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HUD + DOT Make Relocation Easier

By Erica Rascón on Feb 12, 2014 in News

Relocating can be tough for tenants, particularly when they are moving to a new city or state. To ease the transition, The Department of Transportation and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development have created the Location Affordability Portal (LAP), a website equipped with tools that give a realistic idea of the costs associated with relocating to a different area. The portal also includes a variety of features that are useful to real estate and development professionals.

The joint venture of HUD and the DOT came as a result of interesting findings: the average family spends nearly 50 percent on its income on housing and transportation. While housing costs are traditionally easy to calculate, transportation costs are not. By compiling user-entered information along with each department’s collected data, an easy-to-use portal has taken shape. Users now have access to a vast amount of national data.

Users can simply type in the address of a residence and receive the calculation for housing and transportation costs. Families can determine whether it’s better to live and work in the city, live in the suburbs and commute to the city, or any other variation of housing and transportation options.

Such a resource would have been incredibly helpful for Jeff Ratchford of Conyers, GA. He knew that he didn’t want to live in the city. He opted to live in a suburban community and commute to his workplace. By using public transportation, he received the best combination of what he wanted: a spacious home for his family at a great price, an acre lot, good schools, a peaceful neighborhood and an inexpensive commute. “We found the home and lot that we wanted and we were right where we wanted to be,” he recalls.

For the first few years, Ratchford used a combination of rideshare programs and public transit. The family saved significantly on transportation costs. Then Ratchford was changed to night shifts. Atlanta transit stops running around 11pm in the metropolitan area and even earlier in the few suburbs that have access to transit lines. “The transit system out here doesn’t have a lot of options. Single passenger commuting was last resort. For about 11 of our 15 years living here, I’ve driven 82 miles round trip five days a week.”  Though transportation savings diminished significantly, moving closer to the city wasn’t an appealing option. “We’re still making significant savings on property taxes but we aren’t saving nearly as much as we could if we lived in an area with easier access to public transit.”

Several families faced Ratchford’s situation during the housing crisis, yet with less fortunate outcomes. The towns most affected by distressed properties were those suburbs without easy access to job centers and public transportation. Changes in employment status as well as the strain of commute expenses impacted families’ stability.  HUD and DOT created LAP to help facilitate more financially stable families and communities.

Real estate professionals may also benefit from LAP. Adding a link to LAP is a thoughtful way to provide clients with the tools necessary to realistically determine which neighborhood is right for them before requesting the services of a real estate agent. This could make the search for their ideal home shorter and more productive for both parties. Sales agents may use LAP as a marketing tool for their communities, showcasing a property’s budget-friendly and commuter0friendly features.

Lastly, by promoting the use of LAP, multifamily professionals may help to improve tenant retention by attracting families that truly understand the benefit of a property’s unique location. When families do their research and create smarter budgets, they may be able to move less often, decreasing tenant turnover rates.

An additional feature of LAP, the Location Affordability Index, helps developers and policymakers identify communities that are ripe for investment. There are also outreach tools to communicate with local residents regarding potential development plans.

Learn more at LocationAffordability.info