broken pipes and busted windows are conditions that landlords have to repair almost immediately in winter.
5) No subletting and verify this regularly. This is legal in all 50 states provided some measure of notice (usually 24 hours) is given.
If any of the conditions are broken (ideally, they should be in the lease already) or the lease is broken, begin eviction procedings and let them know that you are willing to do this up front. There is no good reason any landlord should get back a rental property in worse shape than it was left in this kind of market unless there was an eviction. Doing so will improve the amount and quality of rental housing available by relegating the idiots back to the man-camps.
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Normal people
