The confusing price of rentals

It's not easy finding an apartment to rent in Sidney, especially if your income falls between...well, that's where the difficulty starts.

Since the 1940s, many apartment complexes developed in the city have been dependent upon tax credits to reduce rental cost to help ensure occupancy and provide opportunities for middle to low income dwellers. This process became especially important during periods of growth, such as the wartime Sioux Army Depot era and the past decade, when the city's buidling permit valuation crested above $10 million on eight occasions.

What can be confusing to the renter is a matter of which program happens to apply. When each complex is built, the developer can file for one of several programs. But the USDA, the Affordable Home Act, Farmers Home Loan and other options vary in their requirements and approval processes. The developer may not be approved by their preferred plan.

“These programs have to awarded and may take four years for approval and sometimes they may never be approved,” explained Sidney City Manager Gary Person.

Some programs are based upon low to moderate income levels. Others refer to gross income in their guidelines. A one-bedroom apartment at one complex may be only available to a person who makes an income of under $20,000. At another complex, a similar flat may be available for incomes under $25,000.

The state of Nebraska further requires that all students be in a non-student status for six months for all subsidized rental programs, thus eliminating recent graduates from contention for rent control locations.

These programs have an ending term, at which point the apartment complex has the option to continue or begin setting rental rates at market value. The newest planned facility in Sidney, Lodgepole Creek Apartments, will be set at market value—estimated in this case at around $1 per square foot.

Complexes can have rent restriction or income based programs with two units at market value, adding to the confusion. Yet such facilities offer flexibility. If the resident exceeds the income ceiling, options may exist within the same complex.

With the $8 million Lodgepole Creek development breaking ground this summer, a $4 million housing project looming and news that Cabela's purchased some 500 acres for additional homes, some of this confusion may ease in the near future, city officials indicate.