Offer your home – a
win-win situation for all involved

The pressure to find a home in Skellefteå is more intense than it has been for a quite a while – for those who have some extra space, there are opportunities to help relieve the housing shortage.

Let’s visit with the Lundmark family, who have quite a lot of experience in letting.

“It has really given us much pleasure over the years, along with really great new contacts with people,” reports Lennart Lundmark.

The large turn-of-the-century house from 1926 on Storgatan faces the museum as well as Nordanå Park. Despite its central location, in the summer it is a stone’s throw to an oasis of freedom and green spaces to enjoy.

Also, in fact it opens up to a courtyard made for socializing in privacy with generous spaces, and in the middle of it all is the 100-square-meter courtyard house that Eva and Lennart Lundmark have rented out since 2001 when they took over the property.

The main building is divided into two floors, with a fully fitted apartment of 153 square meters on each floor.

“It is fundamentally a rental property; I don’t think anyone would want live in the entire house on their own long term – it’s just too big. And so we think it’s a perfect situation to rent out the parts we don’t live in ourselves,” explains Eva.

Met at the gym

Today, Eva and Lennart live in the upstairs apartment of the main building and are very familiar with the tenant living in the lower floor apartment; namely their daughter Gabriella.

“At the moment you could call it a multigenerational home, but it’s only recently that it’s become that. Previously we’ve had tenants since we moved in here and for some reason many have been medical doctors. Perhaps it is because they have wanted to be close to the hospital; so, its location has been appreciated,” explains Lennart.

Their finding tenant has often been through their circle of acquaintances.

But the fact is that the current tenant in the courtyard building came about in a more random way, and everyone involved has Friskis & Svettis to thank for being an unexpected housing intermediary.

“We got to know Frida at the gym; we were exercising at the same times and simply started talking. It’s so satisfying to get to know new people and they are two really lovely young people, so after two years when the courtyard house became available, the possibility opened up for them to move in,” relates Eva.

“In the city with a country feel”

For Simon Åström and Frida Markstedt, both 24, after their first visit to the farmhouse, there was no doubt where they wanted to live.

“When we saw the house, it felt just perfect for us, and since we were in no hurry, we just had to patiently wait until this great opportunity arose. We’re really enjoying it; it’s so wonderful to live like this - with a bit of a country feel but still in the middle of the city. A bonus is the excellent contact we have with our landlords; Lennart and Eva have become good friends,” reports Frida.

Both are from Skellefteå and have completed their education as mechanical engineers at LTU in Skellefteå and found jobs immediately.

“Right now we are at arose the beginning of our careers, so it’s perfect for us to rent like this, it gives us a lot of freedom. An old and cozy house with raspberry bushes on the grounds and close to the river. Both of us can easily cycle to work and could really manage without a car if we didn’t have hobbies that make us want to venture out of town,” notes Simon.

Recommendes renting out

Lennart and Eva have set up a company for the sake of simplicity and joined as members of Fastighetsägarna (The Swedish Property Federation) – a reassurance for both themselves and the tenant, which ensures that industry guidelines are adhered to.

“Of course, it requires some effort on our part – for example, I’ve now been messing around with an air heat pump that has accumulated a lot of ice. It’s not something we’ve had to deal with before, but it does need to be fixed. Overall, it’s worked incredibly smoothly over the years,” explains Lennart.

Would you recommend others to rent out their property?

“Absolutely, if you have the extra space or the opportunity to rent out all or part of your residential property, it’s perfect. It’s really super to have people around the farm and it gives us satisfaction that we can contribute with housing when there is such a shortage for properties,” explains Eva.

“It feels fantastic that Skellefteå is on the move and construction is going on everywhere.”

The real property company Inte min bostad sees huge demand for housing

Due to new business start-ups and the expansive development of the community that Skellefteå is presently in, there is an exceptionally strong demand for housing. It is not only private persons who are looking, but also business enterprises. Many companies are on the lookout for housing for their employees.

That’s where Emma Norrfors comes into the picture with the company Inte min bostad, which she runs with several family members. The business concept is to put together accommodation packages for companies moving into the Skellefteå area. The concept is that Inte min bostad rents housing from private individuals, which they then rent out to companies.

“We are the contractual partners and take on responsibility for everything; making it a more safe and secure situation for all parties. This way, companies can lease a temporary home without owning it, and we can ensure that housing is used as productively as possible,” explains Emma, the CEO of Inte min bostad.

Inte min bostad has been up and running for a few years and has noticed the increase in demand since Northvolt’s establishment in the community.

“We are definitely seeing increased demand, no question about it. The timing was quite right on our part, we were out early and have established contacts with major companies. Initially it was mostly Boliden employees, both white-collar and blue-collar, but it has spread to other companies who are repeat customers of ours today,” reports Emma.

Growing towards the outskirts of the city

In their own real property company, they have 50 apartments and that type of housing is of particular interest, however they also have an inventory of single family houses and small cottages.

Which private individuals are turning to you?

Some of them are people who work elsewhere but expect that they will return and want to keep their housing, and others want to try living in a cottage all year round and rent out their house. Unfortunately, there are also family separations where people are not yet ready to sell their home, but neither party can remain in the house (or apartment) either and in this situation, we have a role to play. Then there are groups of investors who have invested in single family houses or townhouses to own and rent out, where we provide assistance.

What is the need in particular at the moment?

“Quite a lot of companies are not only looking for single family houses, but also for smaller accommodations, for example a room or small apartment in a house – the most important thing is that it has to be a fresh and comfortable place to live,” explains Emma.

Geographically, the area has so far been fairly concentrated between the Skellefteå city center and out towards Skelleftehamn.

“Because of the increased demand, I think we need to look more at the outlying areas like Kåge and Bureå. In the next six months, we see that more businesses are coming in to set up here, and then we will need housing for their staff.”