News Photo by Julie Riddle New Alpena resident Michelle Dhruvan talks in her home last month about her family’s recent move to Northeast Michigan.

ALPENA — Despite a nationwide housing shortage and a flurry of people moving Up North, buying a house in Northeast Michigan isn’t impossible, new Alpena residents say.

Finding and securing a home here may require compromise and hard work, however.

With more than four of every five empty homes in Northeast Michigan used only seasonally, homes for sale are hard to come by and snatched up quickly, real estate experts say.

And that means resettling in Northeast Michigan “can be a roller coaster,” Alpena newcomer Danielle Dault said.

ABLE TO RELATE

When Dault put her Grand Rapids house on the market half a year ago, it sold in a day.

Since then, Dault, her husband, their two kids, and the family dog have lived with her mom in Ossineke, unable to find a house in Alpena.

“My mom’s ready to have her place back,” Dault said.

The selection was slim when Dault started looking for a home to buy in Alpena, where her husband accepted a job. A few homes nearly met the family’s needs, but bidders with cash in hand nixed Dault’s chances.

The option of renting instead of buying proved no better. Rental prices were outrageous, Dault said, and, even after they figured out how to up their rental budget, no available homes were big enough for her family.

Occasional near-successes offered glimmers of hope during the family’s home search. Not long ago, Dault entered into an agreement on a home. The seller backed out the night before the inspection, she said.

The family was willing to buy in the city, even though they really want something in the country. She’s willing to give up the school they want for their kids. She’s tried bidding over the asking price, only to be outbid by people even more desperate for a house.

In one case, sellers wouldn’t close the deal until they found a new home for themselves.

“That’s not going to work,” Dault said. “They were looking for the same thing we were.”

Once in a while, she regrets deciding to move to Alpena — especially when she misses the family’s personal belongings, boxed in storage since August.

The headache of a house hunt could be enough to keep people away, she thinks, especially those with families who don’t fit in a one-bedroom home.

In the middle of a housing shortage, while struggling to find a home herself, Dault decided to get her real estate license.

It’s an ironic move, she knows. But, when she’s helping prospective homeowners search for their dream home, she’ll be able to relate to their struggles on a very personal level, Dault said.

At long last, Dault and her family have found a home in Hubbard Lake, jumping through the last hoops to make it theirs.

They’ll move out of her mom’s home soon.

“We hope,” Dault said.

BIG CITY TO SMALL TOWN

After spending half her life downstate, Hillman native Michelle Dhruvan moved back to Northeast Michigan when the pandemic forced her husband to work from home.

With that new luxury to live wherever they wanted and still work, Dhruvan and her family chose Alpena. Their friends thought it absurd when they left the bustle of Troy for small-town life Up North.

“Now, they’re jealous,” said Dhruvan in a family room of her State Avenue home.

Learning lessons from others ditching their metropolitan lives who struggled to secure a home in a hot market, Dhruvan and her family came to Alpena prepared to move fast when they found something they liked.

The State Avenue home was the first house Dhruvan toured. She and her husband made an offer on it the next day, a little over asking price.

Though pricey by Alpena standards, the home was a good deal to a downstater. She would have been charged more than twice the price in a big city, Dhruvan said.

“We think Alpena is a value,” Dhruvan said. “Your money goes a long way here.”

Friends here have grumbled about downstaters migrating north and flooding the housing market.

As someone who grew up locally, Dhruvan understands the desire to protect the area and keep it small.

With or without newcomers, though, the housing market is shifting — the pandemic just sped up the process, Dhruvan said.

“Change is hard,” Dhruvan said. “But change happens if it’s hard or if it’s easy.”

Her State Avenue house was on the market several years, sporting a price tag too high for most locals. The family’s purchase didn’t take away from Alpena’s economy, she said — it created one less empty house, filling it with a new family eager to contribute to the community.

Alpena has welcomed her and her family with open arms, Dhruvan said. She hopes it can do the same for others moving to the area.

“There’s enough of it to go around for everyone, right?” Dhruvan said.