DENTON COUNTY, Texas - The housing market continues to squeeze families across the country. Rent prices are up as much as 22 percent in some areas, and bidding wars to buy a house go on. Those increases are forcing many families to make hard decisions about how to afford a safe place to live, including drastically downsizing. One solution, living in an RV.
That is what two North Texas families have decided to do.
Lorne and Lacie Washington have a large blended family with six children and two dogs.
They've been enjoying their 1,800-square-foot townhouse for more than a year, but they say the rising cost of rent, gas, and food has forced them to sell their belongings and purchase an RV.
Lacie's brother and sister-in-law took the leap into full-time RV living in February.
After spending $5,000 for the RV and $2,500 for renovations, they've slashed their bills in half!
They're growing their own food, even building a community garden for the entire park to ease the burden of rising food costs.
The veterans spent years trying to buy a home, getting outbid every time.
"We've been put up against multiple people who have the money and they're putting it down and paying way over the asking price. How do we compete with people like that? Simple. Do a different step. Look at an option for an RV, lessen your bills, cut things out of your life that you do not need, “said Christina Carter.
The manager at their RV park says the demand for housing in Denton County is so strong, that they're adding 100 more lots for families like the carters.