Renting to Riff-Raff
At 829 Davis Street, there aren’t any doors. No windows or walls either. The floor is littered with holes, looking as if they were designed perfectly to swallow a person to the cave-like basement below. A Harvest-Gold refrigerator is the only appliance left in the barren kitchen.
That doesn’t stop Scott Stoneburner from smiling. Stoneburner, 46, is a landlord serving the students of Kalamazoo. The house on Davis is his latest purchase, which he secured from an elderly couple in the fall of 2006 with a low offer.
“I had my eye on the house for over a year,” Stoneburner recalls. “They finally accepted my offer once they realized no one else wanted the dump.”
Originally a contractor, Stoneburner began purchasing rental houses in an effort to keep his crew busy while contracting work was slow. 829 Davis is a perfect example, as a two-man crew takes a break from refinishing concrete walls to hang some new sheets of drywall. Slowly adding houses as they become available, Stoneburner seems to be buying up the neighborhood. He currently owns 12 units, the smallest of which are 4 bedroom townhouses.
While many rental agencies and landlords have seen their units go vacant, Stoneburner has been lucky. “Most of my rentals are referrals from current tenants,” he says. “I actually care about who lives in my houses and try to make them happy.” Apparently, it pays off. Stoneburner is signing the lease on his final vacant property in the afternoon.
Down the road at 613 Davis Street, the lawn extension is littered with ratty furniture and other assorted garbage. In the street sits a black Ford Crown Victoria, unmarked but with the telling government “X” on the license plate. The tenant, a tow truck driver, is 5 months late on his rent. It’s eviction day.
“These guys destroyed the house,” Stoneburner says, as he points out repairs, ranging from small holes in the walls to the door he says was “kicked down in a drunken rage.” According to Stoneburner, renting to students can be hard, but it’s the late 20’s and 30’s crowd that really cause trouble. “A fair number of the students here have parents footing the bill,” he says. “Many send the check directly to me each month.”
(Kalamazoo College housing situation…..what is happening? Raising enrollment? More students living off campus? Future direction of on/off campus living? Creation of more dorms/on campus apartments? Have meeting scheduled with Dana Jansma Friday…)
In the fall of 2005, Kalamazoo was taken by surprise with the announcement of the Kalamazoo promise. The Promise, which would garuntee college tuition to any state school in Michigan for highschool graduates, forecasted big changes for the housing market. Described as “An economic and community development project” by Mayor Hannah Mckinney, the Kalamazoo Promise was slated to bring people back to the city from the surrounding suburbs.
It wasn’t always low income and student housing in Kalamazoo. The town was home to the Checker Automobile Company, who produced the majority of this country’s cabs for over 50 years. The Upjohn Company, which would later be succeeded to Pharmacia and then Pfizer, created thousands of jobs within the city. Gibson Instruments, most famous for their Guitars, held a factory that took up a whole city block. However, by 1981 the Gibson Company moved its headquarters and closed its Kalamazoo factory. In 1984 the Checker Company closed, leaving behind an empty factory that today is little more than a skeleton. By the late 1990’s, Pfizer was cutting jobs and outsourcing, a trend that continued well into the 21st century. People left. The city was left with was an abundance of empty housing and falling property values.While Mckinney remains optimistic about the return of families to the City of Kalamazoo, she insists that it is a long-term movement. “We’ve been seeing rising property values,” She says “It’s not going to happen overnight.” When asked if she thinks there will be sufficient housing for both students and returning families, she can’t help but laugh. “There is a huge abundance of housing in Kalamazoo, I think there should be enough for everyone.” She says with a smile.
2 comments:
I loved the title, however, I don't know if the direction of the piece really connects to the Kalamazoo Promise. Do you want to talk about slum lords or the Kalamazoo economy/ housing market because of the Promise? Also, break up the last paragraph about the history. It was hard to read. If you want to write about the promise then start with some stories from students who may not have had the opportunity to go. Also if you want to go the "Promise Route" talk to Rob Atwood who did his SIP on it, which includes a collection of interviews from Mayor McKinney's Urban Issues in Economics class. Good start. I can also give you our landlord's name if you want to interview the owner of another shit-hole.
I think it is a good start as well, and that the Promise didn't quite work in with the rental housing in the story.
Our landlord owns 80+ properties in Kzoo, many of which go to K College students. They're also my neighbors, and own most of the rental housing on Woodward. They would probably be happy to talk to you - let me know and I'll go over there and get more specific contact information.
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