Skagit Habitat housing program pitched Saturday

For years various entities have tried tackling La Conner's housing crunch.

Now topping the list is Skagit Habitat for Humanity.

The nonprofit has purchased property off Caledonia Street as a site for three single-family "sweat equity" homes. A groundbreaking is tentatively set for October.

To start the process, Skagit Habitat Homebuyer Program Manager Eshel Clayton and realtor April Patterson visited La Conner on Saturday to share key details related to affordable housing options available through the non-profit organization.

About 35 people from throughout Skagit County attended the morning session at the Pioneer Park amphitheater. They were invited to pick up an application for housing checklist packet that must be submitted by Aug. 19.

Those applications will help determine eligibility for the initial phase Skagit Habitat homes planned in La Conner. Application reviews will focus primarily on need and affordability. Clayton explained.

"We recommend that you do your research," Clayton said. "Take a look around La Conner and check it out. We suggest you take the time to look at La Conner and envision yourself living here."

Skagit Habitat's mission is to assist the county's low-income families build and buy a home that they can afford.

Longtime La Conner homeowner Linda Talman, a former planning commission member, told Clayton and Patterson that she has been sharing Skagit Habitat information whenever and wherever possible.

"I've been trying to spread the word," Talman said. "I've visited a couple places where I knew there are people needing housing."

Leslie Smith, another local homeowner, came out of interest in the Skagit Habitat quest. She asked how properties are acquired and what factors are prioritized when selecting program applicants.

To qualify for the Skagit Habitat Homebuyer Program, applicants must be residents of Skagit County whose household income is 60-80 per cent of the local average median income.

"For a family of four," Clayton said, "60 per cent of AMI would be $60,120. Eighty per cent of AMI for a family of four would be $80,160."

Skagit Habitat's goal is to complete the selection process for its La Conner project by Oct. 1, Clayton said.

Applicants must be able to show the need for safe, affordable housing due either to living in substandard or inadequate housing or paying more than half their income toward rent.

Selected applicants must also be willing to clock hours on their home's construction – the "sweat equity" requirement – and take homebuyer education classes.

"This is done over a fairly long period of time," Patterson said of the mandated coursework. "We understand that people have jobs and families."

Skagit Habitat dates to 1994 when county residents banded together in support of building decent affordable housing for low-income families.

"Skagit Habitat for Humanity," its mission statement reads, "brings people together to build homes, community, and hope."

And it will do so this fall in La Conner.