miles city is growing has been for some time, peaple that have lived here for long time and those just arriveing cant find homes live in
why????? and most 1s out there are priced high some can afford it most cant.
the problem isnt new, i know sooo why is not houseing, trailers put up ? miles citys like the little kid that says dont want to grow up!
i beleave it can stay desent keep its western ways and still provide housing out ther, if alls done right. - soo why dont they??
why?

I soooo agree, I have been to City Hall several times trying to find a place to put a trailer house I alredy have! All I get is, "NO"! No, explanation, no, go to a City Council Meeting, JUST "NO"! It almost makes me want to move elsewhere so I CAN find a decent place to live! My house is almost 100 years old and surely not built for a toddler (which I NEVER thought I would have, thank God I did!) and now I have bought the 2 empty lots beside me expecting to put my trailer there, with a big old "NO"! I would like some answers also! I'm sure everyone will just tell us to go to a City Council meeting... How and where do you schedule one? I am honestly getting no answers and would REALLY appreciate some! Thanks, Roselight for asking for at least the both of us!

u'r welcome.
i am ask for so many peaple out there , i've met several and read several on adds asking for homes , and they been asking long time!
cant imagine why they wont put u'r own trailer on u;r own land? thats
dont make sence! and thy wont even tell u why?
are these peaple what are voted into office??
if soo maybe new 1s need to be voted in

I think there is a law in Miles City that states that you cannot move a trailer into MC onto a private lot that is not a double wide...I might be wrong but I remember reading about it a few years back...I think it is a good law, because it helps the town look better and not just a pile of older trailers that aren't in good shape...

Miles City, like every other incorporated community, has zoning laws to preserve the value of property and keep like uses together. Businesses next to businesses. Stick built homes next to stick built homes. Mobile homes next to mobile homes. You should have gone upstairs in City Hall and asked to see a zoning map. It would have shown you whether it was legal or not to put a mobile home on a lot.

The City Council, which meets on alternate Tuesdays, would refer you to Board of Adjustments for a variance request to place a mobile home in what I assume is non-mobile home area. There would be a public hearing and your neighbors would be notified and have their say.

I doubt you would get your variance because a mobile in a stick built neighborhood does bring property values down. If the variance isn't granted, you can appeal to the City Council. All of this takes time, two months at least.

People often don't bother to ask the right questions of the right people. If you had gone to City Hall in the first place and asked "Can I put a mobile home on a property I own?" you would have had the answer right away.

As for a 100 year old house not being built for a child, do you think people 100 years ago didn't have children? I bet lots of children have lived in your home. The house I live in is 120+ years old and at least nine children have lived in it to my knowledge.

As for why homes aren't built. . . this isn't our first boom. We have cycled through booms and busts before. Twenty five years ago, houses were empty all over town and going for a song. People are hesitant to build now because they may not make their money back before the next bust.

Sorry, but that is life and life, as my father liked to point out to me when I was a child, is not fair. I wish I had a quick and simple answer but there isn't one.

thank u for answering some ?
can not the city put up some and charge decent rent, theyd more than likey end with a profit and still have it to cell or whatever down line if need be, ?and if they put them up in westerrn style , it inprove the town not otherwise

[This message has been edited by roselight (6/21/2012)]

The cost of construction is so high that building new would not help the people who are in the worst need for affordable housing. This also raises the value of homes that already exist. You just can't buy a two bedroom home for $80,000 and make it work at lower rent rates, thus higher rents are charged. It is a vicious circle.

ok dont build , put douple wides trailers up there are ons look even like log houses now, , could put them up in a park thats made look like the old west ,/ shurly something, and dont need them brand new threr are lots new used trailers out there that work ,
i always say u dont know what can do till u try,
seems like no 1 wants to try.

