METHOW HOUSING TRUST JOURNEYS TO HOMEOWNERSHIP
Susie, Arron and family
Susie shares about the first time her daughter stepped into their house. “I wasn’t sure how she would handle the move to a new place, but as soon as we stepped foot in the house, she walked directly to what would become her room. She knew this was home”. Getting the keys felt like the beginning of a new chapter for Susie, Arron, their two kids, their nephew, and their pets.
For 11 years Susie and her family lived in their two bedroom trailer. Even though it was bittersweet for the kids moving out of their old neighborhood, settling into their new space has been great. The kids have their own rooms, the backyard looks out into open space, her neighbors are nice and they finally have space for family antiques like her grandparents’ paintings.
Liam and Claire
Teaching personal finance to seniors at Liberty Bell, Liam is used to thinking and talking about long term goal planning. He and his partner Claire purchased their MHT home in Spring of 2023. Owning their MHT home has turned their personal goals of homeownership and remaining long term in the Valley into a reality. And for Liam, who grew up in the Methow Valley and returned to his hometown after college, helping locals remain local is an important role of the Methow Housing Trust. “The greatest service that MHT provides is it keeps the community at large much more representative of who has lived here in the past and who will continue to live here in the future” shares Liam. “A lot of rural west communities are dealing with the same issue as the Methow. Those communities didn’t get on top of housing early enough. I appreciate that MHT is ensuring that folks can keep living here.”
Katie
“When I first moved to The Methow Valley full time in July of 2016, it was evident that rentals, and affordable housing was scarce, as I lived out of my car for a month. Luckily, through my work as a teacher at Liberty Bell High School, and through other connections in the community, people began to look out for me on the rental front. I found stable housing and was able to really settle in and connect more with this amazing community. Knowing that The Methow was where I wanted to stay, I began thinking about buying a house. Unfortunately, the lack of real estate in my price range became a huge barrier. But after some encouragement from friends, I applied for a Methow Housing Trust home. I closed and moved into my lovely house in May of 2022.”
Salyna
“Over the years I’ve lived and shared in the different seasons of life, from raising kids, to living in different areas of the Valley. I feel I’m a part of something here, that I belong. People know who you are, they ask about you and are genuinely interested.” One aspect that stands out to Salyna about owning her MHT home is how each home is a blank canvas on which each resident paints their own personality.
“The three words I’d use to describe my home are global, cozy and welcoming.” You certainly sense the warmth of these words when you enter Salyna’s home: the colors chosen for the walls, her artwork, photos, and pieces from her world travels, the verdant plants growing happily in the windows, all reflect Salyna’s attentive and adventurous spirit.
Darla
Darla is the recent new owner of Riverside Printing (Now Riverside Printing and Design). She is also a mother to two sons, Kenny and Dean.
Darla, Dean, and Kenny moved to the Methow Valley in 2013 and she started working at the Methow Valley News while renting a house. The rental they were living in was a rare find in the Methow, and when the landlord decided to remodel the home, they had to move out. With rising rents and a low inventory of long-term rentals, renting a home wasn’t going to provide the stability they needed.
In 2019 Darla purchased her Methow Housing Trust home.
While she runs essential business to have in the valley, with lots of local business, it wouldn’t generate enough revenue to support someone in buying a home here today. “…If I had to pay market-rate rents or a mortgage, at today’s prices, we would have to leave the valley”.
Sarah and Max
“When we moved to the Methow Valley we knew we wanted to grow our roots here as a new family. Homeownership had never been something we thought we could afford” says Sarah. “I have a chronic illness and always needed to save to cover maximum out of pocket medical expenses every year. This has not left much wiggle room to save for other things, including a down payment for a home. Purchasing a home through the Methow Housing Trust helped me and my husband finally be able to plan long term for life in the Methow, with stable housing in a community we love.”
Max is a 1st grade teacher at Methow Valley Elementary School. Sarah works with the Methow Housing Trust as our Outreach and Development Director.
Dusty
Dusty is a life long Valley resident who lives in a Methow Housing Trust home.
