About the House

TYPE: 3 Bedroom/ 1.5 Bath

STYLE: Single level, single family home

HOUSE SIZE: 1,064 square feet

LOCATION: Shiloh

CONSTRUCTION START:

Meet the Future Homeowners

“I have worked hard over the years to give my children a stable home…
hopefully working with Habitat will give me that chance.”

-From Shanae’s application letter

Habitat’s newest homebuyer is someone who grew up with a heightened sense of the value of a stable home. As a child, future homeowner Shanae Johnson spent two years in the foster care system, moving frequently before being placed with her adoptive parents. She tells Habitat that it was hard for her to trust at first that the home would be permanent, but ultimately her adoptive parents showed her “what family was about.” She tells Habitat, “I have so many fond memories of growing up in this house and that’s what I wanted to offer my children.”

After having her own children, a series of unexpected, destabilizing events left Shanae moving from place to place, seeking a steady place to call home. Finding herself priced out of the Asheville area, Shanae moved to her current rental in Hendersonville and now makes a lengthy commute to her job in Buncombe, providing direct support to adults with disabilities. Even with this sacrifice, Shanae’s children still share a bedroom, and she is left dealing with pests and crime in the neighborhood.

By partnering with Habitat, Shanae will return to her hometown and purchase an affordable 3-bedroom Habitat home in the Shiloh neighborhood. There, she looks forward to giving her children their own bedrooms and a safe space to play outside. Most of all, she looks forward to giving her children the stability that comes with homeownership, and the freedom that comes with security.

About the Sponsor

People move for all kinds of reasons, and when it makes sense, Asheville Habitat exercises our right to repurchase, make renovations, and then sell the home to another individual or family who qualifies for our program.

This preserves affordable housing stock and provides another family, like Shanae’s, with the opportunity to improve their housing. She will purchase a previously owned Habitat home that is energy-efficient and Green Built-certified.

The renovations to revitalize this home are made possible by Kevin Click and April Liou.