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Letter: ‘Affordable housing in Tahoe is nonexistent’

The headline(s) in the Tahoe Daily Tribune on Wednesday, July 27, should have read “Affordable housing in Tahoe is nonexistent.” Three separate articles in the newspaper (on pages 4, 5 and 7) concerned the housing situation, or lack thereof. I am a recent widow and, due to circumstances beyond my control, my financial situation literally changed within a matter of two days after my husband passed away. I was forced to sell my home that we purchased 17 years ago and now face living on very limited, fixed income.

Fortunately my home sold very fast. However, I was not prepared for the rental housing market being what it is, or lack thereof, not to mention the very high rental rates and very high deposits for so little square footage. Being a naive renter (haven’t had to rent a house since 1985) I didn’t realize it would be as difficult as it has turned out to be. After visiting about six rental agencies with nothing available in my price range I am now looking at the Carson City area. I have lived in South Lake Tahoe since 1977, raised three children here and am now going to move because there is not enough “affordable” housing that I qualify for. The waiting lists for senior housing are two to five years long; also, no pets is another factor to this equation; and not enough income to qualify. My credit record is very good, but my diminished income overrides the credit score.

Facing these facts has been a real eye-opener for me — and if it wasn’t for my children looking out for me, I could have become homeless in a matter of time. And our elected officials stand around scratching their heads wondering why our beloved Tahoe is upside down.



These three articles really hit home when I read them. Something should and must be done. There are still too many environmental/governmental agencies in this one relatively small area that are affecting our lives with deficiencies — economically, developmentally, environmentally and humanely.

Mary Jackson



South Lake Tahoe, Calif.


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