LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Recently, Habitat for Humanity completed its 500th build for Lexington and the organization immediately got back to work on reaching its next milestone.
“This home is in phase-three, which is kind of the final phase,” said Habitat’s Marketing Manager, Laura Daley. “We'll be painting, drywall, doing trim; all of the finishing touches you put on a home."
This home is #502 for the city. Tyler Martin has been a part of a few of these builds. On Friday, he was rolling white paint onto a bedroom wall.
“Helping somebody and helping do something is a big part of how I was raised. I think it’s important to pass that forward in any way i can,” Martin said.
Martin added he wasn’t very handy before he started volunteering with Habitat, but he’s picked up a lot of skills along the way.
“I actually had a cabinet fall at my house, and I was able to put it back up, because I've done this before,” he said.
Residents, who might not have otherwise had a chance to own a home, benefit from this in more ways than one.
“They must be able to do sweat equity hours, put in time on the site, building their home, building homes for others,” Daley explained. “And sweat equity includes home buyer classes, which teach financial literacy, budgeting, how a mortgage works."
Daley added that a potential owner needs to meet certain criteria that shows a mortgage payment won’t exceed 25% of their monthly income.
This home is expected to be completed in April or May, and is being built next door to another home the organization completed.
