EVERETT — Habitat for Humanity of Snohomish County is expanding its mission.
The organization will keep building houses here, with 26 completed over the past quarter-century. Work also continues on the Twin Creeks Village townhomes on 112th Street SE.
What’s new is a series of free classes aimed at helping people get into houses and take care of their new properties, especially first-time buyers. Since the seminars were announced, they’ve received hundreds of inquiries, said John Budd, the local chapter’s board president.
“That’s generating the need to add some additional classes,” he said.
The first class “Realizing the American Dream” focuses on home-buying. It is set for 9 a.m. April 21.
The second, “Planning your Financial Future” is scheduled for 10 a.m. May 19. Both are held at the Calvary Tabernacle United Pentecostal Church in Lynnwood. Registration is required.
The classes are intended to help meet the demand for affordable housing in Snohomish County, said Brooke Burdick, who works in outreach at Habitat for Humanity. The teachers and presenters are volunteers from the mortgage industry, with help from the nonprofit’s staff.
The organization saw the opportunity to provide more assistance, in another way, Budd said. A lot of times, people buy a house and run into issues they didn’t anticipate, he said, giving the example of a burst pipe. The new classes provide the same kind of learning that’s required for those in the sweat-equity program.
“It’s something we’ve always wanted to incorporate,” Budd said. “Now we’re to the point where we can do that.”
The nonprofit also runs home-improvement stores on Broadway in Everett and Highway 99 in Lynnwood, with another on tap for Smokey Point.
For more information, go to habitatsnohomish.org/classes or call 425-258-6289.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @rikkiking.
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