"I have had an amazing experience working with the team."
For some, South Florida's current housing market is trending as a "hot market," but there is another side to that headline, the impact being felt by the affordable housing sector. It's undeniable that our community is currently facing housing hardships. According to a February 2022 report from Realtor.com, Miami’s market leads the nation, with the median rent rising by 52.4 percent year over year. Unfortunately, many of those impacted by sudden hikes are left in the unknown and wind up reaching out to local agencies for assistance.
Homeless Trust-funded housing navigator, Fausto Estevez from the Continuum of Care's Chapman Partnership, has been a housing navigator supervisor since 2019. In his experience, having interfaced with dozens and dozens of landlords, Fausto believes there are many benefits to the program, so he introduced us to one of Chapman's "go-to" landlords, Miguel Ramos, to help explain the value. Miguel not only shares a landlord's perspective, but he also happens to be a realtor. He has been an active landlord with Homeless Trust providers since 2018 and currently rents 25 units to our clients located in buildings across Miami-Dade County.
"I found a great way to help others," Miguel explained. So we asked Miguel what intrigued him about getting started as a Homeless Trust landlord?
"I love helping those less fortunate. It warms my heart to see individuals and families enjoying their new safe, clean homes, knowing that I took part in this. Being a landlord is not about money for me; it's about helping others in need."
So we wondered if his experiences working as a landlord in the program influenced his business perspective as a realtor?
"As a realtor, this program has many advantages because professional caseworkers provide a smooth path throughout the rental process."
The housing market is booming in Miami, but as we have seen, that has an incredible impact on affordable housing. From your experience, what steps can we take as a community to address this issue?
"Providing affordable housing is challenging for many communities, but there are ways to incentivize affordable housing development through zoning, such as reducing or eliminating required parking, reducing minimum unit size, or offering a discount for building permits."
Has getting involved in this mission to help house the unhoused impacted your life?
"I have a teenage daughter who has come with me many times to visit my tenants, and I use the program as a teaching tool to show her how very fortunate we are and that it is a privilege to help others."
What message do you have for other landlords about working with the housing program?
"My message will be to begin the process with the [Homeless Trust] housing program right away. It will be a very fulfilling experience. There are families and older individuals that will be wonderful tenants in the program…I encourage any landlord to ask about the Homeless Trust Program and consider participating."
If you are a landlord and are interested in learning more about the incentive programs available, contact Paul Imbrone at 305-349-RENT and find out how you can get started today!