Rental market rates are on the rise in major cities all over the country; not just in San Francisco, New York City, Washington, D.C., or Los Angeles, but cities and towns here in Alabama as well. While Alabama offers a lower cost of living than most other parts of the nation, that doesn’t mean it’s always easy to find affordable housing here. From senior citizens to millennials, decreasing housing affordability makes it more and more difficult for low-income individuals and families to meet their rent and pay their utility bills every month. That said, it is still possible to find affordable rentals in Alabama — provided you know where to look and know whether you’re eligible for affordable housing. The following tips should help narrow your search and avoid apartment listings with sky-high rents.

Determine What’s an Affordable Rental to You

Before starting your search, begin by taking a look at your own income and budget. Look at all your income streams, including those from other people in your household, and add them up to find out your monthly household income. Calculate 30 percent of that monthly income, and you’ll know how much rent you can reasonably afford without straining financially. (If you currently rent somewhere, and your rent exceeds this amount, you’re paying too much, and you’re considered “rent-burdened.”) Once you know the dollar amount you can afford in rent, you’ll be able to save time by ruling out places you can’t really afford.

How Renters Can Find Affordable Rentals

These days, the Internet is a powerful tool for searching for available rentals in your area. Sites like zillow.com, rent.com, and apartments.com let you scope out rental listings anywhere in America. Simply narrow your search criteria by your city and price range to get a listing of places in your price range. You can also filter your search by other features like number of bedrooms, type of housing, etc. You can make a note of any properties you’re interested in, and email or call directly from the site.

There are some drawbacks to this do-it-yourself approach, however. Depending on what’s affordable to you, you may find your options limited, and the few options that are available, they may be in bad shape or in a part of town you deem unsafe. For some families, this approach doesn’t turn up any acceptable results.

An Alternative: Qualify for Affordable Housing

Another approach to finding affordable rentals in Alabama is to reach out to your local U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) office and determine whether your household’s monthly income qualifies you for affordable housing. There are a surprising number of properties out there that accept government subsidies to make up the difference between the market rent and what you can afford to pay. These properties aren’t always found on the search engines, and they are often clean and well-managed. To be eligible, you’ll need to prove that your monthly household income falls somewhere below the Area Median Income (AMI) for your area. The percentages and thresholds differ from place to place, but you can often find affordable housing options if your income is at or below 50-80 percent of AMI.

If you are aware of local apartment communities in your area that are income-restricted or income-based, you can also reach out to the management directly to discuss how to qualify to live there. Olympia Management, Inc. prides itself on managing many clean, safe, affordable apartments here in Alabama and throughout the Southeast. Contact us at 256-894-2382 to learn about available properties in your area.