Following Good Advice

A family in South Carolina earns a homeownership opportunity from a neighborly tip.

When Jason and Elana Eirhart began renting a house on Johns’s Island, S.C., they received a discount by agreeing to make some improvements on the house. However, the arrangement proved to be short-lived.

“We must have done too good of a job with our improvements because the landlord sold it instead of allowing us to continue living there,” Elana says. “It’s really hard to find somewhere to rent that we can afford.”

One of their neighbors, the construction manager at Sea Island Habitat for Humanity, heard about their plight and encouraged them to apply for a house. It was a good tip—the family was accepted and moved into their new house this summer with their children Gavin, 3, and Maleia, 2.

The 500 hours of sweat equity were a challenge, Elana says, but the work built an appreciation for their new home. And as homeowners, there are plenty of opportunities to invest in their community and the new friends that live around them: Elana was voted president of her homeowners association in August.

Courtesy Sea Island Habitat for Humanity