By Sylvia Gonzalez

Odessa, TX (KWES/CNN) - Rising rent costs are pushing some families to take drastic measures.

One Texas family facing hard times has ditched apartment living for a cheaper option.

"You're not suppose to stay in storage units, but we didn't have a choice," said James Germany.

Imagine living in a 10 x 20 room and calling it your home. For the past three months James Germany and his wife, Regina, have been living in an Odessa storage unit.

According to James, when he couldn't find a place to live he had to take extreme measures.

"I rented this storage unit once before, so when they threw us, I put all the stuff in the unit. When I couldn't find a place to stay, I put us here too," he said.

He says he and his wife pay $70 per month to live in the unit. He keeps the unit cool by using his own form of air conditioning.

The couple has a microwave, and even a television. But there's one important thing they're missing: running water.

"I go over to my sister's house to shower. I go to the bowling alley to use the bathroom" he said.

Both James and Regina are disabled. Combined, the couple gets around $900 per month. Even if they could afford a home, there are none available right now.

"We went to Third Edition, Landmark and those go by your income in order to get in, but they got a hell of a line too," said James.

James and Regina aren't the only ones who are resorting to this way of living. He says about a dozen other also live there. Most of them were at work when KWES-TV dropped by.

For James, this is a temporary fix for what he hopes is a temporary problem.

"I am hoping end of this month, I am hoping be gone from here. But I am wishing that each month. All I want to do is be gone. I want to have a bathroom and I want to have a kitchen," he said.

 

KWES/CNN