CFHA Residential Housing Unit (RHU)-old PMQ [MERGED]

[aesop081]

What about single parents? Do they qualify for PMQs? Or is a spouse actually required?  8)

Yes they qualify

 

[Celticgirl]

Yes they qualify

You're quick on the draw today. Thanks for the info!

 

[Franko]

So, still no answer as to why the Qs are getting torn down and not replaced....figured someone from CFHA would come here and clear the air.

Regards

 

[Bzzliteyr]

What about single parents? Do they qualify for PMQs? Or is a spouse actually required?  8)

Doesn't that go back to the old saying that if the army wanted you to have a spouse, they would've signed you one on a temp loan card in the first place?

/first thing that came to mind, sorry.

 

[aesop081]

You're quick on the draw today. Thanks for the info!

I do try to help......

RBD,

My take on CFHA and events of the last few years is that DND wants out of the landlord buisness.

 

[Rodahn]

So, still no answer as to why the Qs are getting torn down and not replaced....figured someone from CFHA would come here and clear the air.

Regards

I as yet have to hear from an ex coworker who now is with CFHA, however it may very well have something to do the the square footage of infrastructure on the base. Petawawa may have some capital building projects in the works that will have required other infrastructure to be demolished.

 

[kratz]

So, still no answer as to why the Qs are getting torn down and not replaced....figured someone from CFHA would come here and clear the air.

Regards

From the CFHA FAQ page:

How is CFHA determining which houses will be renovated and which ones will be demolished or sold?

Houses are identified for renovation or disposal on a site-by-site basis, with the goal of bettering quality of life while rightsizing the portfolio. Decisions are based on unit design, proximity to services, parking, traffic flows, existing infrastructure, and cost considerations.

I do not like this answer and will search for a more complete answer if one is available.

 

[Franko]

RBD,

My take on CFHA and events of the last few years is that DND wants out of the landlord buisness.

I'm coming to the same conclusion as well.

Seen the system change from Town Site and full on support in the early 90s to CFHA and "We'll get around to it" notional support now.

Good to see that Wainwright is getting new PMQs built though. They do need it since the place has been expanded.

kratz,

I found that as well. No explanation as to why new ones are not being built to replace them. There is still a waiting list so the need is still there.

Regards

 

[George Wallace]

From the CFHA FAQ page:

Rather interesting.  It would seem that they are planning for failure in Petawawa.  Tearing down PMQs at a time when the Base population has increased with a brand new unit, and other units increasing in size.

 

[Franko]

Rather interesting.  It would seem that they are planning for failure in Petawawa.  Tearing down PMQs at a time when the Base population has increased with a brand new unit, and other units increasing in size.

Hence my question....it doesn't make any sense (I know, a government agency not making sense with it's plans... surprise, surprise)

With CSOR building up and every Regiment/ unit on this base taking in a huge influx of new troops with families in tow...you'd think that they'd be scrambling to get more property.

Regards

 

[kratz]

and yet CFHA in Borden is flooding us with customer satisfaction surveys and for the three property concerns have been here on site on that PMQ within 24hours. And if a solution has not been actioned within 72 hours the CFHA has been stressed about answering why.

Now that I know the questions are coming from Pet, I will narrow the search.

 

[PMedMoe]

I have a possible answer for the issue at hand.  Could it be that CFHA is reducing the number of houses available (and renovating others) so that they can "bump" up the rents?  You know, a supply and demand kind of thing.

I had a co-worker who moved into one of the renovated houses in Petawawa.  He was paying $800.00 per month in rent (for a 4-bedroom, 1.5 bath duplex).  Yes, the mortgage may be more expensive, but at least you will own the house when you're done.  I think of it as an investment.

 

[aesop081]

but at least you will own the house when you're done.  I think of it as an investment.

You have to be able to afford the mortgage to think like that. Here , where i am posted, young families cannot afford the difference between PMQ rent and a mortgage. It is indeed an investment but one that alot of people here cannot afford.

 

[PMedMoe]

You have to be able to afford the mortgage to think like that. Here , where i am posted, young families cannot afford the difference between PMQ rent and a mortgage. It is indeed an investment but one that alot of people here cannot afford.

This is true and I should have specified that if one can afford it, it is certainly worth it.

