08/24/06 Home ownership for farm workers

Washington Ag August 24, 2006 A ground breaking ceremony is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon in Royal City for housing construction that will give Columbia Basin farm workers a new option for housing and that's home ownership. Five farm workers and their families will soon realize the American Dream of home ownership through a program sponsored by Washington Agricultural Families Assistance, or WAFA, a non-profit corporation. WAFA Board Chairman Mike Lowry, says their primary mission is to help provide the opportunity of homeownership for Washington State's important agricultural workforce. WAFA applies to federal, state, local, non-profit and private sector housing agencies for home construction loans and home buyer assistance grants. The agricultural workers qualify for mortgages from either USDA Rural Development or the private sector. The Royal City project is funded with downpayment assistance of over $40,000 from the WA State Housing Trust Fund, $24,000 in downpayment assistance from the Housing Authority of Grant County, over $260,000 in USDA Rural Development loans, and one loan from a private Lender. WAFA has contracted with Hayden Homes, who recently built ten houses in Ephrata for WAFA. Everyone who inspected the Hayden built Ephrata homes was impressed with the quality of the construction including the ten agricultural worker families who are now homeowners in the community where they live and work. I'm Bob Hoff.