Amid rising rental costs, these Kamloops families go nomadic
If you're considering renting a spot at a Kamloops area RV park this summer, you may be too late.
The current rental market has some Kamloops families moving into their RVs to skirt the high rental costs — at least for the summer.
Christina Clement is a single mother in Kamloops who has been applying for rentals for months, but had been turned down again and again.
"There's a lot more people in Kamloops than rentals, so people are able to discriminate," she said. "As a single parent, I experience this."
READ MORE: Real estate market easing as 'buyer fatigue' sets in
In one case, she went through the application process for an apartment in Valleyview, but before giving the security deposit, the landlords asked her for her spouse's financial information.
"They said yes to everything," Clement said. "But when I told them I don't have a spouse, they said, 'oh, this is a family complex, so we can't accept you.' What's the difference between a single mom and a working father with a stay-at-home mom?"
She decided in April that her best chance at a comfortable life was to move with her son and her dog into a 24-foot class C motorhome.
It cost her $4,000 for the 1987 Corsair Supreme, and she pays $600 a month to stay at a Pritchard RV park.
To call it an adjustment is an understatement.
"The move was traumatic and unexpected," she said. "(The camper's) not very exciting, and it needs a bit of work. I did some painting and modernized things like door handles to make it seem less depressing to leave a 'normal' life."
Clement had promised her 13-year-old son that he would not have to go to another school, so she believes this was her best choice.
READ MORE: Ontario wants in: Local, Alberta, Vancouver real estate buyers have new competition
While the stability of a fixed address was not easy to leave behind, she sees the nomadic change as taking life into her own hands.
Rental prices aren't tracked monthly like home sales are, but the rising home prices over the last year reflect what renters may face.
In the most recent Kamloops and District Real Estate Association report, home prices in Kamloops were commonly selling above their asking price at an average of $546,106.
In the April 2021 report, the association also said there has been an influx of buyers from other regions, but their largest concern is a need for more housing inventory to meet the continued demand.
Brittney Alexander and her family are soon making the same decision as Clement. With her husband and their five kids, she is moving into a fifth wheel trailer, feeling priced out of the Kamloops rental market.
"We called one landlord and he said I was the hundredth person on that day to inquire — for one listing," Alexander said.
Her husband got a job in Kamloops and they expected to save money by moving away from Chilliwack, but now they'll be staying at Pinantan Lake until mid-July. Alexander hopes they can find a rental property for their family by that time.
"I don't know how it's going to get any better. The government just keeps adding little bandaids," she said.
Clement, however, plans to at least ride out the summer in her new motorhome.
READ MORE: Kamloops real estate market remains hot, setting new records
Before committing to a nomadic lifestyle, the most affordable rental suite she found was in Valleyview - an 800 square-foot, two bedroom basement suite with no windows for $1,400 per month.
Otherwise, she found that most rentals suitable for her family were nearer to $2,000 per month, which would be difficult to budget as she finishes school.
"In some ways, I feel like I'm smart avoiding rent and a mortgage," Clement said.
She's thankful that she and her son are able to spend quality time together, seeing as space is tight in the camper.
"In some ways it's nice. We play board games and go for walks, while he used to go to his room and play Xbox for three hours straight," she said. "I've tried to make it as nice as I can for him and give him full say on his space."
She knows it's not for everyone. The nomadic or tiny house lifestyle isn't always as glamorous as it may look on Instagram, she said, but she likes the idea of "going against the grain with life."
To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
