Building Pride In Homeownership

Building Pride In Homeownership

“I want to be an example for my kids and my family,” says Toni about why she wants to become a homeowner.

Coming from a family where all her siblings rent, Toni wants to show her family that homeownership isn’t out of reach. Unfortunately, all too many families in our community encounter significant barriers to homeownership. The rising cost of housing, large down payments and the denial of affordable loans are common barriers for renters looking to transition to homeownership.  

Often times those barriers are not only results of the high cost to own, but the high cost of rent. When families are forced to spend half or more of their income on housing it can make it extremely difficult to save for a down payment on a home. Right now, one in three Milwaukee renters are spending half or more of their income on housing.

Toni is fed up with the high cost of rent at her current three bedroom townhouse. Through Milwaukee Habitat’s affordable homeownership program, she anticipates she’ll be able to save about $400 every single month on a brand new home compared to what she’s paying to rent. It’ll be a dramatic cost savings that Toni says will allow her to save for the future and help pay off her student loans.

Not only will this move create financial stability, but her Habitat home will be roughly twice the size of their townhouse, she says.

“With owning, there’s something to be proud of,” says Toni. “I want this to be a forever home for my family.”

Toni has two young adult children and is in the process of adopting her one year old nephew.

“I think it will be a different mindset,” she says. “We’ll have to work together to maintain the yard and shovel the snow. We’ll feel more pride in it because it’s ours.”

Toni was out on the build site to raise the first walls to her future home. It was an emotional moment that signified the culmination of hard work and dedication in which homeownership was no longer a dream, but a reality.