LEEDS, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — There are people who would just love to own their own house, but don’t have the finances to make it happen.
For 25 years, Community Concepts has been making the dream of home ownership become a reality for hundreds of Maine people through its self-help program.
When Lindsay Keach is handed the keys to her new home in Leeds next week, it will mark the end of a year-long commitment and a lot of hard work.
“You need to just spend all your time working on the house. You don’t get to do anything fun on the weekends. I had to rework my work schedule to make time for this,” she said.
Over the course of a year, people in the program must spend about 30 hours a week helping to build each other's houses.
“It's not a give me program, It’s work hard. When you’re done, it's awesome to stand back and look at something and say, I made this, I did this,” said Susan Bradford of Community Concepts.
Low-income people who qualify get a very low-interest mortgage and they don’t need a down payment. Community Concepts guides them through the whole process, from the paperwork to providing a construction supervisor, who oversees the work.
Lindsay Keach is a single mother of two, who wanted a safe, stable place for her kids to grow up.
“It's nice knowing my kids will have one place to go home to all the time”, she said.
Her home marks a milestone. It's the 300th constructed under the program in Maine.
“To have done that with 300 people, 300 lives, it’s awesome. There are so many stories," said Bradford.
And the story for Lindsay is about the program coming full circle. Her mother was one of the first people to take part in it 25 years ago. As she gets ready to move in, she’s glad she took her mother’s advice to apply.
To find out if you qualify or if you'd like more information about the Self-Help Homeownership Program, follow this link to community concepts.