(Host) With the price of groceries and other essentials climbing right along with foreclosure rates, a growing number of Vermonters are trying an old fashioned way to save on housing – sharing.
As VPR’s Nina Keck reports, many homeowners have decided that giving up a little privacy is better than giving up their house.
(sound of tea cups clinking)
(Keck) Heather Moz enjoys a cup of tea in her sunny kitchen. Like many Vermonters, she says rising heating fuel costs have hit hard.
(Heather Moz) "When prices just skyrocketed this summer I thought to myself this is getting really way out of hand. I’m in this big old house, I’m by myself. I have plenty of room. It seemed to only make sense to include someone else in this picture.”
(Keck) Moz is a professional who works at home. She considered renting out her spare bedroom last year, but she felt uncomfortable.
(Heather Moz) "Primarily because I had concerns about taking someone in that I knew nothing about."
(Keck) But when she saw her retirement savings plummet and her annual fuel bill top $6,000, Moz called Home Share of Central Vermont – a nonprofit based in Barre. She could have just placed an ad in her local paper. But she liked that Homeshare conducts thorough background and security checks and mediates disputes. Vermont has two home share programs that serve five out of the state’s 14 counties. While they were created primarily to help the elderly and disabled – that’s changing. Kirby Dunn is Executive Director of Homeshare Vermont, the state’s oldest home share organization.
(Kirby Dunn) "In the past, people have been coming to us more for help around the house. I can’t drive anymore, so I need someone to get the groceries or take me to an appointment. But now the calls we’re getting this year are people just needing some financial assistance."
(Keck) Homeshare organizers around the country are reporting a similar shift. And even more people are setting up home share arrangements on their own. Craig’s list, a popular online classified service has seen home share notices jump 60 percent nationwide- to over 360,000 last month. Homeshare Vermont’s Kirby Dunn says it’s ironic that in the last 30 years, houses have gotten so much bigger while families have grown smaller.
(Kirby Dunn) "There really is all this potential out there – of bedrooms that people could be living in. And by putting people in those rooms for a year or two – you know you don’t have to make a life time commitment to someone – but it might be a way to get through some rough time or just help get through the winter and paying the heating bills."
(Keck) But not everyone is comfortable with the idea of sharing their home, and privacy and pride issues remain major obstacles.
(Heather Moz) "There’s the issue of well, how will I be perceived by my community if I do this kind of thing?
(Keck) Heather Moz says most of her friends applaud her decision to homeshare but she still worries about appearances.
(Heather Moz) "Will my clients find out I’m doing this? What will they think of me? Pride is definitely a factor."
(Keck) But she smiles and admits she’s much happier having a house mate. He’s great at fixing things and they respect each other’s privacy. And she says that extra $400 a month makes all the difference.
For VPR News, I’m Nina Keck.