— from Patty Johnson —
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Joyce Burghardt, Patty Johnson and Marilyn Anderson, who have played and sung with the Community Band, the Orcas Choral Society and the Music Advocacy Group for years, burst into song.
My name is Patty Johnson. You may recognize me if you’ve been to a Choral Society Concert — I was the accompanist for several years, and am now enjoying being a singer again. Or maybe you’re in my yoga class with Patsy Stephens on Monday and Wednesday mornings. I regularly volunteer for events related to the OI Chamber Music Festival. There are many other things on this wonderful island in which I become engaged. I worked as the office manager at Re/Max Island Properties for a couple of years. I was a care-giver for Mayme Nilson for a couple of years.
At the present time I am hunting for either a long-term rental or a house to buy. I’m a retired primary-grade teacher. I supplement my teacher retirement and social security income by teaching piano to students on an individual basis, and by being the pianist for the Lutheran Church service on Lopez Island and also for the Lutheran service on Orcas Island. I’ve always thought myself fortunate to find good housing on Orcas.
However, it seems that the number of long-term rentals (as well as inexpensive houses for sale) is in steep decline. It occurs to me that there may be any number of people on Orcas who have been using a guest house, for example, or some other type of property they own, as a vacation rental, who may be feeling that the vacation rental business is more work than they really want to do on a long-term basis, and who might be willing to give up their vacation rental business in favor of a less labor intensive, long-term rental, for someone who loves the island, is active on many levels, and who very much wants to stay on-island, but whose rental range is $800-$1200/month. I have just lost the rental I love (which is eminently affordable) because the property has been sold and the new owners plan to live here. I have to be out by Dec. 31.
While I am very happy for the new owners, I have been experiencing more than just a little panic.
My circumstances include:
- a small dog (who is very sweet and very good!)
- a small grand piano from which music emanates at frequent intervals
- a sister who lives with me
If there is any chance you have been re-considering the vacation rental idea, please consider my plight and contact me at triciamarie@interisland.net
Grateful for your consideration,
Patty Johnson
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Patty, I’m so sorry to hear that you have to move again! Wishing you the best of luck finding your dream home!
Please, please, owners of affordable rentals here on the Island, reconsider using your house as a vacation rental! We need year round rentals so so badly in order to keep this Island the place we love. If things keep going the way they are we will soon loose many of the people that make Orcas so special and a place we wanted to live in the first place. In our neighborhood alone we suddenly have all kinds of houses sitting EMPTY because tourist season is over! That just doesn’t feel right when so many long time residents are looking so hard for a place to live. Please remember what it really is that we love about this place, the diversity and those very special people who make this place home. Merry
There are 3 rentals advertising in your price range:
https://secure.adpay.com/SearchResultsDisplay.aspx?p=8895&catid=Rentals&searchZip=98245&searchDistance=20&procid=09c559be-7b7c-4bc8-b7d0-3c1f93b37f51
Neil Kaye, Sorry to be a party pooper but winter only rentals are pretty useless, one of the rentals is $3000 per month, and thank you for pointing out the third because it sounds great. Unfortunately we need many many more to handle the non-rich who want to live here are make the Island wonderful! Merry
My apartment rental has been occupied steadily since construction by islanders who are contributors to the character, diversity and health of the Island. Knowing one’s renters, and how the home is used, being assured of the income, and “sharing” ownership of property with Islanders are tremendous assets to me.
Understandably, some transient rentals make sense. If it is your only home on Orcas, and you use the property a few times a year, possibly to move into permanently ‘someday”…..why not fill the remaining times with renters, to offset costs. Or, if you’re “snowbirds”…same situation.
Before renting my apartment, I compared income with my neighbor, who has had a transient rental for years, using it as above. The properties are similar. Bottom line: net annual income for both of us came out pretty equal.
Some long-established lodgings found their bookings were down this past season, and attributed it largely to the preponderance of Airbnb and other booking sites being used by Islanders.
On a personal note, we CAN’T lose Patty…please step up and answer her need……
I can vouch for Patty – she is one of the best tenants you can imagine – I’ve been in the places she has rented. She will keep any rental clean and lovely – it will be a warm and inviting home. She pays her bills on time; she is the Perfect Tenant. Her dog is stellar and well behaved. She takes care of her relatives – she is exactly the kind of person we can’t afford to lose. She would make a great neighbor and anyone who rents or sells to her can rest assured you are helping out one of Orcas’s best. Please, someone, rent her a lovely long term home!