ELYRIA — Alicia Kruse has always lived her life with a simple plan: Graduate high school, go to college, get a degree, find a decent job and buy a house.
Alicia Kruse is the new owner of the first home put up for sale by the city of Elyria. She just got her keys to the home on Denison Ave. and is ready to start moving things in already. (CT photo by Bruce Bishop.)
The final step of her plan came to be Monday afternoon when Kruse, 24, walked into a house on Denison Avenue.
Her mother and sister were right behind her, and a truck full of personal belongings taken from storage was parked on the street.
“Go ahead and check it out,” she said as she crossed the threshold. “I love the hardwood floors and the wood banister. You have to see the floors.”
Located on a quiet tree-lined street in the Eastern Heights neighborhood, Kruse’s new home is the first home sold through the city’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which uses federal funds to help cities turn foreclosed vacant houses into owner-occupied homes.
With each house the city has purchased since receiving its first round of funding in 2009, city officials either slated the homes for demolition or rehabilitation. In total, the city purchased more than 50 homes although most were slated for demolition.
The city purchased Kruse’s home for $47,500 and then spent approximately $68,000 to rehabilitate it before it went on the market. Basic improvements included an electrical system upgrade, new furnace, new air conditioner, new hot water tank, new exterior water line and new roof, gutters and downspouts on both the house and garage.
Under the federal guidelines, the idea of the program is not to make money, but to encourage homeownership. The home went on the market for $105,000 with a soft mortgage offered by the city for approximately $15,000, which brought the sale price down to $90,000. The soft mortgage is a loan from the city that Kruse won’t have to pay back if she stays in the home more than five years.
“I think once people get out and talk to people, I think we will get a lot of calls because people will see that these are good homes,” Community Development director Angie Byington said.
Carol Gallardo, the city’s real estate agent, said she thinks more people will be homeowners because of the program.
“People think this program is for low-income people, but it’s also for people who just want to start life with a good home,” she said.
Kruse, a pharmacy technician at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, said some may think her three-bedroom, one-and-a-half bathroom home is a lot for a single woman with no kids, but she said she plans to host parties and holidays for her family.
“I like having my own space and my own stuff,” she said. “As crazy as it sounds, I love responsibility.”
The city hopes to close on its second home later this month, has offers on two other homes and will soon put more homes on the market.
In total, the city will sell more than a dozen homes through the program.
Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.