Chris and Keri
Chris and Keri knew they wanted to settle permanently in the Methow Valley, because it offers the sense of community and the outdoor recreation opportunities they both love. Keri is a health educator with Room One and leads a Nordic ski program at Methow Valley Elementary School, and Chris works as an arborist in summer and ski instructor in winter.
Though they desired owning a home, they found themselves priced out of the real estate market in the valley “There was a nervous tension, wondering if it would be feasible to raise a family here and afford it,” Chris said.
Reflecting on what it means to own a housing trust home, Chris shares, “We could afford the mortgage with my jobs and Keri’s jobs and be comfortably within our budget,” “There was a big sigh of relief, and a feeling of settling into the valley. The Housing Trust opens for us more time to be involved as community members, rather than just trying to stay afloat,” he said. “Now with a home we can afford, in a place that we adore, we can completely open our hearts to love this place without fear of losing it.”
Daniel
Home can represent stability and home can be a source of pride. For Daniel and his 4 year old son Jordan, it is both. They relocated to the Methow Valley from Seattle, and started off living with Daniel’s parents, who live in the Valley. Daniel says that he and Jordan hit the ground running in connecting with the local community. “There is a level of care here that we didn’t have living in Seattle. People want to interact with us, watch Jordan grow. Jordan is a good spirited kid, very social and outgoing. He loves the Methow. I wanted to experience this kind of community, and raise my son in an environment where he is cared for. I also knew I wanted to buy a house, be stable and settled.”
Aspen
Aspen was born and raised in the Methow Valley, left for a period of time, only to come home once again. She moved back to the Valley 9 years ago, and for the past 8 years, she and her son have lived at the Twisp Riverside Apartments, which are for low income households. Her journey from inquiring about the MHT program to purchasing a home, took over a year and a lot of work but Aspen says, "It is worth it."
Aspen learned she could be eligible for a low interest USDA Direct Loan to purchase a home through the Trust, but there were some steps she needed to take first, to become purchase ready. This included down paying debt, and being out of collections for a period of 6 months before she could qualify for a USDA Loan. While diligently working towards these goals, she also took the required home buyers education course and worked to build her credit. "I got a lot of little things done," she shares, "it would have been a longer wait for me to be ready to buy a home if I didn't get those things done while waiting". When asked what it feels like to own her own home she shares that "It feels great. It is still a little surreal, owning my own home".
Cristina and Ross
Cristina and Ross met the year they both moved to the Methow Valley. Cristina was an instructor for Outward Bound and Ross was a smoke jumper. Being a Jack and Jane of all trades, they’ve plugged into many roles here in the Valley over the years, from volunteering with Aeromethow, working as a climbing guide, tree work, construction, to working at EQPD. The development of close friendships and access to recreation they enjoy is what Cristina loves about the Methow.
From living in the smoke jumper barracks, or out of a tent while leading trips, to renting a place in town, buying a yurt and living on a friends property, they had a myriad of housing situations. When they finally bought their MHT home Cristina felt excited to get the keys. Overall she feels like they are more settled owning their home and in a way that it has been a part of their ‘adulting’ together.
Pam
“Homeownership honestly feels liberating. For the first time in my life, I feel totally stable. I pay less for my mortgage, insurance, and taxes than what I was paying for my rental, and my electric bill is nominal since the home is so energy efficient. That difference in savings can now go towards my retirement. There really is no feeling like knowing when you walk home every day that this is your space, and no one is going to take it away. Owning a MHT home enables you to make dreams for your future. It helps you to dream more.”
Dara
“I never thought that I would be able to buy or live in a house ever. Owning a home through MHT is a lovely experience that has enriched my life greatly. My house isn’t on wheels anymore. I don’t have to move again. Having a permanent roof, running water, space to bring people together, all these things bring me joy.”
Becky
“Anybody that needs a permanent home, that could qualify through MHT, should at least go try. It has meant everything to me. This program has the potential to brighten up a lot of people’s lives, as they no longer need to be insecure about their home”.
Becky purchased her Methow Housing Trust home in 2022 and shared “I’m very happy and settled. I like to be at home and to make it the way I like it. This is my peaceful place. It’s a nice house, affordable and quality. It’s cool to have a blank slate, I’ve been enjoying gardening, the light in the house, and hosting my weekly poker game with the girls. We’ve been playing going on thirty years now”.
