Vermont Housing Conservation Board 2005 - Vermont Housing and ...
Vermont Housing Conservation Board 2005 - Vermont Housing and ...
Vermont Housing Conservation Board 2005 - Vermont Housing and ...
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portation,” said Brenda Torpy, director<br />
of Burlington Community L<strong>and</strong> Trust<br />
(BCLT). Purchase prices ranged from<br />
115,500 for a 670 square-foot home to<br />
165,900 for a 1,110 square-foot, marketrate<br />
home.<br />
For one family that became homeowners<br />
for the first time here, City’s Edge<br />
became the end point of an exceptionally<br />
long journey. Walum Awotho <strong>and</strong><br />
Lossi Budju are natives of the Congo;<br />
they moved to Madagascar several years<br />
ago so that Walum could attend medical<br />
school. While he was studying, war<br />
erupted in the Congo, <strong>and</strong> the couple<br />
could not return home.<br />
Applying for refugee status, the<br />
couple <strong>and</strong> their children were sent to<br />
the United States. In 2002 they moved<br />
to Barre, then relocated to Burlington as<br />
Walum searched for work, <strong>and</strong> found it.<br />
In a cramped Essex Junction apartment,<br />
the family saw much of their income<br />
going for rent. Searching for reliable<br />
information on buying a home, Walum<br />
discovered the BCLT NeighborWorks®<br />
HomeOwnership Center.<br />
“Walum <strong>and</strong> Lossi attended an orientation<br />
<strong>and</strong> a home buyer workshop,<br />
<strong>and</strong> studied the workbook provided<br />
by BCLT using both an English <strong>and</strong> a<br />
French dictionary,” says Karolyn Phillips,<br />
an AmeriCorps member who<br />
served as the HomeOwnership Center’s<br />
education <strong>and</strong> outreach coordinator.<br />
“They saved money <strong>and</strong> worked hard for<br />
two years, to rebuild their lives from the<br />
ground up . . . Now they are homeowners,<br />
<strong>and</strong> tell friends about BCLT.”<br />
“It is easy if you have good credit<br />
history, are honest, <strong>and</strong> pay bills,” says<br />
Walum. “BCLT is helpful — <strong>and</strong> a very,<br />
very good thing.”<br />
“Walum <strong>and</strong> Lossi<br />
attended an orientation<br />
<strong>and</strong> a home buyer<br />
workshop, <strong>and</strong> studied<br />
the workbook provided<br />
by BCLT. . . They saved<br />
money <strong>and</strong> worked<br />
hard for two years, to<br />
rebuild their lives from<br />
the ground up . . . Now<br />
they are homeowners,<br />
<strong>and</strong> tell friends about<br />
BCLT.”<br />
— Karolyn Phillips,<br />
AmeriCorps Member with the<br />
Burlington NeighborWorks ®<br />
HomeOwnership Center<br />
When the NeighborWorks ®<br />
Homeownership Center in Burlington<br />
marketed City's Edge last year, 31<br />
affordable condominiums in the 60-<br />
unit development sold within weeks<br />
of coming on the market. The fi rst<br />
resale showed that the homes had<br />
increased in value by more than<br />
$30,000 in less than 60 days.<br />
City's Edge is adjacent to O'Dell<br />
Apartments, a 160-unit development<br />
with 130 affordable homes off the<br />
Shelburne Road completed in 2003.<br />
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