Norman and his wife, Samantha, could not be more excited to build and purchase their own Habitat home. They look forward to moving in their future home along with their four children, Montasia (17), Maliyah (12), Rico (9) and Trey (4). Currently, the family lives in a two-bedroom rental house. Aside from being cramped in such a small space, the rental is aging, and the family often has issues with the plumbing.
Norman works the graveyard shift at a local warehouse as a Picker. He sorts items and sends them to the next step to be loaded. A longtime Certified Nursing Assistant in home health, Samantha was forced to get a new job due to COVID-19. Over the past few months, she has struggled to find employment because of the difficult job market. With schools and daycares closing unexpectedly, she has not had reliable or affordable childcare, which has made searching for a job even more difficult. She is thankful to be back at work and able to help care for those in the community.
Initially, Norman and Samantha wanted to apply for a conventional loan, but even with their full-time jobs, they were not able to find an affordable way to purchase a home for their family. The more they researched, they more they realized that the Knoxville Habitat program would better fit their needs. Norman said they “dug in and decided to try” the homeownership program, investing 500 hours of sweat equity in order to build and purchase an affordable home.
After years of working towards their goal, Norman and Samantha are finally ready to build. Norman knew their hard work would pay off, saying “With my God, I’m not surprised He’s taking care of us like this. We’re blessed.”
Norman is excited to have an affordable mortgage where he and his wife can pay toward something they own instead of just rent, and Samantha is most excited about making their new house a home. They both believe that this will be a fresh start for everyone, especially their younger children. They look forward to marking their sons’ heights on the doorframe and watching them grow.
Thanks to the support of Edward Jones Region 86 and your generous support this #GivingTuesday, Norman, Samantha and their family will have the opportunity to build strength, stability and independence through affordable homeownership.
We worked so hard to get to the place that we’re at, and we’ve sacrificed so much. We appreciate the Habitat program and all of the volunteers and supporters that are helping us buy this home. – Norman