On Saturday, November 21, the Habitat for Humanity Williamson-Maury affiliate celebrated the completion of its 200th home. This Franklin home build, which began on October 3rd, was dedicated to Ross and Laura Tierney and their two children, Ruth (2) and Abram ( 1). This is the 10th home that the Habitat affiliate completed this year by partnering with local churches, civic groups, businesses, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati, and the Tennessee Housing Development Agency to provide local families with the opportunity to purchase their own homes.
Ross and Laura grew up here in Franklin. Ross works full-time for Whole Foods and part-time as a freelance writer. He enjoys refurbishing old furniture and building new furniture out of used or recycled materials. Laura cares for their two young children and loves to bake. The Tierneys attend the Church of the City in Franklin and are involved in a community group that meets weekly for bible teaching and community service.
Like a lot of working families, the Tierney Family struggled to find affordable housing here in Williamson County. “Finding a house in Franklin has not been easy,” explains Ross. “We attempted to do this on our own, but could not qualify for anything. We have excellent credit and a solid work history, but finding something affordable was very difficult. With two bedroom apartments costing an average of $1,200 per month, even renting was prohibitive. We are so very thankful for all of our blessings and are so grateful for this opportunity to own our own home.”
The Habitat homeownership process began for the Tierney’s over a year ago. Like all families in the Habitat homeownership program, they invested 280 hours of “sweat equity” into their new home by completing a homebuyer’s education program, saving $2000 in closing costs, and laboring on the homes of others. They then built their home from the ground up over the last ten weeks working alongside volunteers from sponsoring organizations Eco-Energy, Church of the City, First Tennessee Bank, Gateway Church, and the Rotary Clubs of Williamson County.
This is the second year that Franklin-based Eco-Energy has participated as a Habitat sponsor. “Eco-Energy is pleased to support Habitat for Humanity,” explains the company’s President and CEO Chad Martin. “Participating in each of the build days has been a rewarding experience for our organization. Not only were we able to strengthen the relationships within our office, we were able to do so while positively impacting our local community!”
The house was sold to the family at no profit and with a zero-interest, 30-year mortgage.
For additional information or to get involved as a donor, volunteer, or business sponsor, please contact Habitat for Humanity of Williamson and Maury Counties at 615-690-8090 or visit www.hfhwm.org.
