New Habitat Homeowners Express Gratitude to BayCoast Mortgage during Emotional Home Dedication in Westport, MA
SWANSEA, WESTPORT, MA – There’s no place like home. Those words, famously proclaimed by the character Dorothy in the 1939 movie classic The Wizard of Oz, have a special meaning for two grateful new homeowners in Westport, Massachusetts.
Their names are Holly and Beronica.
The two women, along with their families, now have a beautiful new place to call home on the South Coast, thanks to the Buzzards Bay Area Habitat for Humanity and the nonprofit organization’s numerous donors and volunteers. Because of their tireless hard work and dedication, a newly completed duplex – part of a first-of-its-kind affordable home build for the Habitat chapter in this quaint small town – now stands at 629 Sodom Road. It is here, where Holly and Beronica are each the proud homeowners of their own 1,500 square foot unit.
A special home dedication ceremony was held on June 8, 2024 to celebrate the occasion.
“I’ve been waiting for this all my life, to be called a homeowner,” said Holly, a 1989 graduate of Westport High School and life-long renter. “My family is from the Westport area, this is our home base, so I am very grateful to give my kids something I’ve always wanted. To the volunteers, we thank you for the support and dedication you have shown. I can’t say thank you enough.”
With soaring prices in the local real estate market, Beronica says having this new home gives her a sense of peace and security. “I work two jobs because the cost of paying rent today is so outrageous. Having this home will take a lot of the stress off my shoulders. It is a relief knowing I won’t have to struggle to pay for my housing and to put food on the table.”
Each unit of the newly constructed duplex offers three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, kitchen, and an outdoor deck. The homes were designed with “passive” energy-efficient strategies to keep costs and energy consumption low. Both home recipients put in 300 hours of “sweat equity” to assist volunteers in the build. They also worked with BayCoast Mortgage, which provided the financing for each unit.
“At BayCoast Mortgage, we pride ourselves on our commitment to affordable lending and community development, and we were proud to work with Buzzards Bay Area Habitat to provide both the construction funding for this project as well as the permanent mortgages for the two very deserving new homeowners,” said Daniel J. Briand, Senior Vice President at BayCoast Mortgage. “Thanks to Habitat, the families were able to purchase these homes at much less than the market value, making their monthly expenses within reach. BayCoast was delighted to be a part of this project to help Holly and Beronica achieve the American Dream of homeownership.”
Christine Lacourse, Executive Director of the Buzzards Bay Area Habitat for Humanity Chapter says she is thrilled for the new homeowners. “One of my favorite parts of the job is when I tell a family that they are receiving a home. When I told Holly and Beronica, you could hear them tear up over the phone. It just fills your heart…because they know that they are finally going to have the homes of their dreams, which is just fantastic.”
The new homeowners, who developed a friendship during the home-building process, are looking forward to moving in and becoming neighbors. “It’s a dream come true,” said Holly. “I’d like to volunteer for Habitat in the future to help someone else.”
Through Habitat for Humanity, affordable homes are built with volunteer labor, donations of land, money, and materials, as well as a minimum of 300 sweat equity hours the Habitat family puts into building their own home. The homes are sold to Habitat families at no profit.
Buzzards Bay Area Habitat for Humanity, an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, serves the towns of Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Marion, Mattapoisett, New Bedford, Rochester, Wareham and Westport. If you would like to volunteer on a future project, please visit buzzardsbayhabitat.org.
About BayCoast Mortgage
BayCoast Mortgage Company, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of BayCoast Bank, serving MA, RI, CT, NH, PA, NJ, MD, VA, SC, NC, and FL, offering a wide variety of home mortgage products including FHA, VA, Land, Construction, Conforming and Jumbo Loans. To learn more, visit baycoastmortgage.com or call 877-466-2678.
