PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A Pinellas County family has the keys to a brand new home with an interest-free mortgage thanks to the Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and Pasco Counties.
The Miller Family is one of many families in the Tampa Bay area trying to navigate the price of paradise. With so little affordable housing, owning a home can be a distant dream, especially for a family with four young children.
“When our rent jumped up last year, we were in a panic,” Richard Miller explained.
He and his wife joined Habitat for Humanity’s program to help residents buy a home with a zero-interest mortgage.
“You completed over 450 sweat equity hours working on Habitat homes as well as the home of many others. The family also was required to put in 32 homebuyer education classes,” President and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Pinellas and Pasco Counties Mike Sutton explained at the home dedication.
The Miller’s four young girls were thrilled when their dad opened the door for the first time, running to see their new rooms.
But thanks to the community, it’s more than just a home.
“We wanted to send them off to school really well prepared, so we filled backpacks with back-to-school supplies… and little piggy banks so they can start saving for their future,” said Jessica Hernandez, marketing and events manager for Achieva Credit Union.
The North Pinellas Women’s Club donated dozens of brand-new books for the girls, and Feeding Tampa Bay stocked a few food items.
The girls’ favorite part-- the bikes donated by Kids Pedal Power.
“So many of these kids have never had a bike, much less a new one, and so today the Miller family got four brand new bikes from kids pedal power, so it was awesome,” said Doug Bevis with Kids Pedal Power. The organization's given out 300 bikes to habitat kids so far.
At the end of his speech, Miller said, “Thank you all so much for helping us to change our babies' lives.”
This is Habitat’s 73rd interest-free mortgage home this year.
"If we want Tampa Bay and our region to continue to be a phenomenal place for people to live, we have to have affordable places for people to live, and so Habitat's just one solution. We're trying to chip away at families that cannot find an affordable place to live,” Sutton said.
