With over 2.4 million low-income Floridians feeling that keeping a roof over their head has become a burden, and half of those people spending over half their income on rent or mortgage, Danielle Stroud, CEO and president of Habitat for Humanity of Lake-Sumter, said data illustrates the need of affordable housing for residents to stay in the county.
In Lake County, the average price of a home was listed at nearly $400,000 as of March 2024, according to the Lake County Economic Indicators Report. By the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development definition of “affordable,” an annual salary of $133,333 would be needed to comfortably afford mortgage payments on a home in this price range. However, the average advertised salary in Lake County in March 2024 was $40,576, less than one-third the amount needed.
“It becomes very detrimental for the community when the essential workers that work there can’t afford to live there,” Stroud said. “We face the risk of losing talent and young people feeling forced to leave because there isn’t affordable housing.”
Kelly Turner and her husband, Troy, opened the door to a new beginning for their family of seven, two adults and five children, with the help of Habitat Lake-Sumter on April 1, when they were one of two families that received the keys to their new Oxford home during dedications hosted by the nonprofit. The Turners walked into their new four bed, two bath home, one in a row of homes built and being built by Habitat for Humanity of Lake-Sumter and its partnering organizations.
Stroud said the work of the nonprofit is made easier through the partnerships it has with groups including the Habitat for Humanity of Lake-Sumter Club of the Villages and New Convent United Methodist Church.
Sally Read, co-president and treasurer of Habitat for Humanity of Lake-Sumter Club of the Villages, said the club began on the Turner home at the end of October 2024 and finished two weeks ago. The club has helped the Habitat raise funds and build five houses since 2019. Read said she is proud to be changing lives, and the Turner family was deserving of the opportunity.
After renting a three-bedroom home for nine years, Kelly Turner said finding affordable housing with sufficient space felt impossible.
“A four bedroom on an acre of land is pretty much nonexistent unless you pay $500,000 or more,” she said. “Most people I know who want to buy a home are renting. It’s hard to save on a low to moderate income. You’re constantly depleting funds rather than then being able to hold it. Buying a home seems so out of reach. But these are responsible people who pay their rent monthly. There are just huge barriers to buying a house.”
Elizabeth Tatlow and her four sons explored the inside of their new home built by the joint effort of New Covenant United Methodist Church of the Villages and Habitat Lake-Sumter.
“It means a lot to me,” Tatlow said. “There’s a big yard so the boys can go outside and play. To know that there was a big pool of applications for a habitat home, and we were accepted. I feel blessed.”
The size of the Turner and Tatlow families were a factor in their being selected for their Habitat homes, which were constructed for larger families.
Receiving about 300 applications during the two-week period i which a person can apply for an available Habitat home each time the online application portal opens, Stroud said it’s important for people to know that the nonprofit is not “giving away houses” and the program is “first-come, first-qualified.”
Applicants have to meet basic criteria. They must be a resident or employee in either Lake or Sumter County for six months. They must have a 640 target credit score and have verified income. Families also take classes about homeownership and financial literacy, they also have to put in at least 200 hours of “sweat equity” helping build homes or working in offices.
“We were so excited to be a part of the build, putting in our sweat equity and hours,” Troy Turner said. “It’s amazing to see (Habitat- Lake Sumter) give back, blessing our lives and the lives of the other families up and down this street.”
Elexis Broughton, who was in the same position as the Turner and Tatlow families last year with her husband and children, said working with the nonprofit was a beneficial and educational experience.
“Starting the homeowner process was so frightening,” Broughton said. “The class literally hits every question from insurance to everything about owning a property. It’s a detailed 8-hour class. Even after it was over I could always reach back out, which was helpful because I still felt like a newbie.”
Stroud said the nonprofit helps people who help themselves, and owning a home dramatically changes the security of one’s livelihood.
“Home ownership creates a sense of ease and involvement in the community, because the owners are investors,” she said. “They bought into the community and are likely to become more engaged or create more civic opportunity.”
Looking to be a leading advocate for affordable housing, Habitat for Humanity Lake-Sumter set goals in their 2023-2028 strategic plan to build 80 homes in those five years, with a fundraising goal of $8.5 million in that time.
Nearly halfway into the strategic plan, Habitat Lake-Sumter will have built 34 homes by the end of the current fiscal year. They have raised $3.2 million as of February.
“We have built momentum and have the capacity to reach these goals and exceed them.,” Stroud said. “Every dollar matters. Here in our local community, for every dollar we use, we generate $1.6 in output just for the business of construction. When you invest in Habitat, you are helping create economic development for that community.”
Gary Search, of The Village of Amelia, has been chairman of Helping Hands Outreach Ministry for New Convent United Methodist Church for 17 years. He also clearly recognizes the need for affordable home ownership in this area.
“A lot of people have gotten into apartment situations where they’ll never be able to afford a home,” Search said. “Our whole purpose is to help give families a hand up. We call it being the ‘hands, feet and voice of Jesus.’ We are just so glad to help one individual family at a time. We can’t do all the families, but it makes a difference to this one.”
While the state legislature has and continues to address the need for affordable housing, Stroud said legislation like the Live Local Act in 2023, which offers land use and tax benefits to developers of affordable housing projects, doesn’t address the housing needs in rural communities like Lake and Sumter counties.
“It was a great piece of legislation,” she said. “It mostly tells us that Florida’s legislators do care about their residents and they’re trying to address the problem of housing. But we live in a rural area and the Act focuses on affordable multifamily rental housing in commercial, industrial and mixed-use areas. You won’t see as much as much of that in our area as you would in areas like Miami.”
Stroud added that the legislation should serve as a reminder for residents to explain the needs of the community with legislators.
Staff writer Brea Jones can be reached at 352-753-1119, ext. 5414, or brea.jones@thevillagesmedia.com.
