Tuesday, May 17 2011 8:08AM
Some homeowners in this California community have had to double up after their homes were foreclosed on.
Unable to find suitable affordable housing options nearby, the Fresno Bee reports many families in Mendota, California, are doubling up in what are usually single-family homes.
A number of residents are cramming into single-family homes with multiple family members due to economic hardships in the community, the newspaper says.
One Mendota resident, Maria Rodriguez, had her home foreclosed on. Today, she is living with five family members in a two-bedroom home. The newspaper states other residents living in San Joaquin Valley, where many households make low incomes, are struggling to stay in their properties.
"People living with relatives besides the nuclear family is consistent with communities with foreign immigration," Hans Johnson, who works for the Public Policy Institute of California, told the paper. "It's also consistent with what you would expect in an economic downturn - people unable to afford their own home."
According to the Fresno Business Journal, some home construction businesses in San Joaquin Valley are going under due to the poor housing market in the area. Foreclosures have hit residents in the area extremely hard, the news source says.