Luke Riethman’s lease is up at the end of this month – nine days from today.
He and his partner have been living in Middlesex with Rex, a well-behaved 10-year-old Lab mix, who is a very good boy. Riethman, 23, has been working as a ski patroller at Sugarbush and his partner works for a bank in Montpelier while attending college online.
They’ve got references and good credit and should be any landlord’s ideal tenant –if any landlords were looking for tenants, that is.
“Our landlords have been in Florida for the winter and are returning at the end of this month. We’ve been looking for a new place since January. Nothing is coming up,” Riethman said.
The commute from Middlesex to Sugarbush in the winter was not ideal, he said, getting up at 4:30 a.m. and spending $10 a day on gas got old. He said he had a friend from work who might be moving and that might free up an apartment for them, but that wasn’t certain yet.
He’s been looking on social media, Craigslist, talked to few real estate agents as well as realtors that he patrols with, trying to find a place to live.
“We really want to find a place in The Valley,” he said. “If I can’t find a place for the summer or longer, I’ll probably live out of my car and do some camping. I will paint or work in construction or landscape. I’m not worried about getting a job but I need a place to live,” he said.
He hopes to find summer or year-round housing and to be able to return to his job at Sugarbush.
“I love patrolling. It’s the best job I’ve ever had,” he said.
His is from Philadelphia originally and went to school in Plattsburg, earning a degree in expeditionary studies, largely focused on outdoor education and guiding.
