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Habitat for Humanity home a blessing for Durango family

Need for affordable housing growing in La Plata County
Habitat for Humanity of La Plata County dedicates two more homes in the Fox Farm Village subdivision on Saturday afternoon in Bayfield.

Carla Wood never thought she would be able to own a home again, but Habitat for Humanity is making that possible for her this fall.

“I got extremely lucky to get this Habitat house,” Wood said.

Her home was dedicated Saturday, and in a few weeks, Wood, her daughter, Jamie, and her grand-daughter, Zoe, will all move in to the stick-built home that they helped construct at Fox Farm in Bayfield .

“It’s very overwhelming,” said Wood, who thought her divorce would make homeownership impossible.

She is far from alone: 56.5 percent of wage-earners in the county have incomes that would qualify them for a Habitat home, said Habitat La Plata County director Rachel Taylor-Saghie.

However, the nonprofit is able to build only about two homes a year, she said. Right now, Fox Farm is the only place where Habitat is building, and there are 16 more lots to be developed. About 22 families are in the application process.

Once families close on their homes, their 30-year mortgages are structured with payments at 30 percent of the family’s monthly income.

“The beauty of that is that families that were living on what wasn’t considered a livable wage, now the same income is livable,” said Taylor-Saghie. “If somebody was spending 70 percent of their income on rent and now they’re spending 30 percent, they have money to spend on groceries or to fix the car. And they are building equity.”

As housing prices have risen in recent years, more people are meeting Habitat income guidelines.

In 2011, 42 percent of county wage-earners met the Habitat income guidelines, she said. Now, it’s higher than 50 percent.

“Housing costs are going up so much. The cost of housing is crippling businesses because they can’t pay more, and employees can’t live off what they’re paid,” she said.

For Wood, the new house is a blessing that she hopes will show her daughter that there is nothing she can’t do.

She is also thankful for the volunteers who helped build her home.

“So many people have been so generous and so kind,” she said.

mshinn@durangoherald.com



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