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Comment

Director Thompson,

I am a property manager in Glenwood Springs with approximately 200 properties that I manage. I serve on the local government housing commission and the local real estate government affairs committee so am committed to housing and assisting tenants with housing.

Many of my clients do not want to contribute to the problem of unaffordable rents so have not done rent increases the last two years. Some of those who have raised rental rates have done minimal increases to not damage the relationship with their tenants by forcing them out of their housing. Many of these homeowners are retired individuals that depend on the rental income for their own monthly income. One in particular is looking at having to go into assisted living. He is a retired school teacher providing housing to another teacher so it is getting to be difficult for his financial situation.

I work with immigrants that have not established credit by instead requiring six months of bank statements.

The apartment complex I manage has some of the lowest rental rates in town providing housing to several employees at our only grocery store.

I also manage a mobile home park which has the lowest rental rate in the valley. Mobile home ownership is some of the first steps of home ownership for some of our lowest income people. I myself lived in a mobile home during my children's growing up years and have bought my first home in 2019.

Working with my tenants has helped them build credit and save money so that they can move into homeownership. Many of the tenants I have worked with that have moved out have ended purchasing homes.

I do think it is beneficial for tenant's rental payments be submitted to credit reporting agencies to assist them with their credit as I have virtually no late payers any more. I have had to charge tenants a late fee in the past and that stopped a lot of them from paying late. Then the day I was going to charge them the late fee, I would call them to tell them I would not charge the fee unless it was not received by 5p.m. Now, I am not making those phone calls.

I have hundreds of applications on my desk so I am not able to keep up with notifying everyone that a home has been filled but I try to contact them when I move their application to the reject file. My biggest problem is time restraints. I typically work until I can't work. I have an assistant that assist me as well. More regulations are not going to help me with that.

Good communication has helped avoid problems with tenants but I have had the exceptions that are adamant and fought me. We are in the collections process for attorney and court fees of one tenant that was evicted for refusing to quit smoking in the apartment. It was her first apartment and she was receiving bad advise from her boyfriend. It is unfortunate but she is back home now with her family and hopefully getting the good guidance she needs again.

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your Request for Input (RFI) on how the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), in its oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, can best provide affordable housing opportunities for renters. Approximately 40% of the National Association of REALTORS®'s (NAR) 1.5 million members own at least one rental housing unit, playing a vital role in providing safe, quality, and affordable housing in neighborhoods nationwide.

As the FHFA examines ways to improve access to affordable housing, it is critical to acknowledge the most significant driver of housing unaffordability is the limited supply of available housing. According to NAR data, the United States has an underproduction gap of over 5.5 million units – a key underlying reason housing costs have increased. On top of this, inflation has increased the prices of goods and services for all Americans. As housing providers strive to provide affordable housing opportunities in their communities, they also contend with rising mortgage rates and increased costs for supplies, services, and maintenance. When inflation is high, the prices of materials increase. That means it becomes exceedingly more expensive for construction teams to build new homes or renovate existing ones. Ultimately, these high costs spill into the housing market and lift home prices for new builds and existing housing.

As REALTORS®, we are committed to upholding the very specific provisions of our contracts with residents, and we often go above and beyond what is required to ensure residents have safe, quality, and affordable places to live. Rental housing is a deeply complex issue that is unique to every community. Creating additional layers of policies to a space that is already heavily regulated by state and local governments will have severe unintended consequences for renters as housing providers are leaving the market in communities where affordable housing is sorely needed.

Affordable housing is pivotal to creating paths to upward mobility for people across the country. I appreciate your commitment to ensuring we achieve this goal without impeding the creation of much-needed housing supply. Bobbi Hodge