Organized by Big Sky Community Housing Trust
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Building enough homes to meet the needs of residents serving the Big Sky community will take years.
In response, Big Sky Community Housing Trust designed programs like RENT LOCAL and GOOD DEEDS to create IMMEDIATE inventory by reclaiming some of the 1,000 vacation rentals on the market into homes for residents.
Your gift this holiday season, no matter the size, will help BSCHT continue this effort.
RENT LOCAL, a stop-gap program, provides cash to property owners who flip their vacation rentals into long-term rentals for residents. The maximum time homeowners can join the program is four years.
RENT LOCAL has funded 81 homes for residents working at Morning Star Learning Center, Big Sky Medical Center, Lone Peak Veterinary Hospital, Arts Council, Big Sky School District, Mountain Pearl Dentistry, and dozens of businesses in the hospitality industry.
For years, Dr. Sydney Desmarais of Lone Peak Veterinary Hospital has been short-staffed. In 2021, she managed to recruit three employees. However, they all took jobs elsewhere after "four weeks, or more, of trying to find housing here in Big Sky," Desmarais said.
Desperate to hire but unable to without employee housing, Desmarais turned to RENT LOCAL. In January of 2022, RENT LOCAL helped Desmarais secure a one-year lease for her employees, and she recently secured a second lease for them via RENT LOCAL for 2023.
GOOD DEEDS, a long-term program that purchases permanent deed restrictions on existing homes, requires at least one resident working full-time in Big Sky to live in the home for the life of the property.
Since its launch, seven applicants have accepted GOOD DEEDS offers and have recorded deed restrictions with Gallatin County. BSCHT spent $843,425 to permanently preserve these seven homes for residents at an average cost of $85.50 per square foot.
Having successfully used its first round of funding, BSCHT has temporarily paused applications while it secures a second round.
After a visit to Elkhorn Ranch at the age of nine, Carolyn Cole dreamed of calling Big Sky home. In 2018, Cole finally made the move, and one year later she opened Lone Peak Adventure & Concierge. Like many residents, Cole initially hopped around the rental market but longed to "own a home and formally call Big Sky my home," Cole said.
With funding from Good Deeds to use as a down payment, Cole's dream just came true. Cole (image right) recorded the first GOOD DEEDS restriction with Shannon Sears at Montana Title on September 23, 2022.
