IHSG Insurance

04/22/2024

Some wildly successful results from Seattle's $500 per month universal pilot program.

A guaranteed basic income program pilot in Seattle gave 102 low-income residents $500 monthly. Employment among the participants nearly doubled.

02/14/2024

Statewide rent control will go into effect in 2024 for Oregon. Rent will not be able to increase more than 10%. That is still a substantial increase, but it's a step in the right direction.

A new state law imposes a strict cap on rent increases.

02/06/2024

More housing built = lower rent

Judy Laughery opened her internet browser, and a poll popped up on her screen.

02/05/2024

"I'm sending 20 [units] to the lawyers this month". That is what my property manager at my apartment complex told me recently.

These 20 units are homes that will be entering the eviction process. Families with kids and individuals struggling to keep the lights on and food on the fridge.

A Yale study found that evictions are often caused by job loss or declining health. It found that these issues can begin up to two years prior to an eviction proceeding.

aims to give renters a safety net to help them maintain their housing during periods of temporary financial hardship. At the same time, protects the financial interests of landlords and their property managers.

01/21/2024

What is the impact of eviction?

In recent years evictions have taken center stage in the United States and around the world. The impacts of which can be far reaching.

According to a recent Gallup Poll, homelessness is the fourth most important non-economic issue facing our county today. It should come as no surprise that evictions lead directly to a higher rate of homelessness. The National Low Income Housing Coalition cited a study that found for every one percent increase in eviction filings there was a .205 person increase in sheltered homeless per 10,000 people the following year.

There are many reasons why we see this increase in sheltered homeless. After an eviction there are monies still owed to the evicting landlord. This is reported and virtually no other property manager will accept a new tenant with a balance owed.

Even after a previously owed landlord is fully repaid, property managers still view tenants with previous evictions as a higher risk. This makes it much more difficult to find a new home to rent.
Evictions can be one off events due to temporary financial hardship. This can be especially true in contemporary times with sharply increasing rents.

There is founding for the concerns of property managers regarding prior evictions, however. An analysis by TransUnion uncovered that residents who are evicted had three times as many prior evictions and twice as many rental-related collections compared with non-evicted residents.

There can be other serious financial consequences that come with eviction, including lower income. A Yale study in Chicago and New York uncovered this. It found that on average, earnings decreased by $1300 in the first year and $2400 in the second.

The same Yale study found that evictions are often caused by job loss or declining health. Furthermore, it found these issues can begin up to two years prior to an eviction proceeding.

is here to help. With our suite of products we can protect the financial interests of landlords and property managers as well as their tenants.

One such product being developed is involuntary unemployment insurance, the leading cause of eviction according to The Law Offices of Seth Rosenfeld.
The other products offered by

ensure rent is paid even if an eviction takes place. This serves two purposes:

1) Post eviction, tenants owe and not a previous landlord – this avoids automatic disqualification when applying for future homes to rent.

2) It ensures property managers won't be left with collections accounts even in the event of an eviction – this helps prospective tenants with prior evictions or rental collections better qualify when applying to rent a new home.

01/19/2024

Found this helpful article written by NPR.

Does your landlord have to fix that leak? Should you be worried about that clause in your lease? If you live in one of the nearly 44.1 million renter households in the U.S., here's how to spot rental red flags, learn how to speak the language of landlords and how to decode a lease.

01/15/2024

How do fiscally responsible people lose their homes?

Imagine you are a full-time single parent with a couple of kids. You love your kids more than anything. You work hard to support them. But, they take a lot of time. Some of which can have a great impact on your career and ability to earn.

Now imagine that you were lucky enough to find a great daycare. The cost of which is over $22 per hour for both children; neither at school age.
Your partner used to take care of the children while you pursued a career. Now that partner is gone and no longer in the picture.

You have just made a career change that you hope will lead to greater financial success in the future. Unfortunately, it's a small sales operation and your boss is running on thin margins. So, when you have one bad month, they decides to cut you loose.

Now you're scrambling for a new job. Unemployment is paying too little to pay the bills. After about a month you are offered a lower paying position. You take it in desperation to keep you and your kids afloat.

Now you find yourself a month behind on rent. But, you work out a payment plan with your landlord. It's a relief that they understand your situation and have decided to work with you.

Just as you are about to finally catch up on rent, the Christmas holidays hit. Your daycare closes for a total of two weeks between Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.

Temporary daycare for two weeks is not a realistic option. After all, you found your current provider after calling a list of nearly 30 others. Emergency drop-in care has a much higher cost that you can afford. Your family and friends have their own jobs and lives. So, you stay home.

You were already behind in rent. Now you're off work, unwillingly, for another entire paycheck.

As if things aren't bad enough. Then, a once-every-two-years snow storm hits in a year that it shouldn't. Daycare closes once again.

This is not an imaginary tale. This story is based on one person’s real experience this year.

For lower to mid-wage earners, this is how quickly a hard-working person can find themselves and their family on the streets.

is working to ensure that very real scenarios like this one never end in eviction.

For those who have already had events in the past that may hinder their future ability to find a safe quality place to call home, can help. With a suite of products will help those with varied backgrounds better qualify for long-term rentals.

12/18/2023

How bad is the housing shortage?

The US needs an additional 3.8 million housing units for sale or rent, according to Fannie Mae.

The National Low Income Coalition estimates that the United States needs an additional 6.8 million homes for low income earners.

At the current rate of development, some estimates put the US farther out than 2030 just to close the housing gap.

As the housing shortage eases, is here to help those affected get and keep a safe quality place to call home.

12/10/2023

Is $60,000 a year a livable wage?

This was a conversation that took place outside of a local downtown business hotel. The conclusion was that $60,000 per year was a “survivable wage”, not a livable one.

agrees that $60,000 per year is not a livable wage.

Since wage is vital for housing and housing extremely important for a stable wage, let's take a more in-depth look at this question.

To explore this topic, let's look at the MIT Living Wage Calculator. As will be launching in Oregon, we will use this state as our leading example.

For a single adult with no kids, just over $40,000 per year will do it. That is the only example of where one can truly live and thrive on less than $60,000 per year.

If you have two adults with both working, each individual only needs to make just north of $30,000 per year. However, the household as a whole must make over $62,000 per year to live outside of poverty and adequately cover all expenses.

Now, if you add even one kid to the equation, suddenly the Oregon minimum wage of $13.50 per hour ($28,000 per year) is just barely above what is considered a “poverty wage”.
Now let's look at one working adult with the other staying at home with the kids (not working). This is a common arrangement given the extraordinarily high cost of childcare. The working adult would need to make over $88,000 per year for a livable wage.

It should be pointed out that MIT is considering a “livable wage” as the ability to adequately support one's self and family. It doesn't necessarily account for discretionary fun and entertainment expenses that most would consider important to thrive. However, there is an “other” category that may capture some of this.

Other states such as New York and California will be examined in future posts for comparison.