Preserving the last best place for locals
Mr. Fowler’s plan for affordable free standing homes would greatly benefit people in our community, whether you have a dog, a family or maybe you just need space to work. But the question here should not be “condo or free standing house?” Instead, it should be “home or second home?”
More and more, you hear of a friend being pushed out of their lease because someone from Texas, or wherever, bought the condo they lived in. These condos are being turned into vacation homes that might not be used even half of the year. For what? So someone far away can make a buck?
Let us keep the money in Big Sky. If properties get sold locally, then the family living in that house can better support local businesses.
This town has become a realtor’s free-for-all. Greed for land and real estate has already done harm here. Is it not a social responsibility to give the right people a chance to buy a home they will actually live in? Most of us here can only afford a down payment on one home, at best. Our local buyers are losing faith. Mr. Fowler’s letter has given us some hope that our efforts are not lost.
We live in a rare place. Some call it The Last Best Place. But if we keep heading down the road of real estate greed, there might not be a Best Place at all.
– Michelle Clark-Conley, Big Sky
