From Childhood Memories to Habitat Homeownership

From Childhood Memories to Habitat Homeownership

Some of Jessica’s fondest childhood memories were made in a Habitat home. Her best friend’s family has lived in theirs for over 20 years and Jessica spent a lot of time there.

“I have a lot of good memories in that house,” Jessica said. “It was a great thing for them. They had gatherings there. It was always a great time. It was pretty inspirational.”

Growing up, Jessica not only spent time in her friend’s Habitat home, but she also had many family members who owned homes. This inspired her to pursue homeownership herself. She started by looking at homes on the open market and was met with high interest rates and skyrocketing prices.

“A lot of my family are homeowners,” Jessica said. “I have been starting the process for a while. I got overwhelmed. Interest rates are insane right now. Outside of that, with my budget, I would probably have to do a fixer upper and I was overwhelmed because I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle all of that.”

Despite the hurdles Jessica faced, her determination did not fade. Seeing family members, like her mother, become homeowners and buy homes motivated her to keep working on her goal. Although her mother built a home outside of Habitat, Jessica was still able to see what homeownership looked like. 

“Seeing my mom be able to get a home really made me want to build a home,” Jessica said. “I wanted a built house, but I never thought I would be able to.”

One day, she saw that Milwaukee Habitat was accepting applicants to build a brand new home and she looked to see if she could qualify.

“I was very excited that I met those qualifications,” Jessica said. “It all worked.”

Now, Jessica is becoming a first-time homebuyer through Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity’s Affordable Homeownership program and fulfilling her dream of building a brand-new home.

“I’ve been wanting to be a homeowner for a while,” Jessica said. “With Habitat for Humanity, I’ll get that opportunity…When I’m renting I’m just paying somebody else’s mortgage. I would never have it for myself, so now I can build some equity. I can hopefully have a home I can retire in. I don’t have to worry about the extra cost of living and I can have financial freedom.”

Volunteers from Milwaukee Habitat’s Annual Women Build painting the inside of a Habitat home. The funds raised during this year’s Women Build will be used to sponsor Jessica’s home.

As Jessica works toward her home, she has visions of what she wants to do with her new house.

“I definitely want to have a guest room,” Jessica said. “My sister lives in Arizona and we’re close. Then she can have a place to come to; she can stay at my place…I can also start a garden finally and have a porch. I am looking forward to having a porch to sit on outside. I can just do whatever I want.”

Jessica is more than ready to move into her new home and won’t let anything stand in her way of doing so immediately, even if she hasn’t moved her furniture yet.

“I am ready to sleep on the floor until I can move my stuff in,” Jessica said while laughing. “I will feel blessed, overjoyed, and excited.” 

With a heart full of gratitude and hope, Jessica is looking forward to creating new memories in her Habitat home, just like the one that had inspired her all those years ago.