Habitat for Humanity of Carroll County dedicated 5 new homes on February 17, 2015, nine months after breaking ground the on the town home units at Union Crossing in the City of Westminster. A group that consisted of project partners, project supporters, volunteers, and the partnering families gathered for a ribbon cutting celebration. The families eagerly gave tours of their beautiful new homes to those attending the ceremony.

Families purchasing the 3 bedroom, 1.5 bathroom homes included 4 single mothers with children and one married couple with children. Each of the families with between one and three children currently resides in Carroll County. One mother spoke about being unable to find affordable housing and having to live in her parent's basement with her three children for a number of years prior to receiving the opportunity to purchase her new house through Habitat.

The Carroll County Habitat for Humanity Affiliate was established in 2002 and Union Crossing Homes are the first homes built by the Carroll Habitat organization since 2008. Bryan Lyburn, the Executive Director for Habitat for Humanity Carroll County, lead the recitation of the group's mission statement, "Seeking to put God's love into action, Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope".

Habitat requires each family acquiring a new home to partner with them by contributing a minimum 250 hours of labor for the organization, ideally working directly on the construction of their own home. If a family is not able to participate in the physical labor required during construction, they can work with Habitat in another capacity such as providing help in the local office. Each homeowner is required to pay for the new home or home repairs provided by the organization. The repayment typically occurs through a zero percent interest loan. In the case of the Carroll County homes, the mortgage will be held by Habitat. The mortgage payment for the new homes at Union Crossing is approximately $750.00 per month. The pride the families feel in their investment in their new homes was evident as they gave tours to community members who had participated in some way to make homeownership a reality for them. Families considered for the Habitat programs can have an income no more than 60% of Area Median Income based on family size. In Carroll County, this is approximately $51,000 for a family of four.

The receipt of mortgage payments for the newly constructed homes along with additional donations will give Habitat of Carroll County seed money to build additional homes in the near future. Habitat uses this model worldwide.

Hanover Land Services, Inc. is proud to have donated services as a partner in this project and looks forward to working with Habitat to provide adequate housing for more local residents through future projects. HLS also donated services in the past to help with a York (PA) Habitat for Humanity project.  

If you would like to know how you or your company can get involved with Habitat for Humanity, please contact Doug Barmoy at DBarmoy@hanoverlandservices.com.