Damn, dude

2018

Well, this is the Real Talk Blog and this is about to be some damn real talk. Let’s talk housing in Kitsap.

Story time-buckle up, it’s a long one.

Kitsap is such a unique area. We’re near to Seattle but not in the city. We have everything we could possibly need right here on this little peninsula: lots of jobs, plenty of recreation, a thriving arts culture with established artists and new ones blooming every day, multiple military bases that provide good-paying, stable jobs for thousands of people in Kitsap and surrounding areas and stores of almost every kind. I grew up here, I attended Central Kitsap schools my whole life. Back in my school days, it was weird to be a local kid surrounded by so many military children in school. My shy little self would make a really cool new friend and 6 months to a year later I would be devastated when they left, always with promises to keep-in-touch, quickly forgotten by distracted, children’s minds. I adapted, I learned not to get attached to friendships so fast. I grew up.

By the time I graduated high school, I was ready to blow this popsicle stand and get the heck out of here, like so many young adults long to do. I graduated CK High School and moved to the city to start beauty school almost immediately in July 2005. This is right about where my bad blood for being a renter began. That cool, little, Capital Hill studio apartment in the basement that I couldn’t believe I was able to rent for just $525/month, revealed itself to be a slum with no heat by November- when Seattle temperatures started to drop 🥶. My parents helped me pack up and move back to Kitsap where my future ex-husband and I got a little apartment near the ferry so I could commute to school. I’ve always worked to pay my way, so before I came back to Kitsap, I made sure I had income to come back to. I was able to get my old restaurant job back but after a few instances of delayed ferry runs that made me late for my shift, I was fired, denied unemployment and ended up borrowing money from my parents to pay my living expenses for the remainder of my schooling.

Fast forward.

After school, I found a good job, paid off my debts and in 2008, after renting and saving together for a while, my future husband and I bought a house. We put a lot of work, money and energy into making that house a home, but ultimately things did not work out the way we had hoped.

We divorced and sold the house in 2018. The years between then and now have been some of the hardest for me financially, emotionally, physically, spiritually… basically the last few years ripped me open and turned me inside out. I’ve been scared and stuck and unstable and overall not sure how to proceed in finding a space for myself in this town. I’m an introvert who had my whole life ripped open while working in a career that requires me to find my inner extrovert and put her on display. I’ve also built some really beautiful relationships here since 2018 after almost everything i’d ever known fell apart right before my eyes. At this point, I just need some space to heal on my own. I’ve shared a little bit of my journey in finding a home in Kitsap before. What I haven’t shared is what it feels like to be completely unable to survive as a single person in the town I grew up in. Or how it feels to watch my high school being torn down, while also watching developers buy up every piece of land i’d ever hoped I could own here. Gentrification in its truest form. I long to gain my independence and reap the benefits of the hard work I’ve done leading up to this point in my life. I’ve worked really hard, since I was 15 years old to make a life for myself here and one small (well, big actually) upset has left me feeling… hopeless and unwelcome honestly. How am I to compete in a housing market like this? Especially while real estate agencies roll the red carpet right across the sound to draw more and more people to Kitsap. (I know I’m not alone in this struggle, please share your story in the comments if you feel compelled)

This is my current position in the housing market: I have been a busy, successful, job-providing hairdresser and business owner in this community for 14 years. I have always donated to local causes and organizations, I have always paid my rent. I have always kept my spaces in good working order. I’ve always been honest and fair with my employees. I’ve worked hard and contributed to my community. I’ve kept my end of the bargain.

When my house sold in 2018 I ended up with just a couple thousand dollars to stash away in hopes that I could continue to save money and eventually find myself a stable place to live, work and grow my business. I did find a wonderful landlady and space for my salon and that part of things has been going splendidly. The problem now is, things in Kitsap have happened just as I had feared only accelerated by the pandemic.

I’ve managed to strategically save enough money for deposit, first month and an extra month’s rent should I need it in an emergency. I’ve drastically improved my credit score, paid down my debts and stabilized my income through the salon. I’ve healed so many of my wounds, but there’s still this housing one bleeding me out before I can fully heal, every damn time I turn around.

