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For the past two years the single father of two has been living in a mobile home in Marlette with his sons Jordan and Nicholas.

Wright said his sons, ages six and eight, are excited about the idea of living in a real house.

Habitat board members, volunteers, the Wright family and others will gather at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at 9856 North Main Street in Clifford for a ground breaking, blessing and party at what will be the Wright's new home in 12 weeks.

According to Carolyn Nestor, Lapeer County Habitat for Humanity's executive director, this will be the fourth home built by the group since it was formed in 2004. Other homes have been built in North Branch and Columbiaville and two years ago the group used the same design to build a home for Suszanna Escamilla in Lapeer.

Escamilla said she and her daughters will be on hand for the ground breaking at the Wright home. "I can never stop saying thank you. I'm just so thankful for the whole community coming together for us," she said.

Nestor said while Habitat partner families are required to put in 250 hours of sweat equity into their homes, Escamilla put in 600 hours and has continued to volunteer for Habitat since then. In May Escamilla opened her home to participants in Habitat's bike run and when she won the 50/50 drawing, she donated it back.

Habitat homes are not luxurious. For a family of four they build a 1,050-square-foot home and for each family member over four, Habitat will add 35 square feet.

"We build safe, affordable, decent housing," Nestor said.

The also don't give it away. In addition to the 250 hours of sweat equity, homeowners are expected to pay one percent down and closing costs and pay off the balance on a zero percent loan.

"You have to have a job. You have to have the ability to pay," said Nestor. You also have to live or work in Lapeer County for at least a year.

While he lives in Marlette, Wright has worked at Champion Motor Coach in Imlay City for the past two years. Before that he worked construction for almost nine years before the housing industry went sour.

He said he'd been talking with his father about getting a house, but his credit was less than sterling. He said he found a run down house for $30,000 last year, but couldn't get a loan.

Then his stepmother, who's father works with Habitat in Tuscola County, told him about the organization. "I didn't know if I would qualify for the house," he recalled, "but I just wanted a safe home for my kids."

Nestor said six families applied for this years home, but three of them were not interested in moving to Clifford. She said all of the families had to meet income and other criteria to be eligible. The income cap for a family of three, said Nestor, is $31,450 and for a family of four $34,900.

"If it was up to me, all six families would have homes," she said. But Lapeer County Habitat for Humanity only has funds to build a home a year, so it's all volunteer board has to make hard choices.

This year, said Nestor, the group got a little lucky. The Village of Clifford provided the group with a vacant lot for back taxes.

Last year, the lot alone cost Habitat $35,000.

Nestor noted the group has only one major corporate contributor and 85% of its funding comes from individual contributors, $5, $10 and $20 at a time.

She added she expects more than 500 volunteers will put in time on the Wright house over the next 12 weeks. Since everyone involved has a full time job, the group only works on Saturdays.

"The more volunteers we get, the more we can get done," she said, noting a Habitat crew can frame a roof a house in a day.

While Habitat homes may not be architectural marvels, they are efficient -- energy efficient that is. "We want to heat them with two kids and candles," Nestor laughed. She said everything in a Habitat House is Five Star energy rated.

Nestor said her group hopes to build two homes next year and is already accepting applications for its Orientation and Informational meeting in September. To learn more, call her at (810) 664-7111.

Phil Foley may be reached at (810) 664-0811, Ext. 8148 or pfoley@lapeergroup.com.