Moving house is more often than not a painful chore, but Steve Goss is excited for his family’s next move, into Habitat for Humanity’s latest build, located on Starr Avenue in Sackville. “I can’t wait to have my stuff in here,” says the father of two on a tour through the new three-bedroom bungalow that he will soon own.
Goss and his partner Chrissy Estabrooks never thought that home ownership would be in the cards for them, especially after Chrissy gave up her paid job to work taking care of her two kids. But then in January, Estabooks noticed an ad promoting an opportunity to own a home through Habitat for Humanity. Estabrooks applied on a whim, but the more the couple learned about how the Habitat home ownership model worked, the more they realized it could actually work for them.
The Habitat for Humanity model allows families to sign on for a supportive mortgage arrangement with the organization. There’s no down payment, and homeowners make payments on their mortgage geared to their income over a 20 year period. If they choose to move before that 20 years is up, the family can sell the home back to Habitat for the original cost, meaning they keep the equity they’ve built up. But if they stay and complete the 20 year agreement with Habitat, they are able to buy out their home from the not-for-profit.
From Habitat’s persective, they build modest, affordable homes with the help of donors and financial support from governments, and then find families in need who can take on the commitment.
“It’s a tough decision,” says Habitat for Humanity New Brunswick president Perry Kendall. “Our family selection committee, they do some hard work to make those tough decisions.” Qualifying for a Habitat application establishes that a family is in need of help, and then the committee focusses on selecting a family most likely to succeed. “It’s a big step,” says Kendall, “moving from being a renter for whatever length of time they have been to being a homeowner and taking that level of responsibility.”
Goss and Estabrooks got their good news near the end of May. “It was unreal. I still don’t really have the words to explain it,” says Goss. “We were wanting to be a homeowners, and didn’t think that it was going to be possible. And then this thing with Habitat turned out, and it’s the greatest thing that’s happened.“
Goss says the timing could not have been better. Shortly before they got word from Habitat that they were selected to take ownership of a new home, their landlords announced they would be selling the duplex where they currently live. Just in time, the family will now be able to move into their new home at the end of the month.
Habitat for Humanity New Brunswick will have finished 11 houses in the province this year, says Perry Kendall, and the organization plans to increase that pace in the coming years, with a goal of 20 new homes per year.
“I think I can comfortably say we will never meet the demand, unfortunately,” says Kendall. “Rents continue to increase, and home prices continue to inflate. That gap between the rental market and the home ownership opportunities just continues to get wider.”
The small crowd gathered for the dedication ceremony on Tuesday included workers and volunteers with Habitat for Humanity New Brunswick, and elected officials, such as Tantramar Mayor Andrew Black and New Brunswick housing minister David Hickey, who told reporters why the province continues to support Habitat for Humanity projects with up to $100,000 per home.
“We see the opportunity for home ownership as part of the long term vision in the housing market in the province,” said Hickey to reporters after the Sackville ceremony. “Habitat comes to the table to be able to deliver that, and has a great community connection as they do that.”
