Building a Home for Sunday Dinners

Building a Home for Sunday Dinners

Sherry envisions a safe and welcoming home where her children and grandchildren can gather for Sunday dinners. She pictures her grandchildren running around the yard and knows this dream will soon come true.

In partnership with Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity, Sherry is investing in a brand-new home. It will be a place where her grandchildren can safely play and where she can build generational wealth for her family. 

For many in this country, homeownership has been a driver for generational wealth creation. U.S. homeowners have an average net wealth that is 400% higher than that of renters with similar demographics and earnings (source).

Sherry has six adult children and six grandchildren. She has worked for MPS for 25 years and believes motherhood and teaching are her true callings.

“It’s a calling,” Sherry said. “It’s a gift.”

After a lifetime spent caring for others, Sherry is ready to invest in herself and her future. Sherry became determined to achieve her dream of homeownership.

“I want to own my own home,” Sherry said. “It will be a sense of accomplishment and an opportunity to build generational wealth. It will be something to call my own. I won’t be renting because rent prices are going up up up. I’m not getting anything out of renting.” 

Before finding Habitat, Sherry looked for a home on the open market and quickly realized it was not an affordable option.

“My heart was crushed when I tried to do it the traditional way,” Sherry said. “My spirit was crushed.”

Now that Sherry is partnering with Milwaukee Habitat, she will pay an affordable mortgage that won’t exceed 30% of her income. This is widely recognized as the threshold for affordable housing. While the average cost to rent in Milwaukee is more than $1,800 per month, the average cost to own is more than $2,300 per month. Instead, Milwaukee Habitat’s typical monthly payment to own a brand new home is less than $950. That cost difference can result in thousands of dollars saved on housing every single year (source).

“It’s not just an investment for now,” Sherry said. “It’s an investment for the future, for the long term.”

Throughout Sherry’s homeownership journey, her children and grandchildren are right by her side.

“My kids are very involved in my life,” Sherry said. “They always say ‘Mom, I’m so proud of you.’ This is their process too. They are walking the process with me. They’re very proud of me.”

And soon, Sherry will feel that pride in herself as well.

“I am overjoyed,” Sherry said. “To have a home that’s mine is a sense of accomplishment. I can’t stop smiling because I’m so excited.”

Soon, Sherry will welcome her family into her Habitat home, hosting Sunday dinners and watching her grandchildren run around her new yard.