The end of 2016 and the start of 2017 have brought a big milestone: the first-ever closings on MPHA’s Sumnerfield Townhomes at Heritage Park. These public housing residents have achieved their goal of owning their homes, and we couldn’t be more excited to see it happen.
The pictures above show Charles Thorstad and Demisse Tulu at their closings in recent days. Both of them applied for the Sumnerfield Townhomes at Heritage Park with the understanding that within five years, they would make an offer to purchase their townhome.
Mission Accomplished! And we’ve got more likely closings around the corner.
Here’s some more info about Demisse Tulu, from our lease-to-own administrator Jan Hughes:
Demisse emigrated to the US from Ethiopia in March of 2001. He moved into his 1-bedroom public housing unit in one of our highrises in April of 2004, and became a US Citizen in 2007. When he heard about MPHA’s Moving To Work Lease-to-Own program in late 2010, he knew that his steady employment of nine years might qualify him for participation in this exciting new homeownership initiative. Demisse actually wrote me a letter outlining 14 reasons MPHA should consider him as a candidate for the Lease-to-Own program. He wrote that if he qualified for this “American Dream Opportunity” it would be his “dream come true.” Demisse completed the pre-application process and was approved. He moved into his 2-bedroom Sumnerfield Townhome on in 2011, and closed on his home on December 27, 2016. Demisse is a quiet, hardworking, and humble man. We are extremely happy that we could assist him in realizing his goal of homeownership.
The waiting list for lease-to-own units is currently open, and you can learn more about the program here.
