BELLINGHAM, Wash. — A total of 23 new townhomes will soon house low-income buyers in Bellingham, bringing new hope to those who had nearly lost it.
Sarah Goodin is one of them. She has struggled through poverty.
"Poverty makes you feel powerless," she said.
The single mom and college graduate struggled for years to find a stable, affordable place for her and her son to live.
"Taking care of a child by yourself requires a lot of time and energy and money," she said.
Just before the pandemic, Goodin's landlord raised her rent by $500 a month. She couldn't afford that, and with the median price of a home in Bellingham more than $600,000, her options were few.
"Even though I was saving money and had been for over a decade there was no way I was ever going to be able to buy a house," she said.
It's an all too familiar story all across Whatcom County and western Washington.
Just yesterday in Bellingham a group of low-income seniors protested a rent hike at their affordable housing apartment complex -- worried they may lose their homes.
However, some progress is being made in Bellingham.
The Kulshan Community Land Trust is providing permanent affordable housing for low-income buyers.
The trust buys the land, and partners with Habitat for Humanity and The Whatcom Community Foundation to build townhomes.
The homes are sold to qualifying buyers for below market value.
Those owners, in turn, promise to do the same when the time comes, amassing equity along the way.
Land Trust Executive Director Dean Fearing says locked-in mortgages give far greater stability.
"Just that stability alone can make a real difference in someone's life," he said. "They're not always worried about rents increasing or landlords selling their homes."
Sarah Goodin's mortgage is now half what her rent would've been.
The trust is finally affording her a permanent home.
Those feelings of being powerless are being transformed.
"I feel powerful, now," she said. "I feel like I have a choice. I don't feel trapped anymore."
The Kulshan Community Land Trust plans to bring 51 additional townhomes to market over the next three to four years.