CANTON, Ohio — A young family soon will be moving into a first-of-its-kind, brand-new and sustainable home in Canton, thanks to Habitat for Humanity East Central Ohio and Saint-Gobain North America.
What You Need To Know
- Saint-Gobain North America has donated a sustainable home to Habitat for Humanity East Central Ohio
- Habitat will sell the home to the Tyson family with a zero-interest mortgage
- The family will report back for several years to help monitor the homes energy performance
Mark Rayfield, CEO of Saint-Gobain, said the house will be zero-energy ready, meaning that with solar panel installation, the total amount of energy used is equal to the amount of renewable energy created on site.
"We built a home that can be net-zero, meaning that with the applications of solar panels, it would have zero energy taken off the grid, so it is extremely well insulated, for both warm and cold weather, it is extremely durable for weather events" Rayfield said. "It is built in a manner that is extremely accessible for a family, so a family can move in with young children but can also age in the home.”
The sustainable house was donated to Habitat for Humanity East Central Ohio by Saint-Gobain and Habitat will sell the home to the Tyson family with a zero-interest mortgage.
Beth Lechner, executive director for Habitat for Humanity East Central Ohio, said the couple has had to take several finance and home ownership classes through Habitat in order to qualify for the home.
“They’ve been saving for their down payment, taxes and first year's insurance, which all of our families do, before they purchase their home," Lechner said. "We will be selling them their house, they will have their mortgage with Habitat for Humanity and they will get a 30-year zero-interest loan like the rest of our families do, which truly makes this accessible and affordable for them.”
The Tysons will also report back to Saint-Gobain and Habitat for Humanity to help monitor the home’s energy performance for approximately a decade.
They will also give updates on what it is like to actually live in this sustainable home.
Bradley and his wife, Margie Tyson, said becoming first-time homeowners is a dream come true for them.
“This is better than the lotto," Bradley said. "This is a life-changing legacy and I am thrilled and happy, and we are blessed.”
The couple gets their keys to the home at the end of the month. They said they hope to spend the rest of their lives in the house.
“We wanted our first purchase to be a forever home," Margie said. "This is quite the forever home.”