SPRINGFIELD — “I’m going to sing from the rooftop,” Marie Morgan, 25, said.
Her brand new rooftop, that is.
Marie, her husband Kees, 26, and their baby Everette, 6 months, moved into their newly finished home on Oct. 23, which comes with a zero-down, zero-interest mortgage.
This success story, as she calls it, first began with First Story, a nonprofit that unites community organizations to offer affordable housing and break the cycle of poverty. The nonprofit partners with Hayden Homes to give families a finished affordable home in a cozy Hayden Home community, a few minutes off of Springfield’s Main Street.
The house was a design that the couple picked out, with a large garage, front and back yards, and plants decorating the outside.
Marie first heard of this opportunity when working as a resource coordinator in the Springfield School District.
Applicants like the Morgans work with local nonprofits such as Homes For Good and DevNW to take first-time homeowner courses so they can be ready to go when the next First Story home is made available. Once they have their application and courses complete, First Story reviews the first person in the lists’ items and usually surprises them with the selection.
Marie is a University of Oregon graduate, and Kees works in HVAC installation. However, being homeowners was not something they saw in their near future.
The program is for first-time homebuyers who make 80% or less of the median income in the area. The couple knew that this applied to them and received the house right before their son was born.
Once Everrett was born, the couple found out that he had a congenital heart disease. This made having the opportunity even more important, Marie said, so that she could take care of her son in their home.
The young couple also recognizes how owning a home at this stage of life is an anomaly among their peers.
“We have a lot of friends our age working through the same issues and trying to get into the housing market,” Marie said. “It’s awesome to have a success story like this to share with people … This wouldn’t have happened for another, like, 10 years. We wouldn’t have been able to own a home for a long, long time.”
The Morgans’ home, just like any First Story home, did not require them to pay a down payment or have interest on their mortgage. They will have to pay a monthly mortgage that First Story describes as approximately the average rate of a two- bedroom apartment.
“This is super special for me,” said Craig Warren, Hayden Homes project manager. “I’ve been to several First Story events, and this is the first event that I got to personally host and build with my team.”
Claire Duncan, executive director of First Story, was with the family and other crew members in May when they put up the first wall for Morgan’s house. She said she was thrilled to see the family walk into the finished project.
At the ceremony, over 30 people, including city staff, family, and partner association representatives, cheered for the Morgans as they walked into their home for the first time. Marie said it had been a surreal experience to have so much support from her community, including Mayor Sean VanGordon, who was at the ceremony.
“Families in Springfield are struggling to access affordable housing, and we are grateful to First Story for being a part of the solution here,” VanGordon stated in a news release. “Affordable homeownership truly changes the trajectories of community members’ lives and we need more partners willing to step up and provide these opportunities.”
“When we raise walls, we also raise hope – hope that families like the Morgans can be living, working, and starting a family here,” Duncan said at the key ceremony.
It’s been an eventful few months for the Morgan family.
“To be able to see our son take his first steps, or throw his first ball, all of those things are going to happen somewhere that is our own, and that means more than I can put into words,” Marie said.
First Story has helped 118 families so far become homeowners, according to their website. Of these families statistics show:
• 100% earn less than 80% of area median income
• 100% are first-time homebuyers
• 80% are the first in their families to own a home
• 30% identify as minorities
• 20% are households with children with disabilities
