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Linda Lara, 72, was pushed out of her apartment of 30 years after a significant rent hike.
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She was able to move to a subsidized apartment in senior housing, which she calls a “miracle.”
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But despite working part-time and receiving Social Security, Lara struggles with limited savings.
Linda Lara always wanted to become a homeowner. But being a single mother, taking care of her elderly parents, and helping raise her three granddaughters made it impossible to ever cobble together enough for a downpayment.
Nearly six years ago, Lara was lucky enough to get off the waitlist at a subsidized senior housing development in San Mateo, California, the city 30 minutes south of San Francisco that she’s called home for decades. Despite her below-market-rate rent, Lara still has to work 20 hours a week to supplement her Social Security checks and pay her bills. Like many older Americans BI has spoken with, Lara doesn’t think she’ll ever be able to retire.
When Lara’s daughter was 12 years old, they moved into a one-bedroom apartment in San Mateo that Lara ended up calling home for almost 30 years. They loved the neighborhood, the old apartment’s “charming” features, and, most importantly, the affordable rent. Lara never wanted to leave.
“It had hardwood floors, arches, it had an old Wedgewood stove. It had French doors that went out to a patio,” Lara told BI. “It was a really sweet little apartment.”
But in 2019, the apartment building was sold. The new owners informed Lara they were more than doubling her rent, which she couldn’t afford.
Lara was able to move into subsidized senior housing in 2019, after spending several years on the waitlist.Courtesy of Linda Lara
Luckily, Lara had entered herself into several lotteries for low-income senior apartments a few years earlier. Just as she faced being forced out of her home, she was informed she’d been selected for a 380-square-foot studio apartment in a subsidized building catering to older residents just a couple blocks away from her long-time home. She seized the opportunity and quickly moved in, relieved to pay less than $800 a month in rent.
“It was like a miracle, a gift from heaven that presented itself right when I needed it,” Lara said.
But the rent rises every year. It’s now about $1,000 a month. Lara works part-time as an office administrator for the county parks department, which pays her about $2,170 a month, and she collects $1,547 in monthly Social Security. Her Social Security payments are less than they otherwise would be because she took the benefit early, at 62, when she stopped working full-time to help take care of her granddaughters.
Lara worries that if she loses her job or is no longer able to work, she won’t be able to afford even her subsidized home. With very little in savings, retirement is out of the question.
“I’ll be working probably until I die,” she said. “Unless I move somewhere far away that’s much less expensive.”
Are you struggling to afford your housing costs, or unable to find suitable housing to age in? Reach out to this reporter at erelman@businessinsider.com.
Scarce retirement housing
Lara is far from alone. One in five Americans 50 or older say they have no retirement savings, and more than half are concerned they don’t have enough saved to last them through the end of their life, an AARP survey found last year.
Housing is a big part of the problem. Many baby boomers are struggling to find affordable and accessible homes to age in. Even those who own their home and have seen their home equity soar in recent years are having trouble finding smaller homes to downsize to.
A record number of homeowners 65 and older — about one-third of older households —are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing and utilities, a 2023 Harvard report found. This is particularly difficult for those on fixed incomes. As a result, older people are increasingly facing homelessness. Single adults 50 or older are now estimated to account for about half of the US homeless population, up from about 10% three decades ago.
Lara doesn’t want to move far away. She has deep roots in her community, and her daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughters live nearby. She said she didn’t fear being pushed out of San Mateo or the Bay Area when she was raising her daughter. But these days, she said, it feels like nothing is affordable.
“Apartment prices are out of control,” she said. “I have to stay in this apartment until I probably can’t afford this anymore, and then I don’t know what I’ll do.”
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