Mr. Simms says that lack of investment, ultimately caused by a lack of confidence, has created a stagnant rental market which hurts the local economy and prevents the community from growing.
“I think there are a few people around town who could build rental properties for seniors or for young people from the hospital or the college, but I don’t know who’s going to come out of the woodwork and invest in this community,” he says.
“No one seems to want to. They seem to want to wait until someone comes from somewhere else.”
In other parts of the country people rent out basement suites or take in boarders, but Mr. Simms says most people shy away from the prospect of a renter in their home.
“I think people are concerned about doing that because they become more than just a homeowner, to an extent they become a business person,” he explains.
“Most people aren’t familiar with how to go about it — how to screen tenants, things like that — so they just say ‘I won’t bother’ and they’d just as soon sell.
“I’ve got a rental place myself and it’s not a bad little business to be in. I’ve shared with other people how it’s a good business to take advantage of, but for the most part it falls on deaf ears.”
Recently the Pen reported on a building boom in St. Anthony, but that doesn’t help newcomers.
“A lot of people want to come here to relocate with their families or to retire, but they don’t necessarily want to buy somewhere until they’ve experienced the community. But they can’t come here because there’s really nowhere for them to rent,” Mr. Bastarache says.
“People think this area is dying because of the moratorium, but if everyone knew about how beautiful this place was and tried to move here, we wouldn’t know what to do with them all.”
egraney@northernpen.ca
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