Saturday’s dreary weather couldn’t dampen the joy felt by LaToya Carroll and her 9-year-old daughter Callie. The pair are the soon-to-be owners of a new home being built on Loudon Lane by Patuxent Habitat for Humanity.
The nonprofit hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on the site of their 22nd home build over the weekend.
“Although it’s rainy, it’s a beautiful day to be here,” Tim Barnes, president of Patuxent Habitat for Humanity, said. ”We’re working to help low-income families by providing the opportunity for homeownership and to develop generational wealth.”
Every three years, Habitat for Humanity makes it their goal to complete a home build for a local family in need.
Carroll is a St. Mary’s County native. She was educated in local public schools and has worked in the county her whole life. She said she enjoys her work at a local high school and watching her daughter grow up.
“This program really helps people get into homeownership,” she said. “I’m super excited and I have this nervous energy. It’s mind-blowing to receive this opportunity and I’m still soaking it in.”
W.M. Davis Inc. will work on the house, which will include three bedrooms and one and a half bathrooms.
Catherine Shipman, executive director of Patuxent Habitat, said Carroll’s home is projected to be completed by late October, just in time for Thanksgiving.
She explained people can apply to be chosen for this project via the nonprofit’s website. The most eligible person is selected by a committee.
Individuals are eligible for a Habitat home if their present housing is not adequate and they are unable to obtain adequate housing through other conventional means. Lack of adequate housing may include problems with the present structure; water, electrical or sewage service systems; heating system, or failure to meet city property maintenance standards.
Also taken into consideration are the number, the ages and the gender of children compared to the number of bedrooms in a family’s current home, according to the group’s website.
A family will be considered if their annual total income is between 30% and 50% of the median income for Calvert and St. Mary’s counties.
A Habitat house costs approximately $135,000 to $165,000 to build. A new Habitat homeowner will only pay what it cost to build the house through a mortgage. The average monthly payment is between $650 and $750, depending on house style, location and length of the mortgage; this includes an escrow payment for taxes, termite bond and insurance, but does not include any utilities.
Habitat acts as a lender for a 30-year interest-free mortgage. The money that families pay back is channeled into the construction of more Habitat homes for other families.
The organization requires that a family puts “sweat equity” into the home build and that they earn enough money to pay the mortgage payments. While some Habitat homeowners may receive public assistance, most have jobs.
Habitat for Humanity works in good faith with people who are at-risk financially, knowing that owning a home is not the answer to every problem, but can be an important step-often the first step-toward breaking the cycle of poverty.
“The quintessential American dream is to own a home. … This program gives me hope,” St. Mary’s County Commissioner Eric Colvin (R) said, adding that going to events like this are one of the best things the county commissioners get to do.
“It’s really great to see the community come together to create a project like this just to help people out. Life is tough,” Commissioner Scott R. Ostrow (R) said. “The finished product is going to be amazing.”
Barnes said there will be plenty of opportunities for the community to volunteer during the build and donations will also be accepted.
“The goal is to have our next house built in Calvert,” Shipman said. “This is really a great organization and it’s just awesome work.”
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