Owning your own home changes something inside of you. Yes, it impacts the way you feel about little things, like lamps and flower beds and it might even lead to you agonizing over the color and style of drapes!
It also changes the way you feel about your community at large. Suddenly, this becomes your street. You start noticing which cars are driving through your neighborhood, and you notice when so-and-so a few doors down replaced their gutters or when the folks across the street put in a new flower bed.
It gives the word “ownership” an entirely new meaning.
Owning a home is one of the biggest steps you can take toward self-sufficiency, increasing your financial stability and developing a safety net for you and your family.
There’s a reason home ownership is called the “American Dream.” But it doesn’t just benefit you, it’s great for society as a whole by
-Stimulating the local economy
-Strengthening our community
-Building net worth for individual families
So, where does Job Point come into all of this?
Job Point’s first independently-built house in Columbia was completed and sold in July 2008. Since then, Job Point has built or completely renovated 37 homes, which were sold with monthly mortgage payments falling around $630.
These houses were built by Job Point’s YouthBuild participants and carpentry students through private financing and assistance from the City of Columbia’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. The program makes homes available for purchase by families or individuals at or below 80% of the Boone County median income level.
First time home buyers are given preference, and up to 20% of the purchase price may be provided in down payment assistance.
One Family’s Story
The owners of our first house couldn’t be more pleased with their home at 6 East Forest Avenue. The couple had been searching for a home in Columbia, with the intention of relocating, so the husband could pursue a Master’s degree. With only his wife’s salary as a teacher, the only homes they found within their price range were fixer-uppers and they knew they did not have the time, nor the budget for that! When they learned about Job Point’s home for sale, they were delighted. Their excitement was evident at the closing. The husband said, “We never thought we would be able to find a place this nice. It also feels good to be a part of something like Job Point and YouthBuild – to be helping the community”. Now the young couple is building equity and has a fenced in backyard for their first child.
Through Job Point’s YouthBuild and carpentry trades programs, income-eligible youth and adults build high quality, affordable homes. But they learn so much more than construction skills. They get the chance to change their circumstances and maybe even their lives.
