“It’s a good day for Plymouth,” said Mayor Mark Senter. “It’s something that we need here in the city. We have some lower cost homes in the suburbs but I found out on the campaign that new homes in the city just weren’t being built. Hopefully people will be able to buy these houses and come live in a nice little neighborhood.”
Ryan Stutzman of the Solomon Group says the company began the project two years ago sensing a real need in the city of Plymouth.
“We were moving people out of Plymouth,” he said. “I’ve been a realtor since 1990 and I’ve been taking people to Argos and Bourbon and Bremen because homes were cheaper and they could buy more house. We saw a big need for affordable homes.”
Keeping people in Plymouth has been a city concern because of the need for a work force. Without affordable housing for workers the backbone of the industrial employment base was gone, and so was economic opportunity for the city.
The project will also provide homeowners with immediate benefits.
“They will realize equity in the house when they walk away from the closing table,” said Stutzman. “So many younger families start out at 100 percent financing and they walk away upside down on their house. It doesn’t matter if you make $100,000 a year or $25,000 a year if you’re upside down on your house, you lose your job and you’ll lose your house. At least they’ll have options now.”
Each home will receive down payment assistance at closing. They are built to buyer specifications and start at $90,000. There are 31 sites available for building in the subdivision.
Well documented troubles in the housing market are a concern for the group, but the different approach to purchasing makes these homes different.
“The market concerns us but we feel that what we have to offer will help in this type of a market,” said Stutzman.