Once again, Bekins has partnered with LG Appliances to make a difference in the West Michigan community. Thanks to an invitation from BDR Custom Homes and their partnership with the Inner City Christian Federation (ICCF) for their Community Homes Land Trust (CHLT) we were able to team up to do some good and BeKind!
The purpose of the CHLT is to provide affordable home ownership opportunities to income-qualified, underserved families in the West Michigan area. To do this, the CHLT provides access to recently renovated and newly built homes from their Community Homes Initiative for people who are otherwise priced out of the open market in the area. While the home is purchased and owned by the family, the land the home is built on is owned by the CHLT and is leased to the new owner for up to 89 years.
BDR Custom Homes of Grand Rapids partnered with ICCF on just such a project in the summer of 2021. They donated the time of their General Contractor and their labor to build a new 1,513-square-foot, two-story, three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bathroom house on a vacant lot owned by the CHLT. The donation of BDR’s time played a big part in what made the house affordable to potential new owners.
With a thought toward the house running efficiently and affordably when it came time for appliances, BDR was interested in Energy Star ratings. Another important need was that the appliances had to be in stock at a time when supply chain issues have been epic. That’s when they reached out to Bekins.
By partnering with LG, Bekins was able to be of service to this project. LG donated the appliances, we donated the delivery and installation and our Appliance Installation team donated their time. As rough supply chain issues continue to plague the home building industry, BDR had been forced to wait several additional months for some of its materials. Finally, a project that started in the summer of 2021 and was slated to wrap before the end of that year is complete and ready for a new family as of February of 2022!
The lease on this home will allow the new owners to live in it for at least a generation or two. While they can sell the home and realize a portion of the profit that comes from increases in property values that happen over time, their contract with the CHLT for the land is what will determine how much the home will be sold for in the future and what percentage goes to the owners verses the Trust.
In the end, the biggest profit will go back to the CHLT so that they can keep the house in the market at an affordable price for the next homeowner. It’s a sustainable model that will serve the community for generations to come and it was definitely worth the wait!