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Real Life Stories
 Profile: AHP Grant Helps Family Purchase First Home
Product: Bank of America California sponsored a $610,000 AHP application and financed $12 million in single-family home loans. The AHP funds were used to grant 75 low-income families $8,000 each toward downpayment and closing costs.
Partners: Bank of America California and North Bay Family Homes
Kris and Ellen Kupper had just about given up on the idea of purchasing a house in California. The couple and their two children were living in a one-bedroom apartment that was only affordable because Kris was the apartment manager. Ellen was making good money as an accountant at a local hospital, but they were still priced out of the homeownership market in Marin County, where the median home price is more than $700,000. "We weren’t even making enough to buy a fixer-upper," says Ellen. "We had all but given up on buying a home here," says Kris. They were seriously considering moving
out of state within a year and had settled on Minnesota as the destination.
An e-mail Ellen received at work changed the family’s fate. The message was about a lottery that would be held for an opportunity to purchase one of 351 below-market-rate homes in a new development called Meadow Park at Hamilton. The couple’s initial feeling was that it was too good to be true. "We thought, ‘There’s no way we’re going to get in,’" says Ellen. But less than a year later, after being selected from 2,650 lottery applicants, the Kuppers were the proud owners of a three-bedroom, 1,400-square-foot townhouse in Meadow Park.
Located on the 1,700-acre site of the former Hamilton Air Force Base in Novato, California, Meadow Park is part of a larger development that will also include 297 affordable rental townhomes and apartments, 60 transitional housing units, 67 affordable condominiums for seniors, 33 market-rate condominiums for seniors, and 341 market-rate single-family homes.
Eventually, the master-planned community will bring 2,200 new homes to Hamilton. Nearly half of these new homes will be affordable to the locally employed workforce. Once complete, these homes will double the amount of affordable housing available in Marin County. "It’s great to be part of building a little town," says Clark Blasdell, President and CEO of North Bay Family Homes, the nonprofit corporation that serves as the affordable housing consultant for Meadow Park. Residents of Meadow Park can enjoy all the resources available to the Hamilton community, including high-quality public and private schools, a childcare center, parks, ball fields, a million-dollar skatepark, a recreation center, walking trails, and a proposed wetlands preserve. Downtown Novato is conveniently located nearby, and Meadow Park residents can browse the city’s antique shops, dine at its quaint cafés, or take in a movie at one of its theaters.
As for the Kuppers, they love their new home. Many of the lottery winners moved into their homes around the same time, helping to foster a sense of community among the neighbors. "This is the first time we’ve lived in a place where we know everyone by name," says Ellen. Kris, who now stays at home and cares for the couple’s children, enjoys the serenity, and most of all, the chance to be a homeowner in California. "We don’t have to consider uprooting our family and moving across the country anymore," he says. "We’re so grateful for this opportunity."
May 2005
Back to Real Life Stories
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Real Life Stories
Profile: AHP Grant Helps Family Purchase First Home
Product: Bank of America California sponsored a $610,000 AHP application and financed $12 million in single-family home loans. The AHP funds were used to grant 75 low-income families $8,000 each toward downpayment and closing costs.
Partners: Bank of America California and North Bay Family Homes
Kris and Ellen Kupper had just about given up on the idea of purchasing a house in California. The couple and their two children were living in a one-bedroom apartment that was only affordable because Kris was the apartment manager. Ellen was making good money as an accountant at a local hospital, but they were still priced out of the homeownership market in Marin County, where the median home price is more than $700,000. "We weren’t even making enough to buy a fixer-upper," says Ellen. "We had all but given up on buying a home here," says Kris. They were seriously considering moving
out of state within a year and had settled on Minnesota as the destination.
An e-mail Ellen received at work changed the family’s fate. The message was about a lottery that would be held for an opportunity to purchase one of 351 below-market-rate homes in a new development called Meadow Park at Hamilton. The couple’s initial feeling was that it was too good to be true. "We thought, ‘There’s no way we’re going to get in,’" says Ellen. But less than a year later, after being selected from 2,650 lottery applicants, the Kuppers were the proud owners of a three-bedroom, 1,400-square-foot townhouse in Meadow Park.
Located on the 1,700-acre site of the former Hamilton Air Force Base in Novato, California, Meadow Park is part of a larger development that will also include 297 affordable rental townhomes and apartments, 60 transitional housing units, 67 affordable condominiums for seniors, 33 market-rate condominiums for seniors, and 341 market-rate single-family homes.
Eventually, the master-planned community will bring 2,200 new homes to Hamilton. Nearly half of these new homes will be affordable to the locally employed workforce. Once complete, these homes will double the amount of affordable housing available in Marin County. "It’s great to be part of building a little town," says Clark Blasdell, President and CEO of North Bay Family Homes, the nonprofit corporation that serves as the affordable housing consultant for Meadow Park. Residents of Meadow Park can enjoy all the resources available to the Hamilton community, including high-quality public and private schools, a childcare center, parks, ball fields, a million-dollar skatepark, a recreation center, walking trails, and a proposed wetlands preserve. Downtown Novato is conveniently located nearby, and Meadow Park residents can browse the city’s antique shops, dine at its quaint cafés, or take in a movie at one of its theaters.
As for the Kuppers, they love their new home. Many of the lottery winners moved into their homes around the same time, helping to foster a sense of community among the neighbors. "This is the first time we’ve lived in a place where we know everyone by name," says Ellen. Kris, who now stays at home and cares for the couple’s children, enjoys the serenity, and most of all, the chance to be a homeowner in California. "We don’t have to consider uprooting our family and moving across the country anymore," he says. "We’re so grateful for this opportunity."
May 2005
Back to Real Life Stories
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