 

[Bzzliteyr]

Hence why I am kind of kicking myself in the butt for not having forced myself to buy ten years ago.  I have been in my Q for that long and if I calculate (very quickly) it looks like I burned almost $60 000 that I could have put in to a house.. GRR.

Mind you, when I got to Gagetown in 97, I couldn't even afford the rent back then and had to put a memo in to have it dropped for my pay level.. how things have changed!!

 

[smale436]

            Here in Cold Lake there have been at least two dozen houses that have been trucked out and now sit in a farmer's field. They were reportedly sold to the town for a $1.00 but I don't know the validity of that statement. I have seen some moved into the town proper onto vacant lots. CFHA said that they had been declared surplus three years ago and it has taken until now to move them. They also said that it had to do with the underground utilities being not up to snuff to service the houses. Another house had irreparable mould due to its occupant being gone for a month while the water heater exploded during the winter.
            I live in a PMQ with a roommate. We are over 25, don't party much, and look after our yard so I take offence the "frat boy/party house" comment which is out of line in my opinion. Sorry to any people who have had to deal with that, but on the other side of the coin, the guy across the street from me with three kids hasn't cut his grass in a month and has two derelict vehicles on blocks in his yard. It is not just singles living on base causing the problems.
            I applied for one when I found out I was entitled to one. If CL had quarters that were not shared rooms, I would have "lived in". But one tires of drunks coming in at all hours whooping it up, having to walk down the hall to take a leak, and living in a room smaller than my PMQ's garage. And I "sucked that up" during two years in Borden so I figured why not take advantage of living a real life. The fact is only one single person has the Q in their name so regardless of how many people are living with them, they are only entitled to a 2 BR, so it is not like they are taking up space in a Q that someone with 2 or more kids could move into. They're not. I was worried about having to vacate and CFHA said as of April 1 2007 "family of one" is a recognized status due to the fact that someone took CFHA to the supreme court (and won) on the grounds of discrimination. And married people don't get priority anymore. The housing office here stated that if a single applied the day before a married couple with no kids for a housing unit of equal entitlement, the single would get first dibs. The only people who as of now can be asked to vacate are the opportunity occupants such as commissionaires, NPF, or the two RCMP officers who share a PMQ a few doors over from me. Speaking of RCMP, there are also a few living in the shacks (Maple Flag Inn) in Cold Lake as well. Right now CL has one barrack for the Pte/Cpl's (shared rooms) which is almost full. There are two other buildings that house transients, cadets, and Maple Flag visitors. So until the grand plan they have talked about here regarding new barracks comes to fruition, I see the current trends in the PMQs continuing. Realistically, the big waiting list most people talk about is people already in shacks or in town who want to move to a Q for whatever reason. They already have a place to live. There are still many empty houses here. For example, I moved in to mine in April and the previous occupant moved out last August.

Just my $0.02.  Thanks for listening. 

 

[armyvern]

And here,

All this time I thought that "Family of one" ruling was regarding the divorced guy who had visitation rights with his son who was denied a PMQ based upon the fact that he was posted to his location alone. Ergo, they refused him a Q, a fight he won --- based on the fact that he may currently be a family of "one", but for a few weeks a year, he was a "family of two" and needed some place to be able to live where he could have his son live with him during those periods.

 

[smale436]

        That is another situation that I had not thought of. But would he not have been entitled regardless? I thought if you had a visitation/custody agreement, regardless of how frequent or infrequent said children visit their father, you can get into a Q no problem.

 

[Eye In The Sky]

        That is another situation that I had not thought of. But would he not have been entitled regardless? I thought if you had a visitation/custody agreement, regardless of how frequent or infrequent said children visit their father, you can get into a Q no problem.

It didn't used to be that way.  If your kids didn't qualify as a dependent under the CF definition, they would not be listed on your MPRR as a dependent and you were not entitled to a PMQ.

 

[armyvern]

        That is another situation that I had not thought of. But would he not have been entitled regardless? I thought if you had a visitation/custody agreement, regardless of how frequent or infrequent said children visit their father, you can get into a Q no problem.

Perhaps his situation is what caused that current policy?

Just remember that the "M" in PMQ still stands for "married", and while Cold Lake obviously can afford to have singles moved into theirs (as you note the number of empty Qs), that that is not the situation on all bases --- and that on other bases where PMQs are in high demand ... persons with dependants have priority for those PMQs even before a single guy who may have asked first (he still has the singles quarters he can live in - they don't).