What felt like a virtually impossible goal has now become a reality as the couple and their 3-year-old daughter are now buying a brand-new house through the Westerville Habitat Partnership (WHP).
“Seeing that I am going to be able to give our daughter a home and a community is what is really awesome about this whole thing,” Brad says.
Building Together
The habitat partnership consists of several churches, organizations and individuals who support the Habitat for Humanity organizations in Delaware and Union counties. These groups support and sponsor fundraisers, such as building homes.
Joanne Figge, a member of WHP, says the homeowner application process is very robust because they want to make sure whoever gets the new house is committed to their community service mission. One of WHP’s requirements is that the new homeowners contribute during the building process by putting in 300 hours of sweat equity.
“They came (to the building site) and they were there as long as all of us were there,” Figge says. “I believe it was also (Maggie’s) mother. So, three people from the family were there pounding nails, building walls, windows and doorways with us.”
Commitment to bettering the community was something Brad noticed right away when he first began working with Habitat for Humanity on his family’s new home. Being present for other builds as well as his own, he noticed a large community turnout.
“My favorite part of this is that we are actually involved, we are literally building our home,” Maggie says.
Approved applicants must also attend 14 hours of homeowner’s education to learn more about homeownership. This was something Brad and Maggie appreciated throughout the process.
A lot of work goes into building these homes, with an average house build taking about six months. In 2022, WHP partnered with five families for home builds. As of this past fall, the group built three homes and plan to build three more by the end of spring.
Courtesy of Christy Bening
Volunteers for WHP
Families chosen for these homes have the opportunity to buy them with zero interest. The monthly cost of the mortgage is cheaper than the average rent for an apartment.
Christy Bening has been volunteering with WHP since 1997. She is a teacher at Columbus Academy in Gahanna, and she has gotten her students involved in volunteering opportunities like these builds. For Bening, the rewarding feeling she is left with keeps her coming back.
Courtesy of Christy Bening
Otterbein students volunteer to help build a new home.
“You’re taking somebody who is working, who might not be able to buy a house, to be able to buy a house and to build some equity in his or her life,” Bening says. “Not only from an emotional standpoint, but from a monetary standpoint, and I think that most people think of that as being the American dream.”
Brad and Maggie have come a long way on their journey to become homeowners. Now that they have their forever home, they are able to focus on retirement and saving for their daughter’s education.
What’s the first thing they plan to do when they move in?
“I am going to cook in the kitchen and outback for a cookout,” says Brad.
Mike Maynard is an editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
