TULSA, Okla. — On the corner of a quiet Tulsa neighborhood, sits a new house with a new family calling it home.
"In New Jersey, where I'm actually from, our houses start at $400,000. That is way out of my league!" said Sharon Clark, a new homeowner. "I could only hope to get a better apartment, max!"
Owning her own home was Sharon Clark's dream, so being able to walk through her new kitchen with its island, double sink and dishwasher, is a thrill. She has spent the past few years living in apartments with her girls, Olivia and Kaylee. When the rents kept increasing during the pandemic, she was forced to move frequently to find an affordable place to live. She depended on Section 8 subsidies to pay the rent, while she worked to earn her college degree to become a teacher. Once she accomplished that goal, she reached out to Green Country Habitat for Humanity to work on buying her first home. She took financial and real estate ownership courses to pave the way while saving money.
"You can buy a house but they don't want you to lose it," Clark said. "So, they really prepared me for home ownership and just financial responsibility afterward."
Hard-working professionals like Sharon are exactly who the non-profit works to help by building developments like the one in North Tulsa that is currently under construction.
"Traditionally, most of our families are paying about 50 percent or more of their take-home pay in rent," said Cameron Walker, President and CEO of Green Country Habitat for Humanity.
That means few families can afford to buy at a time when home prices and interest rates are high. In fact, Walker says more than half of the households in Tulsa County now qualify for some sort of subsidy through Habitat for Humanity. He said there is no better way to help families build and retain wealth than through real estate - owning their own home. The agency helps make it happen with a low-interest mortgage and down payment loan that is forgiven in five years.
So, for us - our mortgages never exceed more than 30 percent of their take-home pay," Walker added. "We want to make families aware if you think you have been priced out of home ownership, that is not necessarily true you need to give us a call."
With 74 new homes and townhomes in north, east and midtown Tulsa planned for completion by June, the non-profit is on track to be in the top 5 Habitat for Humanity agencies in the nation. They're also hiring minority-owned businesses to build the homes.
"We're trying to create not only housing but also want to create jobs and economic development for North Tulsans," Walker stated.
Under his leadership, Habitat for Humanity is working on big plans that focus on families like Sharon's. Her little girls are thrilled with their new home and love having their own rooms. Their mother proudly said she no longer needs any government assistance now that her monthly bills fit in her budget as a professional teacher. Plus, her girls will only need to remember this home address for years to come.
"This is the one address they need to know," Clark said. "This is a safe place they know they can come to. So, it just makes me feel good as a mom."
For more information on Habitat for Humanity programs, or volunteer, or to support their efforts with a donation, go to https://greencountryhabitat.org/
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