Denise
Denise first moved to the Methow Valley with her mom in 1980 and has lived here for most of her life since. Relying on rental housing over the years got more and more difficult with the increase of nightly rentals making long-term rentals increasingly rare. In 2020, after several years of house sitting, she was able to buy a Methow Housing Trust home. “[This house] has afforded me peace of mind and stability… it feels good to have some permanence in my life… I planted daffodils for the first time!”
Maureen
“I’ve been re-connecting with my belongings which have been in storage for two years. This includes my books and my few precious pieces of home decor. Over the years of living here, there were a couple of places which elicited a small hope it could be a long-term rental yet there was inevitably the day I needed to find packing materials. Moving into my new home, I anticipated the sense of groundedness and ease I felt; yet, what I didn’t anticipate was how strange it would feel when I could actually get rid of my packing materials!”
Lisa and Josh
Lisa and Josh first began their search for a home in 2016, after Lisa graduated from nursing school and had begun working in Chelan. They didn’t have luck finding something under 300K that wasn’t a fixer upper or that was big enough for a family of four.
Some people asked “Why don’t you leave the Valley?”. For the Marshalls’ they love it here. It is hard to put into words. Ultimately, “The Methow feels like extended family,” says Lisa, “Our family and friends are here, some who we grew up with, all with their kids. When going through nursing school I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my mom’s help. Being able to be near her now, is huge.” Getting the keys to their new home there was a sense of relief. Knowing that they are building equity. Homeownership has been a long process and achieving it has provided stress relief for their family.
Theresa
As she stood in the front yard of her new Methow Housing Trust home, Theresa Days said buying her house means much more than having an affordable place to live. The experience has helped her regain a sense of belonging to a caring community.
“When my dad died, when I was 10, the community came together and helped,” said Days, who grew up in the Methow Valley. “That’s what this is feeling like again. People are helping each other. That’s what this valley has always been about.”
Tani
Tani knew she wanted to retire in the Methow Valley and, after living in a 75-year-old fixer-upper in Twisp, she decided that she couldn’t keep up with the constant maintenance required. Old homes with poor insulation and heat were too much work to keep warm during the winter.
“I knew that going forward I wouldn’t be able to stay in my home just on Social Security ”. After learning about the Methow Housing Trust, and that she may be eligible for a new home she began the process of applying.
In 2020 Tani moved into her brand-new energy efficient home and exclaimed, “I’ll never be cold again!”. She now enjoys living in a small, easy to care for home that is close to the mountains in a neighborhood that she sees as a true community. Social connection is important to Tani and she likes having neighbors who are diverse, talented, and engaged in the community.
Cassie
When Cassie first arrived in the Methow in 2012, she felt like it was the place that she may be looking for. A lack of long term housing forced her to leave after a summer and she lived multiple places looking for that feeling she had in the Methow Valley. “In the Methow people care about other people in a way that is rare. I’ve lived in a lot of places, but I didn’t get that same feeling”. She made the move back in 2017 and the search for stable housing began again. That Fall, she learned about the Methow Housing Trust, but homeownership had never been a personal goal of hers, and still seemed unattainable.
Over the course of the next couple of years Cassie worked multiple jobs to make enough to get by while pursuing her passion of jewelry making. In three years Cassie lived in half a dozen places, spending several months house sitting, a common way many local people find temporary housing. At the same time, Cassie saw the Methow Housing Trust homes being built, saw people moving in, and thought to herself “This is really happening, and I’m still here. I can do this”. Cassie qualified for a USDA 502 direct loan through the Methow Housing Trust, which resulted in an affordable mortgage that allows her to bake for a local business, focus on her jewelry, and feel secure in her living space.
Dean and colleen
“We have been full time Valley residents for 18 years. Early in 2020 we decided that it was time to downsize our workload by moving to a smaller living situation. Without the MHT home we might not have been able to afford to stay in the Valley. We are enjoying living in the town, having only one car and being able to walk to the stores, post office etc. Our dog, Mindy, has made a great adjustment to town living and loves chasing her frisbee in the park.”