I’m writing as a local resident who feels increasingly punished for trying to do the right thing.
My husband and I work hard. Between us, we manage two full-time demanding jobs, and a part-time job, all while supporting two children currently in university. Like many families, we’ve made sacrifices and planned carefully for the future. Part of that planning included purchasing two additional homes here in town. Homes we see as long-term investments for retirement, family stability, and possibly a place for our kids to land when they return from college and need help getting a start.
We are local. We pay our taxes. We shop locally, hire local workers, and support local businesses year-round. We are not absentee investors or corporate owners.
Yet despite this, we are being treated as if we are doing something wrong. We followed the laws established by our city and state, laws that explicitly allowed short-term rentals. Now, because we choose to operate these homes as a business, instead of long-term rentals, our property taxes are increasing by 68%.
This doesn’t feel like a reasonable regulation. It feels like punishment. It sends a clear message: if you invest in your future in a way that doesn’t fit a single preferred model , you will be penalized.
What’s hardest to accept is the inconsistency. Hotels were the original short-term rentals. They operate continuously, profit from tourism, and place real strain on infrastructure. Yet they are not required to reserve rooms for local residents who are unhoused, or are they asked to face the same scrutiny.
Why are local homeowners held to a different standard?
Housing affordability is a real issue, and it deserves real solutions. But placing the blame on local families who own and responsibly manage a small number of properties is not one of them. Pushing out people who live here, work here, and invest here weakens the community – it doesn’t protect it.
We should be able to talk about housing without turning neighbors into villains. We should be able to support working families who are trying to build stability for themselves and the next generation.
I’m not asking for special treatment, only fairness, balance, and policies that recognize the difference between corporate ownership and local families trying to plan for their future.
I urge our local and state elected officials to reconsider policies that disproportionately impact local homeowners who are operating within the rules.
Tess Ames lives in Whitefish.