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Finally! Construction is set for five homes along the northern edge of Channel Cove, the Home Trust of Skagit development on Park Street near Caledonia Street and Maple Avenue in La Conner. Executive Director Jodi Monroe says construction will start in January. That is a disappointing two year delay, a result of a long regulatory environmental review before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, assembling funding and then construction related labor, material and cost complications.

Monroe has been optimistic all along. “It’s a lift of love to get these homes built,” she said Thursday. “I want to see kids at a kitchen table and kids in their bedrooms.”

The potential homeowners have had pandemic-related challenges of their own, she said. “When they lose their jobs, you don’t have home buyers.” She has three buyers who have qualified, going through a process that includes a home buyers education class, pre-qualifying for a loan, getting pre-approved from a lender and working with Home Trust staff through steps leading to home inspection.

Home Trust makes purchasing possible for people living in Skagit County earning up to 80% of the area median income: $42,600 for one person and $70,550 for a six person household. Potential buyers go through standard mortgage qualifying processes. “A first time home buyer is a big endeavor, especially during a pandemic,’ Monroe emphasized. “They have to get banked and stay banked.” Their mortgage on the $200,000 purchase is $150,000.

Home Trust of Skagit assists with some $62,000 toward the down payment, half of the escrow fees, title insurance, first year’s property taxes and homeowner’s insurance, appraisal and recording fees.

The Channel Cove homes will be three bedroom, two baths and 1,300 square feet.

Of all the numbers Monroe is calculating, her favorite – and hardest to solve – is two. Monroe’s quest is finding two more qualifying families to purchase the last two homes.

While she seeks qualified buyers, Monroe is moving the project through the permitting process and coordinating with BYK Construction, the builder.

The Sedro Woolley firm’s “bid was a big pill to swallow,” she said. “It was an honest bid but a very expensive bid.” She is paying market rate construction. It is not discounted or subsidized by BYK.

In December they will update her on costs, but she is confident that the numbers will align and they will break ground in January, finish substantially in May, and have families moving in by late June.

Building out Channel Cove fulfills the dreams of Cathie Wyman and others who had the vision to make Southfield a reality in 1995, Monroe said. As a community land trust, Home Trust of Skagit, owns the land underneath the homes.

Home Trust of Skagit has managed the Channel Cove neighborhood since 2011. Their Mount Vernon properties are the Summerlynd neighborhood and some scattered housing.

Monroe is seeking applicants. She questions the viability of home ownership for people in this income range. They will qualify, but expenses rise faster than their wages over the years. She is championing them, if they find her.

“Let them text me,” she says. She will analyze their applications and get them pre-approved for loans. She notes they will be buying their homes in a very traditional way.

“I don’t want to call it affordable housing. There is nothing low income or affordable about it. It’s affordable compared to a market rate home,” she said.

“Text,” she says. “Everyone has a smart phone in their hand and I have to make it easy on them.”