Tacoma, Habitat for Humanity team up on new building project
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TACOMA, Wash. -- Just about every neighborhood has at least one vacant and foreclosed home that creates an eyesore and brings down property values, but the city of Tacoma is working on solution to change that.
Tacoma's Bonnie Palmer knows that vacant homes can be a magnet for crime and garbage. She used to stare right out her front window at such a property.
"People would come in the middle of the night and dump old washers, old dryers, mattresses, you name it," she said.
However, that was before the city of Tacoma bought the home and partnered with Habitat for Humanity, which is rebuilding 13 new homes where eyesores once sat.
"Oh, I think it's wonderful," Palmer said.
The city did it using federal grant money, and the project was such a success that it earned the city another nearly $4 million grant to do even more.
The money is coming from the Attorney General's Office, which also handed out millions to other groups across the state to do the same thing in their own communities.
"They've been looking for tools to combat this situation and this is really an opportunity to step in and reach out and say we're ready to help," said Tacoma Housing Division manager Ric Teasley.
Palmer no longer has to look at an eyesore, and she's also gained a new neighbor.
"This lady who lives in the house there, she works two jobs and has two children," she said.
The beauty of the project is that families don't have to be rich to become homeowners.
"A mother or a couple, a family of four earning between $25,000 and, say, $38,000 a year can be a homeowner with us," said Maureen Fife with Habitat for Humanity.
It's cheaper than renting for some families, since their total monthly payment, with mortgage, insurance and homeowner's dues average just $500 to $800 a month.
The Attorney General's Office is distributing almost $44 million to groups across the state to either clean up homes or help those facing foreclosure work out a deal with their lender to save their home.
More information about where the money is going is available online.
Tacoma's Bonnie Palmer knows that vacant homes can be a magnet for crime and garbage. She used to stare right out her front window at such a property.
"People would come in the middle of the night and dump old washers, old dryers, mattresses, you name it," she said.
However, that was before the city of Tacoma bought the home and partnered with Habitat for Humanity, which is rebuilding 13 new homes where eyesores once sat.
"Oh, I think it's wonderful," Palmer said.
The city did it using federal grant money, and the project was such a success that it earned the city another nearly $4 million grant to do even more.
The money is coming from the Attorney General's Office, which also handed out millions to other groups across the state to do the same thing in their own communities.
"They've been looking for tools to combat this situation and this is really an opportunity to step in and reach out and say we're ready to help," said Tacoma Housing Division manager Ric Teasley.
Palmer no longer has to look at an eyesore, and she's also gained a new neighbor.
"This lady who lives in the house there, she works two jobs and has two children," she said.
The beauty of the project is that families don't have to be rich to become homeowners.
"A mother or a couple, a family of four earning between $25,000 and, say, $38,000 a year can be a homeowner with us," said Maureen Fife with Habitat for Humanity.
It's cheaper than renting for some families, since their total monthly payment, with mortgage, insurance and homeowner's dues average just $500 to $800 a month.
The Attorney General's Office is distributing almost $44 million to groups across the state to either clean up homes or help those facing foreclosure work out a deal with their lender to save their home.
More information about where the money is going is available online.
This kind of program is something that should have been going on long ago...it helps almost everyone involved, with little downside.