I’ve told you all of this to tell you what’s been happening to me (and soooo many other’s) these last few weeks, month’s… years? It’s emotionally taxing to say the least. I don’t know what the solution is.

I started calling/emailing properties this month (January 21’), about 2 out of every 10 properties gets back to me, one of those two is a scam. Most of the places that did get back to me were already spoken for or pending 4-6 applications (at $45 each btw). One place got back to me from the email address Coreyhollis937@gmail.com. The house was amazing! Everything I could have hoped for. It was near the beach in Hansville. It had dual living space and conversations started to be had about how a life together could look for me and my partner. It was a dreamy day of waiting to hear back so we could come see the house. Well, long story short it was a scam. A really tricky one…side note, never send money for a rental property you can’t see or talk to someone directly about. *Google is your friend.
Bummer dude, but hey this shit happens to the best of us, on the bright side no money was exchanged. Ice cream usually fixes that kind of disappointment.

The following week, I looked at a place on Tuesday. I was nervous and hesitant because of the Hansville thing, so I called her on the phone. Seemed legit, I had my good buddy Donna take me and the dogs out there to have a look. The place was perfect for us, the landlady was super nice, she seemed to be just the kind of savvy business lady I like to rent from and she loved my dogs! I would have space to set up my photo studio and quiet to work, write and sort through those last few things that are still mentally holding me up in life. Too perfect! I had a great feeling about this one. I made sure to be totally transparent with the landlady about my current credit score and what I would be using the space for. We had a good, friendly connection. I filled out the application right away and emailed it to her. There was a little hiccup getting the right application to the right place so processing ended up taking a little extra time. Since Tuesday, I’ve been crossing fingers, writing gratitudes for all the amazing things and people in my life, meditating, and manifesting a perfect little life there… They say disappointment is our biggest teacher, but I think i’m still a little early for seeing the lesson here.

This landlady, who “had a good feeling about me” and “really liked me and my dogs” (she did, she loved em’), and “wished it were in her power to supply housing”, let me know this morning that she would be “praying that I find the perfect place” because “based on my credit report, she will not be able to rent to me”. She’s scared because someone at the real estate agency she uses for background/credit checks (thanks btw) reminded her that because of COVID, if my salon were to be closed down again, I would lose my income, she might not get the rent and she wouldn’t be able to evict me. I can’t be angry at her, she’s only looking out for her interests, but I’m really sad, disappointed and scared that this will be what I encounter each time I apply.

My credit score is 605. I have two years of on-time payment history on every single account with just one exception of bad a vehicle loan (which I made the landlady aware of prior to running the application). I’ve never missed a rent payment. Like ever. One time I even paid twice and had to fight the rental company to get my extra month back. *Hey, isn’t it weird how landlords don’t have to report your on-time rent payments to the credit bureau?
Let me just ask this…what are people supposed to do? Rent prices are so high and as I continue to watch them rise without slowing, I fear whether I will ever be able to afford a place of my own. People keep moving here, doing Seattle-paying jobs from their Kitsap homes, all while internet companies raise their prices, increase their profits and cap out speeds. The military pays a housing stipend that continues to drive up housing costs and competition. Mortgage rates are low causing a surge in buyers, but inventory is also low and prices are astronomical. A friend of mine was just outbid $60k over asking price! Something else to think about is who is financially benefitting from all of those application processing fee’s? No, for real… who? I’ve built my business here, I’ve loved on this community hard and I’ve spent the last 15 years of my life building and nurturing relationships here (most of them good- I see you Reid PM, don’t think I’ve forgotten what ya’ll did). I feel stuck and I’m not really sure where to go from here or how to solve the problem for myself and the hundreds of other people who I know are in the same position as me.

This is a big problem. If we don’t start brainstorming ways to begin to solve it, it will only get worse and continue to create more problems of homelessness, crime and stress to social systems and the infrastructure of this small town.

This place is so dear to me. I’d love to hear any thoughts, ideas or direction you may have to offer, honestly right now I’m just exhausted.

Thanks for reading. I’m gonna go grab that ice cream now.

✌🏻♥️