I have posted on here numerous times, with no avail. Amorette, you have some excellent assumptions, yet, this house wouldn't be an in(un)provision in this neighborhood, because these lots have been empty for at least 7 years, mowed 3 times now (because I did once 2 days ago) and we are not "worthy" of setting up a new foundation on them? I don't give a damn if it's an "OMG" TRAILER HOUSE or what it may be? I would like to see the Miles City community expand, and much less not wither away, like so many others around us? I would just like a resonable explnation from the City as to why we could not put a trailer house there? It seems to me, on the Glorious map of the flood plane, zoning and flood-way, I could "maybe" try for a variance- just talk to someome else?

good points on all that!
u willng put up a decent home, or work to that end, i see nothing wrong with that, there should not be a discrimulatoin on who can do what to live where if thats all they can afford to do.
as long as peaple willing have the place look decent , it might not be fany/ expencive,, but if its decent, why trow such a fit, they talk about zoneing laws and value comeing down , then say no 1 will build couse they are afraid to, i've been seeing alot of building being put up on haynes street, sooo they not that afraid to build !
i like miles city has some awfully good peaple in it, id hate have leave it, i've been her long time.
just cause i cant find a home.
as for new peaple comeing in i've met some them , and 1s i've met was hard working good peaple. theyd be a aset to milescity.

Zoning regulations are set up before anything is built on a lot so what is built meets those standards. If it is zoning restrictions preventing the trailers from being put on the lot, Amorette told you what you can do to get around them . A trip to the right office at city hall and some time to run through the legal hoops and you might have the variance you need and trailer you want.

If you think housing prices are high in Miles City look westward.
$80,000.00 for a two bedroom would be dirt cheap here in Helena.
In 2007, exactly a week before the housing industry crashed, I
boought a single bedroom, less than 1000 sg. ft. house for
$123,000. Wages here are similar to Miles City so can't take that
into account. Whenever I visit my parents and look at housing
prices I cringe. That 80 grand house here would sell for at least
$150,000.

Every time one of these threads start up, it makes me think ~ and boy do I HATE that!

What keeps the owners of the countless number of vacant little houses scattered throughout every neighborhood, from either selling them, or putting them up for rent? Whatever they have to pay in taxes, etc. are surely adding up over the years ~ with no return or usefulness. **maybe some people use them for storage, or plan to move back after retirement?**

What up??

Might get yelled at for this but what the heck. If someone came to my neighborhood and wanted to put up a 100 year old trailer house, all my neighbors and I would be against it from the beginning for the simple fact that you would be bringing down the value of our homes that we worked very hard for. The town has the rules they have in place to protect others too.

can not the city put up some and charge decent rent, theyd more than likey end with a profit and still have it to cell or whatever down line if need be, ?and if they put them up in westerrn style , it inprove the town not otherwise]

A city is generally not in the real estate business although larger cities do incorporate low income housing in their budget. However, Miles City is a small town. It can't afford to buy land, build apartments and then take a loss on the venture. If it's so easy to provide housing why aren't any private development firms stepping up to the plate?

Boy do I hate to add on posts like this but here is my beef...
I happen to be one of the newbies living here. I thankfully have people to live with until I can find a place. I am stuck because I cannot afford the rental prices on my one income and I have two dogs. The dogs restrict me from nearly every rental I see.

But I cannot understand the high rents in this town. I understand we are only 3 hours (give or take I might be wrong) from this whole Bakken thing but really...$750/800 for a two bedroom? I grew up in a town this size and I cannot for the life of me understand how owners of these properties think locals can afford that price. To me it feels like the town is 'hoping' to drive out locals and have 'Bakken strangers' move in who might not last more than a few months. So tell me why a town of this size thinks it should cost nearly as much here as it does in the city?

-And no I'm not a Bakken transplant.

But I cannot understand the high rents in this town. I understand we are only 3 hours (give or take I might be wrong) from this whole Bakken thing but really...$750/800 for a two bedroom?

Pretty simple... supply and demand. Right now, demand is great than supply.

And frankly, $800 for 2 bedrooms is about the going rate all over Montana.

Sorry but what is Bakken?

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=bakken

A friend and I both have rentals and we don't charge near enough but the renters stay. Some landlords do charge to much but people are renting them.I never put an ad in the paper don't need to they get rented before the other renters are even moved out. Very few people except pets, I do but probably will stop as renters leave or loose a pet. It's not the pets but the owners of the pets that are the problem.

