By James Windell
Trenton Bulat isn’t looking to buy a house in South Haven. He merely wants an apartment that he and his boyfriend can live in for a long time.
But just as there is a shortage of houses in the city, there are few choices for people – like Trenton Bulat – when it comes to renting an apartment.
“Even though apartment living suits me,” Bulat said in a recent interview, “there is, unfortunately, a severe shortage of affordable units here in South Haven. So, for the first time in the last nine years, I’m searching outside the city looking for an apartment.”
Bulat, the Digital Media Manager for the South Haven Convention and Visitors Bureau, says he’s been lucky in the past to find places to rent in the city. One of the advantages of living in or near downtown South Haven is that he’s been able to walk to work.
After graduating from Eastern Michigan University, Bulat moved to South Haven. “I’ve been renting apartments in South Haven since I moved here,” he said. “But I’ve had to move twice and I’m facing a third move soon because the landlord wants the apartment for a relative.”
Previously, he rented an older home on South Haven’s south side that he had to leave when the owner had other plans for the house. Then, he moved to a small apartment in downtown, and it was, in Bulat’s words, “a very small efficiency apartment.” When a larger apartment became available, he moved to that unit that also allowed him to remain downtown.
In his present search for a new apartment, he’s had to expand his search outside of the downtown area. “There is, unfortunately, a severe shortage of affordable units here in South Haven,” he said, “so, for the first time I’m searching outside of the city. I’m searching up and down the coast and throughout Van Buren County.
Bulat describes the housing situation in South Haven as “precarious.” “That’s in part because of Palisades Nuclear Power Plant reopening,” he said. “They have a lot of people coming back in this area for work and it’s already putting extra stress on the slim housing stock we already have in this immediate area.”
In his work for the Convention and Visitors Bureau, Bulat said that he has talked to people working for Palisades who are looking for places to live. “I’ve spoken to some of these men coming back to work at Palisades and they say they are looking at all their options – from campsites to RV parks and short-term rentals – any place just to find a place so they can go to work.”
Bulat, too, has explored all the available options in terms of renting a place to live. “Even though a cursory search right now will turn up many units that are available to rent,” he said. “A lot of those are short-term rentals in South Haven, Saugatuck, and Douglas, but all of those are only available in the off season. In May, they turn back into summer rentals. For me those are not even places to consider.”
Bulat said that he was fortunate in that he has a good job and he makes an adequate income. However, he notes that that can be a drawback in that he doesn’t qualify for a low-income apartment.
But he does remain optimistic.
“I’m not the only one searching for an apartment right now, but I try to be a little more strategic in my approach to searching,” he said. “I try to go about it a little more quietly and let only a select few people know that I’m looking. But I’m pretty optimistic. I’ve been lucky in the past and I know something will turn up.”
