TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida real estate developers were selling houses as fast as they could build them until the bottom fell out of the market. Now, hundreds of new homes and condos stand empty, threatened with decay and vandalism.

What can property owners do to preserve their investment until a house is sold? Some are turning to a unique publication, Gary Dunn's Caretaker Gazette.

"And so we're getting more and more advertisements from real-estate investors who are stuck with a home they can't sell someplace, and they just want even a trustworthy house-sitter to live in this empty home."

It's a win-win for anyone wanting a free place to live and a property owner with an unsold empty house. Dunn has been publishing the Caretaker Gazette since 1983.

Dunn says Florida is a booming job market for house-sitters, where real-estate speculators can't find buyers and just want someone to watch over their investment.

"We've had some of our subscribers take one of these house-sitting positions in a spec-home a few years ago, like a brand new home. They have to keep it in nice shape for the Realtors, but they get to live there rent-free. This way, there are no more break-ins since they have someone living there."

The Census Bureau revealed that 18 percent, or 1.6 million, of the Sunshine State's homes are sitting vacant. That's a rise of more than 63 percent during the past 10 years.


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A new report on homelessness in Colorado released by the Common Sense Institute has come under fire for muddying the waters for lawmakers and other stakeholders working to get people off the streets and back on their feet.

The report claimed an Intervention First model, where people only get housing if they agree to addiction treatment and workforce training, is more effective than the Housing First with Supportive Services approach, which it said has failed to decrease homelessness.

Cathy Alderman, chief communications and public policy officer at the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, said the report does not even mention rising housing costs.

"When we see housing costs go up, when we see rents increase, we see homelessness increase," Alderman pointed out. "When we don't see more affordable housing being made available to low-income households, we see homelessness increase."

Between 2019 and 2023, Denver's already high rents rose by nearly 30%. Last year, there was a gap of more than 134,000 affordable housing units across the state for workers earning 30% of the median income or less. The Institute defended its report and said by email the public deserves to know whether their tax dollars are helping reduce homelessness, not just reshuffling where people sleep.

According to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, Housing First reduces homelessness by 88% and improves housing stability by 41% compared with Intervention First programs, which Alderman called a one-size-fits-all approach.

"It said you must participate with those specific services in order to be eligible for housing," Alderman noted. "There are lots of people experiencing homelessness that don't need substance-use treatment, that don't need behavioral health. They need housing."

Housing First programs provide rapid access to housing and care teams connect people to employment opportunities, medical and mental health care and substance use treatment but the services are not required or used as a punitive tool.

Alderman stressed the model works but current investments do not meet the scale of the problem.

"If we had the housing resources and we were providing more housing with supportive services to larger populations of people experiencing homelessness, we would absolutely see a reduction in homelessness," Alderman asserted. "But we've never had the political will to do that."

Keeping more renters in their homes is one goal of a new Utah initiative.

The Utah Housing Coalition has formed a Landlord and Community Partners Coalition to cultivate better relationships and more equitable solutions for issues between landlords and tenants.

A report by the Utah Housing Coalition found a 23% failure rate in Utah's Housing Choice voucher program, which Project Manager Zoe Newmann said underscores the need for action. Multiple bills to help renters have failed in the Utah Legislature and there is uncertainty about how federal funding for housing assistance will fare in the Trump administration's spending cuts.

Newmann pointed out they are aiming to fill gaps where they can.

"We hope that by developing this system, connecting people to services that already exist in their communities, that we can start working towards a place where potentially we have our own lease that people can kind of hop onto," Newmann explained. "Because, as we all know in Utah, the lease is law."

Newmann stressed they see the need for what she calls "more holistic leases." Creating them is a longer-term goal for the coalition, which was launched last week. About 40 partners have joined so far. Learn more online at UtahHousing.org.

Data show housing affordability and availability are top issues for Utahns. Newmann is hopeful the new coalition will be able to bring stakeholders to the table, leading to improved communication, trust building and addressing what she describes as "systemic housing barriers."

"Our case managers are swamped," Newmann observed. "They have 20+ people that they're trying to manage. So, once they get someone placed in housing, just with funding and the need for these services, and then you're on to the next person. So, that continuous case management, we don't necessarily have support systems' help with that."

The Utah Housing Coalition will measure the initiative's success by monitoring increased collaboration between landlords, tenants and community-based organizations. They will also look at whether the effort improves housing stability, and can streamline pathways to mediation and other services.


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This spring marks the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War ending. In North Dakota, veterans from the war, along with others who have served, are in line for extra state support if they have issues with housing stability.

During this legislative session, the state approved $1 million over the next two years, with half of it going to the Post War Trust Fund, which helps veterans cover expenses like dental care. The other half will help fund existing efforts that focus on finding stable housing for military veterans struggling to keep a roof over their head.

Rick Olek, a Vietnam combat veteran from Fargo, was a big voice in getting the funds across the finish line.

"It's very rewarding that we accomplish something here but part of the reward is just making our community and our Legislature aware that it's an ongoing problem," Olek explained.

Nationally, the number of veterans experiencing homelessness declined last year but there was a 7% increase the previous year, marking the first such spike in a while. Support organizations said like many other populations, veterans are feeling the squeeze of rising rents.

Olek said the action is meaningful to those who served in Vietnam, with historians often noting the general lack of public support they received when first returning home.

"Vietnam vets have had to fight and basically really get activated to get these benefits or whatever else that they've been able to get," Olek pointed out.

Another component of the initiative allows veteran charitable groups, such as local VFWs, to donate gaming proceeds for these services. A key partner organization, Community Action Partnership of North Dakota, said the resources will help make veteran homelessness in North Dakota rare, brief and nonrecurring.