I have wondered about those empty houses. I assume they are in such dreadful shape they would have to torn down and no one has the money to do that. If you sell a lot with a house that must be destroyed, you have to knock demolition costs off the price and that can make the whole pile not worth the trouble. And since you can't get a mortgage on an uninhabitable house, they would have to sell for cash.

I know there are a few where family members can't bring themselves to sell a house but that seems to me like a foolish idea. A house can only stand empty so long before mold, rodents, freeze and thaw cycles, etc. take their toll.

The city used to own veterans housing down by Riverside Park. It was NASTY. The sewer lines dumped directly into the river. After the initial critical shortage of the immediate post war years, they were torn down and nobody missed them.

There isn't an easy solution. There are regulations about where mobile homes can be placed in order to protect property values. The city has to consider what is best for the majority, in the long run, rather than what is a quick and easy solution for one person.

Construction costs money. The return on rentals is slow. Landlords are in it for the profit, not for charity. There are subsidized apartments but they are few and require strict application process.

I don't know an easy solution.

i know what u mean, i've seen same houses anfd wonderd on them to, and there is alot of them out ther

i do not know , i know what i see, there is fresh build on hayns, they got that huge new hotel, they must xpect have a good profit from it.
i dont know aswer but i do know how as to find them as every1 should that has ?? , how els to find the aswers and to understand

? why would owners leave a pet .
also what u mean by loose 1- u mean it dies? howd thst make u chanch u'r idea on allowing pets? i have a pet and 1 reason hard find a place , but i always take care mine and train them best i can i do not alow them foolishness of going in the house or teasring things up , and i know there are others like me that way, please dont stop alowing pets there re soo few now that does

well i know housing problem is not new been going on now for some time, the brainyacks that suppose figure out whats best for every1 has had more than enough time to have figured it out,,
so whats takeing them sooo long to get a answer to the problem? there is another - ? - for u all to answer. lol
my dad use to hate it when i threw - ? - at him alot.

Part of the problem with the smaller older houses in varying degrees of decay around the city is the fact that they would almost have to be torn down and rebuilt. The houses are often on narrow lots, close together, and with the 10' rule you cannot build a house to fit on the lot.

For those of you that do not know what the 10' rule is, and I may be a little off on this, but you cannot build within 10 feet of the propery line. So if you have a 30 or 40 foot property, then you would need to remove at least 20' from the potential size of the new house.

This is so that if there is a fire or such that the neighbors house is less likely to catch fire.

I had a friend that purchased one such property to tear down the old house and build a new one, after all the rules were applied, all he could do was sit on an empty lot, or tear down the house and sell the property to the land owner next door. He did just that.

Now that most of the town is a flood zone, the only way to build a new house is to raise the property level, or build in such a way the that living floor is above flood stage, as in making a garage on the bottom.

I am sure if it was feasible to flip a house and make money by renting or selling, it would be being done all over town.

Miles city would be a good place for an investor to build a mobile home park in my opinion. I would think it would fill up in a hurry. Trailers can be bought in Rapid City for 25k - 35k and brought up for such an adventure.

Anyway you put it, it is a tough delima. Without more housing and subsequently more jobs Miles city will not grow much, and if Miles City does not grow any, it will not support either.

building/mobile home parks on outskirts off town seems like good idea, and spread out a bit so not stackd in like cordwood would help in makeing look nice as well seem?

If you aren't going to bring a couple hundred thousand dollars here when you come, they do not want you. Furthermore these land barons do not have to liquidate assest (land, tractors etc.)when they fail, since they get CRP and other welfare money. If these (welfare reciepients)(large farmers), had to show a profit or sell off, then land would be cheap and obtainable. This would be land outside of town and away from the strict rules of zoning. Can you imagine if your small business did not turn a profit, do you think the federal ag commision would cut you a crp check, or give you a combine at a fraction of the true cost. However if they let us have this uninterfeared with free market system, then the rich control freaks would lose their powers. They can not allow a true free market system like the one Ron Paul advocates, that woould be racist.

You do realize that if it weren't for the "farmers" around here, a lot of these businesses in town would not exist?

