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Posted at: 09/10/2009 10:43 PM Economy is Having an Impact on Renters(ABC 6 NEWS) -- As you may have guessed, rising unemployment accounts for many home foreclosures. That's turning many people from homeowners to renters. Judy Heller and her husband spent 24 years in their Rochester home, raising their kids. But they're moving out soon. "It's too expensive, we can't afford to stay here and my husband had looked for a job around Rochester but most of them are minimum wage, and you can't survive on minimum wage now," Says Heller. They're moving to an apartment in the Twin Cities, where her husband's found a job. Down sizing means living in a smaller place, and letting go of possessions they've had for decades. “When you move from a 6 bedroom house to a one bedroom apartment, you don't take a lot with you," she says. Heller's story is not uncommon. Landlord Jeff Allman owns the "Residences of Old Town Hall" apartments off East Center Street near downtown Rochester. He's seeing layoffs hit people first-hand. "We've had some people lose their jobs and we had to help em' find an exit strategy to complete their lease," says Allman. He says now some families are "doubling up" in apartments. "We had some situations where a single mother and two kids in a two bedroom apartment - brought in her sister and her 2 kids," Allman says. More and more homeowners are turning back into renters; people like Judy Heller. She says the toughest part is something very practical. "Just getting used to living so close to other people, I've never lived in an apartment so it's a big change." A tough change she and many others are making, because they have to.
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