ASHTABULA – The first house built under Welcome Home Ohio, a state program aimed at rehabilitating blighted properties and opening them to low-to-moderate income homeowners, had its final showing to the public on Sunday, Oct. 25, prior to the new owner taking possession in a few weeks.
The open house at 3835 Station Ave. was held by the developer, Community Building Partners, and the Ashtabula County Land Bank.
The new owner is a local man who will be moving in with his mother, according to Jordan Torrance, executive director of the Ashtabula County Land Bank.
The house is a two-story, three-bedroom, two-bath on a small lot where the Land Bank had previously demolished a blighted house. It also has a full, unfinished basement, an attached one-car garage and will come with a full suite of stainless steel, energy-efficient appliances.
Torrance said the appliances will be installed just before the new owner moves in, to maximize their warranties.
The home is assembled by Industrialized Prefabricated Units of Vandalia, Ohio, then everything is shipped to the construction site and assembled on site. The house is built in about a month and a half, then construction takes about two months from groundbreaking to completion.
The all-electric house has a heat pump, climate control system, with the garage and front porch being the only things built on site. Afterward, it’s simply a matter of connecting the utilities.
Notable features include that the master bedroom has a small walk-in closet and an ensuite full bathroom with a standing shower.
All the house’s necessities are on the first floor, except for the washing machine and dryer, which are in the basement.
Upstairs, there are two somewhat smaller bedrooms, a large linen closet and a full bathroom with a full-size bathtub.
Once the home is purchased, there are deed restrictions mandating residents to live in the house as their primary residence for five years before selling.
The State also requires one year of financial literacy training consisting of four, two-hour sessions with a monthly check-in afterward.
The home was funded by the Welcome Home Ohio Grant from the Ohio Department of Development. The project is a collaboration between the Ashtabula County Land Bank and Community Building Partners (CBP), a Columbus-based developer.
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