Iowa City family thankful for new home

IOWA CITY - Rose La Grange and her three children didn't ever think they'd have their own home.

But on Thanksgiving morning as rich aromas of coffee brewing and smells of a savory turkey roasting filled the kitchen, the family gathered in their freshly decorated living room - just a week after they moved in - where their 25-pound cat Gus nuzzled up with them on the couch.

Still taking it all in, La Grange, 52, said words couldn't capture how thankful she was.

“A new home has giving me a wonderful perspective of all the opportunity out there,” she said, as a big smile came upon her face.

La Grange's home is part of an affordable housing program in Iowa City administered by The Housing Trust Fund of Johnson County that began in the spring of 2009 as a way to offer help to those affected by the flood rebuild as well as lower income residents become homeowners.

With priority given to flood victims, and an annual income restriction there were 52 people who applied for the program, and 40 homes were granted, according to Andrew Donham, grant program administrator for The Housing Trust Fund of Johnson County.

Since the program began almost a year after the 2008 flood, Donham said all except a few of the 40 homes were not affected by the disaster, but rather looking for a feasible option to own a home.

Currently the project - the Single Family New Construction Program- is currently accepting applications.

The program offers the homebuyers a 30 percent forgivable loan, which means if the home is owned by the family for 5 years, the loan is paid by through the program. Donham also said by building new homes, the tax base lost from many flooded homes is regained.

For the 40 homes either being currently built, or being closed on, a lottery was held to determine who could get the spots - something La Grange said will always make her feel lucky.

And the feeling from moving her 12-year-old twins Harrison and Madeline and 17-year-old Korwin from roughly a 900 square feet apartment to around 2400 square feet home is almost unbelievable, La Grange said, noting that she only stumbled upon the program by accident when she was paying her utility bill online.

Although the payments have increased from those of rent, La Grange said she happily works two jobs to have the opportunity to keep the new home.

“It's a real feeling of thankful,” she said. “I've come from such a long way to get this.”