Story by David Nguyen

Sunday's Oregonian featured a great story about Proud Ground, one of our valuable community partners, and its role in helping a local family find a beautiful and affordable place to live.

"Seven years may seem like a long time to hunt for the perfect place to settle. But for Nedra and Neaha Miller, a couple in their 20s with two young children, the wait was worth it," writes Phil Favorite. The Millers have been working with Proud Ground since 2003, writes Favorite, taking steps to become qualified homebuyers: establishing credit, paying down debt, and making sure to keep a steady stream of income. Today, they're settled into their new home in the Piedmont neighborhood and thrilled to be homeowners.

Since 1999, local non-profit Proud Ground has helped 150 first-time homebuyers buy affordable homes. Buying a home through Proud Ground is similar to traditional homeownership - you own your home, accumulate equity, can remodel as you see it, and can pass your home on through inheritance. It's different in that the purchase price is significantly lower, and in exchange the buyer agrees to sell the home at an affordable price to the next buyer, keeping the home permanently affordable.

Proud Ground's homes prioritize energy-efficiency, showcase solid workmanship, and sell for about $130,000, much less than a market-rate home in the Portland area.

Proud Ground land trust makes homes affordable, keeps them that way for future generations

Phil Favorite in The Oregonian