In need of a Crashpad in FMN

DavCo

Well-Known Member
Great Lakes has decided to open a FMN Base. That being said, it will go junior and thus many of the pilots will be strapped for cash. There will be about 15 crews headed down there, and I'm sure I'll be one of them... Any info on good and affordable crashpads please let me know. I appreciate any and all info.
Thnx!
 
You might want to drop in and see if there is anything on the bulletin boards at the MAPD offices, or stop in/call and ask someone. If all else fails start one, there are a lot of rentals there for pretty cheap. I had a 2 bed/2 bath townhome for $700/month, the 3 bedroom one was $900. Aztec and surrounding areas would probably be cheaper though. I can't for the life of me remember the company I went thru.

http://farmington.craigslist.org/apa/
 
Farmington used to be the biggest base for Mesa's 1900 operation with 10 crews (20 pilots) based there.

One thing you might want to try is to round up a whole bunch of you guys and talk to a real estate agent to set up a crash house. I had to set up the crash house in Joplin, MO and Columbia, MO - when each one of those outstation crew bases opened up.

Basically each pilot in the crash house executes a bid period-to-bid period lease with the real estate person. Each person "buys in" with their portion of the security deposit when they move in - they can get in and out of the house as they get awarded/displaced out (e.g. no 1 year or 6 month lease). They cash out when they leave - the incoming pilot buys in, etc. Utilities are paid by the agency and the agency bills each one of the pilots for their share of the utilities.

It worked out pretty well when I was there. When the bases closed, we all moved out.

It alleviated the need for each pilot to have to come up with their own crashpad since each outstation had 6 pilots total (and they all commuted) and more importantly we didn't have to have one guy sign a year lease for a 2 br or 3br house and be on the hook for the whole thing. The average stay for a pilot in one of the outstation bases was about 2-3 bid periods.

If you can't workout something and you have to end up signing a long-term (6-mo or 1 year) lease and you don't think you'll be staying for the whole leasing period, one thing I was able to work out a separate agreement with the lessor was a "military" clause thing (from what the military folks are able to do), where if I was awarded out of the base (preference or displacement award), I gave the lessor advance notice and gave them a copy of the bid award and basically terminated the lease. and got my security deposit back instead of having to forfeit it like you usually do when you break a lease. (even though the pilot contract allows the pilot to be reimbused for one month's rent/the security deposit if he was displaced out the domicile)
 
Farmington used to be the biggest base for Mesa's 1900 operation with 10 crews (20 pilots) based there.

One thing you might want to try is to round up a whole bunch of you guys and talk to a real estate agent to set up a crash house. I had to set up the crash house in Joplin, MO and Columbia, MO - when each one of those outstation crew bases opened up.

Basically each pilot in the crash house executes a bid period-to-bid period lease with the real estate person. Each person "buys in" with their portion of the security deposit when they move in - they can get in and out of the house as they get awarded/displaced out (e.g. no 1 year or 6 month lease). They cash out when they leave - the incoming pilot buys in, etc. Utilities are paid by the agency and the agency bills each one of the pilots for their share of the utilities.

It worked out pretty well when I was there. When the bases closed, we all moved out.

It alleviated the need for each pilot to have to come up with their own crashpad since each outstation had 6 pilots total (and they all commuted) and more importantly we didn't have to have one guy sign a year lease for a 2 br or 3br house and be on the hook for the whole thing. The average stay for a pilot in one of the outstation bases was about 2-3 bid periods.

If you can't workout something and you have to end up signing a long-term (6-mo or 1 year) lease and you don't think you'll be staying for the whole leasing period, one thing I was able to work out a separate agreement with the lessor was a "military" clause thing (from what the military folks are able to do), where if I was awarded out of the base (preference or displacement award), I gave the lessor advance notice and gave them a copy of the bid award and basically terminated the lease. and got my security deposit back instead of having to forfeit it like you usually do when you break a lease. (even though the pilot contract allows the pilot to be reimbused for one month's rent/the security deposit if he was displaced out the domicile)

Awesome advice... I had been talking to the chief pilot of the flight school down there but was avoiding the real estate agents. We have 15 crews headed down here and I have started a list of names and numbers/email addresses for those interested. I appreciate the help and insight.
 
Just as an update, in case this pops up on someone else's radar... I have made contact with many individuals willing to host up pilots. I currently have a crashpad going that is filling up rapidly. PM if you need assistance getting a Crash Pad in FMN.
 
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