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December I, 2010
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Sustainability
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r,u u u u ,u u u u num euw ners u ia o is ana luis turcios say buying a home through Proud Ground is the opportunity o f a lifetime,
n o u m u k u, our cnuoren mat we
worked so hard to buy our own home — so that they could have a stable roof over their heads and a home they could call their own, ” Gladis Turcios said.
Homeownership is Happiness
Nonprofit helps
make dream
come true
W hen G ladis and h er fam ily —
husband Luis and children Luis Jr.,
A ile e n an d C h a rlie — b e ca m e
hom eow ners they had a slightly
differen t experience than m ost new
hom eow ners: w ith the help o f Proud
G round and the H ousing A uthority
o f Portland, they w ere able to buy
the hom e they had been renting —
and had com e to love.
“ I rem em ber that m y daughter
w as very em otionally m oved w hen
she found out w e w ould be buying
the hom e w here she w as grow ing up
and having w onderful childhood
m em ories,” G ladis explains.
G ladis goes on to point out a
m ajor difference betw een ow ning
their ow n hom e and renting it, “T he
tranquility o f know ing I d o n ’t have
to m ove.”
A nd about Proud G ro u n d ’s p ro ­
gram that helped G ladis and her
fam ily get to this point? “ It’s a great
opportunity to buy and ow n a house
o f y o u r ow n — it’s an opportunity
o f a lifetim e,” she said.
T he T urcios bought their hom e
through Proud G round, a nonprofit
organization that provides affo rd ­
able hom eow nership opportunities
..—
.—
e ra tio n s to c o m e.
In a period o f deep econom ic
decline m arked by a steep foreclo­
sure rate, P roud G round has a 0
percent foreclosure rate am ong its
h o m e o w n ers. A co re featu re o f
P roud G ro u n d ’s program is exten-
.------------------------------------------ —
—
My house payment is less than I
paid in rent!”
Lanesheia, Proud Ground homeowner
‘ When I walked in the front
door fo r the first time as a
homeowner, I felt very happy, ’
- - Gladis Turcios
for people w ho w ork and live in o ur si ve hom ebuyer education and coun-
com m unity.
seling, and ongoing, post-purchase
W o rk in g w ith c o m m u n ity p a rt­ support o f hom eow ners.
n ers, le n d e rs, b u ild e rs an d o th ­
Since 1999, P roud G ro u n d has
e rs, P ro u d G ro u n d p re p a re s fa m i­ created 125 new hom eow ners, and
lie s
and
in d iv id u a ls
f o r the m edian sales price o f a Proud
h o m e o w n e rsh ip ; re n o v a te s e x is t­ G round hom e in 2010 is $ 126,900, vs.
in g h o m e s; b u ild s n ew , e n e rg y - $2 4 0 ,0 0 0 for a m arket-rate hom e in
e ffic ie n t a ffo rd a b le h o m e s; o ffe rs Portland.
h o m e o w n e rs to o ls to be s u c c e s s ­
F o r m o re in fo rm a tio n , v is it
fu l; an d m a n ag e s tra n s a c tio n s to proudg ro u n d .o rg o r call 503-493-
k e e p h o m e s a ffo rd a b le fo r g en - 0293, extension 10.
Bicycle Use in Portland Up Again
A fte r a o n e -y e a r d e c lin e , b i­ c y c le trip s o v e ra ll.
c y c le tra ffic in P o rtla n d is g ro w ­
T h e b ik e c o u n ts w e re c o n -
in g a g ain .
d u c te d at m o re th an 150 lo c a tio n s
A P o rtla n d B u re au o f T ra n s ­ a ro u n d P o rtla n d by tra in e d v o l-
p o rta tio n c o u n t re le a se d la st w eek u n te e rs an d a u to m a tic h o se s o n
sh o w s an 8 p e rc e n t ju m p in bi- b ik e ro u te s.
A recent C ensus B ureau survey
show s P o rtlan d is still N o. 1 in bi-
cycle com m uting am ong the 30 larg-
est cities in the country. In that
survey, 6.8 percent say they p refer
to bicycle to w ork in Portland.
W e’re a nonprofit serving first-tim e homebuyers like
Lanesheia for more than 10 years.
Our average sales price is $127,000 in 2010 for
families earning around $25,000-45,000 a year
OPEN HOUSE THIS SATURDAY
December 4 110 am-Noon | 4475 N Trenton
Proud Ground’s newest project, Woolsey Corner, offers
eight brand new 2 & 3 BR homes priced from $105,600 to
$144,000. These energy-efficient homes ar£ close to
neighborhood amenities, parks, schools & rec centers.
Bring this ad to the open house for a
chance to win a $35 Fred Meyer gift card.
•I'l
PROUD
GROUND
More info: Katie Ullrich, 503-493-0293x12
www.proudground.org