Spring/Summer 2018
As the youngest of nine children growing up in rural Kansas, I knew our family had very little money because of the hand-me-down clothes and one bicycle that we all shared. Poverty was a chronic condition for many families living in McPherson back then. I vividly remember my father using fish he’d caught to barter for milk from the local dairy farmer or leaving an “IOU” instead of cash. And, if not for his fishing, hunting and our small vegetable garden, there were times we might have gone to bed hungry.
My older siblings were all raised in a farmhouse with no running hot water that was owned by extended family. My father saved enough money for a
downpayment and purchased a slightly larger and better home located within walking distance of church and school. Despite its faulty plumbing and unreliable furnace, our house was a source of pride for my parents and center of gravity for me and my siblings.
The house cost $11,000 in 1960, and my parents worked tirelessly, my dad often taking on two jobs, to make the $160 mortgage payment every month. I remember the worry when even that payment was more than his paycheck and the joy our family felt when the note was finally paid. My parents threw a huge party to celebrate followed by the “traditional” burning of the mortgage documents.
So, as we observe National Homeownership Month in June, I am reminded of just how much peace of mind and stability owning a home can provide a family. In this edition, you will read about The Housing Partnership’s latest new home construction endeavor, see how the City’s HouseCharlotte Downpayment Assistance Program is helping make the dream of homeownership a reality for first-time buyers and meet the staff that have fueled the success of our homeownership center for the last 25 years.
In 2015, The Housing Partnership got back to the business of building for-sale homes. The first of these are located in Charlotte’s North End. If you turn onto Norris Avenue from Statesville Avenue and drive just past a vacant lot, on your right-hand side you will see a gorgeous new two-story home in a neighborhood mainly composed of 1940’s-era Craftsman style bungalows. That yellow house is one of 13 homes that make up The Legacy Collection at Druid Hills – a series of new homes built by JCB Urban – for homebuyers earning at or below 80% of Charlotte’s area median income.
The Legacy Collection boasts high-quality craftsmanship including such features as granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and hardwood floors. Homes like these would typically cost more than $300,000 in Charlotte’s current real estate market considering their close proximity to Uptown. But these homes are affordable to individuals who earn between $30,000 and $40,000 because of deed restrictions.
The deed restrictions ensure that the homes will continue to benefit low- to moderate-income families while providing an avenue for building wealth. Owners live in those homes, maintain them and pay a mortgage for some period of time which builds equity. “The difference with deed-restricted homes, in terms of wealth creation, is that home owners may not be able to capture the full appreciated value of their home if they sell during the restricted period,” said Fred Dodson, The Housing Partnership’s Executive Vice President for Real Estate. Deed restrictions are important in order to control gentrification of highly-desirable lower-income neighborhoods and build stability within challenged communities.
For more information about The Legacy Collection at Druid Hills, visit www.legacydruidhills.com.
Warm weather and house shopping go hand-in-hand. If you’re a homebuyer or prospective homebuyer, this time of year can feel like a bit of a rollercoaster, especially in the current housing market of rising prices and bidding wars. It can be even harder for young adults to purchase a home with issues like lack of savings for a downpayment or limited credit history.
Fortunately, The Housing Partnership offers younger buyers a pathway to homeownership with HouseCharlotte downpayment assistance. That should be good news for renters in Charlotte who are looking for relief from the average two-bedroom rent of $1,235. Especially when the mortgage for a new three-bedroom home in Charlotte can be as low as $770 per month.
One young homeowner in Charlotte knows this all to well. As rent kept going up and up where he lived near Park Road, Marcus Lucke began to wonder if he would ever be able to buy a place of his own. At 26, he figured that was a long way off. “My house has a great open floor plan and is really energy efficient, so the electricity bills are low,” he said. Lucke purchased his home using HouseCharlotte downpayment assistance. "I could not have gotten a better house in Charlotte.”
To get started purchasing a home using HouseCharlotte downpayment assistance, contact our team at 704.705.3999.
When we first began offering homebuyer counseling services in 1993, we had no idea that 25 years later more than 25,000 families would benefit and 3,800 homeowners would be created. Our team of counseling professionals including staff in pre- and post-purchase, foreclosure prevention and homebuyer education commit evenings and weekends to the more than 1,000 customers we see annually. While housing counseling funds are dwindling, The Housing Partnership is dedicated to continue providing these services in the Charlotte region because they are needed now more than ever. We congratulate our amazing team on 25 years of opening doors to homeownership and counseling families through crises.
Follow us at CMHP.org or on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @CMHP1. The PARTNER newsletter is published by The Housing Partnership and provided to public, private and community partners. Others interested in affordable housing issues may obtain a copy by sending an email to info@cmhp.org or by calling 704.342.0933.
4601 Charlotte Park Drive, Suite 350, Charlotte, North Carolina 28217
704.342.0933 Main Line • 704.342.2745 Fax
The Housing Partnership is a broad-based, private, non-profit housing development and finance corporation organized to expand affordable and well-maintained housing within stable neighborhoods for low and moderate income families in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County with a continuing interest in the ability of occupants to more fully enter the economic mainstream.
