MINOT, N.D. (AP) — The property management company operating family housing at Minot Air Force Base is opening homes for lease to the general public.
Minot AFB Homes Community Manager Michael Lahr said occupancy in the 1,600 homes the company manages on base has dropped below 95 percent, precipitating the move.
"Ninety-five percent is our magical number," Lahr recently said to members of the Minot Area Chamber of Commerce's Military Affairs Committee. "When anything happens and we tip below 95 percent occupancy, we start doing other things to try and bring our occupancy up. One of those is who else we can we rent to."
Lahr said the oil slowdown has opened up a lot of housing in Minot, giving people more options. He says Minot AFB Homes has to become "much more creative" to keep its occupancy numbers up.
The company's main target tenants are military members and their families, The Minot Daily News (http://bit.ly/2bLrmrb ) reported. Retired military members, Department of Defense employees and civil service employees can also lease the homes.
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"We've been able to go even further with what we call our waterfall," Lahr said.
The company is now also renting to single military members and to the general public.
"We haven't actually had any general public folks come live with us yet, but we are now open to anyone," Lahr said. "We are accepting any qualified applicants to come live with us on base through our partnership with the Air Force."
The community includes more than 1,600 homes.
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Information from: Minot Daily News, http://www.minotdailynews.com
