Affordable Home Ownership

Home ownership has been a cornerstone of the American dream for decades. Owning your own home provides freedom to customize the space, is a stable financial investment, and builds generational wealth. But as housing prices and interest rates increase, it becomes increasingly difficult for low to middle income folks and first time buyers to purchase homes. Join us to hear from three organizations working to address this problem locally.

Habitat for Humanity: Habitat’s homeownership program works with applicants within certain income guidelines, with reasonable credit histories and a manageable level of debt and are willing and able to perform up to 400 hours of sweat equity. Their homebuyers contribute hundreds of hours of sweat equity towards the construction or renovation of their home, which includes working on the build site and taking classes that will strengthen self-sufficiency. The home is then sold to the family with affordable monthly mortgage payments.

Tenfold: Tenfold works with national lenders to make loans to first time home buyers that may not be as attractive to general market lenders. They also provide HUD approved courses to help first time buyers succeed in the housing market and manage their new mortgages. 

Spanish American Civic Association Development Corporation: SACA works in southeast Lancaster City to develop and make affordable home ownership accessible to build wealth equity. They have created a total of 40 new modern family townhomes. Redevelopment challenges in the southeast include narrow streets, parking and aging red brick row houses that capture area history but are too small for today’s families. Homeownership Choice townhomes find creative ways to solve these problems and has been honored with a prestigious Lancaster County Planning Commission Envision Award.