The cost of living is high at the moment, and oil boomtowns throughout Kansas are experiencing that fad first hand. The residents in these oil towns are turning into real estate moguls and are renting out everything they can obtain. In the oil towns, a double wide trailer, or a room in an old bank, can cost as much as $2,000 a month. Workers are flocking to the area to get the high-paying jobs in oil fields in the area. There are also wind farms, where employees are paid well to monitor and “harvest” the wind. The problem is, there are only so many homes in these once-small towns.

Therefore, rental properties are tagging exorbitantly high rental fees onto shabby properties and making great profits from the endeavor. One woman named Bobbi Oliver recently told CNN that she left Oklahoma to take advantage of the real estate boom in Kansas. She purchased a pack of double wide trailers and fixed them up. She now rents them to the oil mine workers. She says that she normally purchases the trailers in Wichita and then drives them an hour or so south to a drag in Danville. There she takes off the wheels and tears the small trailers apart. She adds plumbing and power, carpets the floors, and adds mirrors to give the illusion that the trailers are bigger than they actually are. She sometimes adds other fixtures like furniture and fans to make the trailers feel less like a recreational vehicle and more like a home.

This woman is certainly gaining from her business endeavor. She normally purchases the trailers for about $25,000 and then rents them for $2,000 per month. She said that she has four trailers that are already booked with oil workers and their families and has gotten about 10 calls from people that she can’t accommodate yet. Oliver also purchased an old abandoned bank and turned the building into a complex with suites. She rents these out to an oil company and charges about $2,000 per month for each room. She has also renovated a Laundromat, a dental office, and another bank to create space for the oil workers that just keep coming. However, if these places cannot be kept up to code or do not have permits which make them livable, then Oliver would be out of luck.

One elderly couple says that they are supplementing their retirement income by renting to 4 oil workers from their home. They allow the men to stay in their house for $500 a month and then use the money for all sorts of expenses. This example shows that the value of real estate is certainly in the demand. These Kansas towns became hotspots when the oil business boomed, and now people are raking in the cash because of it. A similar occurrence happened in North Dakota in the past, and some renters would even kick out their regular tenants to make room for the oil workers, who were willing to pay more. That sparked lawsuits and conflict about renting and the fairness of evicting renters for the sake of more money.

Sometimes renters do end up with complications. If they do not keep up their properties then they may end up in a serious pickle. They may be prosecuted for neglecting their duties. If you have run into a snag with your rental properties, then you will need a real estate lawyer to help you. By choosing someone that specializes in property lawsuits, you will be better equipped to meet the challenges that come your way. Find a real estate lawyer in your area today if you need more information about real estate lawsuits or the codes for rental properties.