YES ,
BLAMEING THE FARMERS ISNT RIGHT,
AND THEY ARE HARD WORKING PEAPLE, I KNOW.
SO BLAMEING THEM NOT GOODAS FOR LAND BEING SOLD OFF, BE NICE BUT NOT AT COST OFF HURTING ANY1,= AND NOT ANY OF IT THATS BEING FARMED,
COUNTRY NEEDS ITS FARMERS.

No one is blaming the farmers, without them, there would be no Miles City, or many other small communities across America. I am just saying that they should have to operate under the same guidlines of free market capitalism as the rest of us (no welfare or bailouts). Does the average small business get a bailout when their materials cost more than their clientele are willing to pay, of course not, they sell off or close up. So don't read more into this than is here, farmers are great, I love beef and all the other veges that they sell on our open markets. I do however, beleive our government should not manipulate the housing and real estate markets by paying these farmers to not farm.
If a farmer has 20 sq miles of land, and is not being productive (profitable), then he should have to sell one sq mile, to meet his debt obligations. This is what the small business owner would have to do, to meet their debt obligations.
When the real estate organizations lobby our politicians to make sure that these farmers or land barons do not put to much real estate on the market at any given time, so that supply does not exceed the demand that they need to remain highly profitable, that is manipulation. If just one of these Land barons recieving CRP's (welfare)had to place a section of land up for sale, then why would a person buy a small lot for ten grand, when there is ten acres on the outskirts for ten grand. Common since tells us that farmers are good, but when they start helping the supply and demand chain work against the free market system, they are becoming part of the problem. If we just do away with welfare and bailouts, then free markets will solve these housing and land problems. However the price of our goods would go up in price as we regained our free market (non-welfare)system.
When some one says there are supply and demand problems, that is very un true, there are manipulation problems, land is everywhere. But as long as they are gettng paid to not farm it, but not sell it either, then you will pay the price that they set, need, or want.
Don't think I am blaming farmers, we do need them, and we also need them to turn down these welfare crp programs and put some of their land on the markets. Or maybe BLM will let some go, but then these people could actually get affordable housing, the government will never allow that. They need you to buy a hundred thousand dollar home so they can keep you in debt for thirty years. The days of claiming a piece of land to raise your family on, and building a small home, then over time adding on and turning a house into a home are gone. You will pay for the land, at their manipulated prices, and your house will be to their specifications in size color and positioning on your property, sounds a litle like Nazi Germany where all decisions were made by the government.

"Danny boy, the pipes are callin'....."

I meant the people moved and took the pet. yes I meant passed away or gave away. The damage done to my houses because the pets aren't trained has cost me a lot of money. This is my lively hood, I'm a senior and the time, money, repairs and stress is getting to be to much. I have dogs and cats and they are not allowed to destroy my house.

Anyone know why the VA housing units by MCC are sitting empty? They used to be rentals that don't currently appear to be used......

i agree no xcuse for allowing a pet to destroy a place, do u ask for deposit for the pet?
should ask see the place before they move , if 1 could.
i have pets , we always did growing uup, - and we did not allow such behavore ether, and if a new pet mesd up before it was train, we always fixt it ourselves , we didnt leave it a mess.
i dont understanf that behavore- but i can understand u'r flustratoin
i'm sorry about what theses foolish peaple do, that have rented u'r place.
if i can give ya a hand cleaning,painting what not,let me know
no charge in helping ether, i'll just lend a hand if u'd like it.
email me at [email protected]

Jan, I can't remember what is wrong, maybe asbestos.So the government doesn't want to have the liability and apparently doesn't want the capital outlay to fix whatever it is. Of course, being us govt they can't be sold out right...so they will set there and decay more. Jan

Many small towns in eastern Montana (close to the Bakken oil play) are in the housing business. In order to attract necessary workers (teachers, law enforcment,etc) towns are providing housing. Dose of reality that comes with a 'boom.'

Charging a pet deposit helps, but to many people figure a deposit frees them from the responsability of caring for a home.

i havent seen milescity provideing houseing for the oil peaple,
i talkd to woman who has 3 kids they been liveing in small trailer at a camping erea -and there are more like her in worse conditions, at least they got trailer.

those kinda peaple , musta not had the right up bring as kids, lol
to bad. mess things up for rest of us