Location, Location, Celebration! Jacob Finds Home at Rows at Barkalows
We hear so much about how location is a determining factor for where many future homeowners choose to live. For Jacob, that was definitely the case. An IT employee of Mutual of Omaha, he wanted a place that would make for an easy commute. He found that place as the first Habitat Omaha homeowner in the Rows at Barkalows!
“I wanted a place that was reasonably close to downtown because I work at Mutual of Omaha,” Jacob said. “So right now they’re officing in Midtown but they have the new building going up downtown. I wanted to be close enough that the commute wouldn’t be crazy because I regularly have to go into the office, so location was definitely a big point for me.”
The San Diego native (his family moved to Omaha when he was entering his senior year of high school) also wanted a quieter neighborhood.
“When I was offered by Habitat to show me the home and see what the neighborhood was like — it’s a beautiful neighborhood, I think has a lot of personality and a lot of families and some older couples that are living their lives,” Jacob said. The developer of the project is a Spark Development academy graduate, who Habitat Omaha partnered with. “There is a daycare across the street, and some kids are playing after school. It seems like a place where I can eventually raise a family. It keeps me reasonably close to my parents, not too close.”
Jacob said that the process of becoming a homeowner through Habitat Omaha was great!
“I first heard about the program at the beginning of the year and didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “Through the Habitat programs, it’s a way that we can get people that struggle to buy a home and make it happen. I wanted to push myself specifically because I didn’t want to get locked into that cycle of just renting a place and continuing to give my money to someone else’s property. Whereas I if I owned a house, I’d be able to build equity.”
He added that he was uncomfortable in the place he had and wanted a space to call his own. So, he went ahead and applied to Habitat because he felt he had nothing to lose.
“I went through the classes they offer: home buyers’ education, closing education, all that stuff so that you know what to do as a homeowner and how finances work. I got to come to Habitat’s warehouse and see where they build the houses and how to perform maintenance. That was a fun class, and it was especially great because it was cool to see others. It was a group class, so I got to see members of that Habitat program in person, so people that are in my situation. They want to be homeowners. They want to be part of Habitat.”
After that it was just kind of waiting for a place that was right for him, and he was able to go see some homes. He also got to break down whether he could afford them.
“When I finally saw what the monthly payment was going to be like, I was so relieved and so happy that it was something that Habitat could make happen. I get to own a home and build equity. I get to have the pride of owning my own place. I’ve really had a terrific experience.”
He intends to spend some time volunteering with Habitat when he gets all settled into his new home. He has already helped with some of the Habitat Omaha programs.
“You have to do a certain amount of volunteer hours, so of course the classes count towards that, and they also do Rock the Block. You go out and help other homeowners. I did that in Blair in May. We helped a homeowner that just didn’t have the capacity to clean up the outside of their house. Once I saw the before and after, and the hours that we spent working there, it was really gratifying. I could tell that the homeowner was really appreciative. I want to continue doing stuff like that because I really value what Habitat does.
“It still feels unreal.”