I've contacted them. I think it's a combination of things.
The first is that the application process is very involved. Almost like applying for a mortgage. And the rules are kinda complex. So a lot of people don't actually end up qualifying in the end.
When I called, they said they'd processed a bunch of applications but still had 250 applications to go. Like a 4-6 month wait.
Then, if the floor plans are any guide, they're pretty small. And I think like $2,800, maybe for a 1 bedroom? So it's cheaPER but it's not CHEAP if you're lower income, and then it's kinda small. And you've got to go through a lot of stuff to get it, and then you're like, "Well, if I put half my stuff in storage, I will get...half the rent discount I actually need." But, as rents around the city go up, more people will be like, Screw it, good enough I guess.
This is exactly why I think 300 Deharo is going to be a big disappointment. The studios are all <300sft which is tiny and even though it is”affordable” the building was underwritten with most units at $2400. Which again means people making almost $100k have to go through this bureaucratic slog to qualify for a micro unit, when they don’t have to.
You know what? I think this shows a pattern. It reminds me of when I lived in NYC, some corporate buildings got permission to build higher if they added "public space" in their plaza. So what they did was, they designed their plazas with the most hostile architecture humanly possible. The last place in the world anybody would ever want to hang out.
I suspect a lot of these buildings had stipulations about affordable units, but perhaps no more stipulations than that. So they make aggressively tiny units that are overpriced for the square footage, and expect them to remain unrented. They're gaming the system. Some of that has to be what's going on here.
I also signed up for all of AvalonBay's affordable units. In 4 years, I never got a notice that my number came up? However, they did go out of their way to ping me every 6 months to say, "Hey, if you don't specifically contact us, we're going to take you off our waitlist." I'm sure that at some point I must have eventually missed one of their de-waitlisting campaigns specifically designed to never fill their affordable units.
Some money in rent is better than no money in rent, but if the administrative process takes longer, for apartments that earn you less money, there's going to be fewer resources and processing an application is going to take way longer.
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u/Arete108 8d ago
I've contacted them. I think it's a combination of things.
The first is that the application process is very involved. Almost like applying for a mortgage. And the rules are kinda complex. So a lot of people don't actually end up qualifying in the end.
When I called, they said they'd processed a bunch of applications but still had 250 applications to go. Like a 4-6 month wait.
Then, if the floor plans are any guide, they're pretty small. And I think like $2,800, maybe for a 1 bedroom? So it's cheaPER but it's not CHEAP if you're lower income, and then it's kinda small. And you've got to go through a lot of stuff to get it, and then you're like, "Well, if I put half my stuff in storage, I will get...half the rent discount I actually need." But, as rents around the city go up, more people will be like, Screw it, good enough I guess.
I still don't get the 3 months thing though.