Handy First-Time Buyers Hammer Down Own Homes

From roof to basement, floor joist to kitchen tile, Jamie and Renae Nilles know their neighborhood.

The first-time homebuyers hung wall board, nailed studs, cut tile and crawled around the basements of three new homes as part of a program that uses labor in place of a down payment.

The couple put in more than 40 hours a week the past few months finishing their home and helping with two others going up on North Dakota just north of Upriver Drive.

“I’ve learned to do cement work, siding, roofing, tile work, taping. We’ve kind of done it all,” said Jamie Nilles, a teacher at West Valley High School.

The program is part of a statewide pilot effort spearheaded by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission and Northwest Regional Facilitators, a local nonprofit group.

The couple had been paying rent and would never have qualified for a mortgage because, with a young daughter, they couldn’t save enough money.

The program enabled them to work $10,500 off their mortgage. After they close on the two-bedroom home, they will carry a loan of $86,000.

The program is demanding - almost like having another full-time job. Roofing and exterior work needed to be finished before winter.

“I couldn’t imagine doing it if I had two or three kids,” said Renae, keeping an eye on Shaniqua, her 3-year-old.

“I would build another house,” joked her husband, “one house.”

Four families went through the first phase of the program together. Another six lots are available for phase 2, which begins this spring, said Linda Hugo of Northwest Regional Facilitators.

Next door, Tamy and Brian Markwell have about two weeks of work still to do on their home.

Last week, Tamy Markwell, 23, was in the garage putting a coat of finish on some wood trim.

“Things that you never thought you’d be doing, you’re doing,” said the North Central High School graduate. “It’s been a long road, but we’re ecstatic.”

Tamy and her husband, a graduate of Rogers High School, wanted to stay on the North Side. She is convinced the home is far more than they would have gotten by buying an existing house.

“You go into the houses, and they needed so much work,” she said. “You know what you get here because you built it.”

The Markwells have managed several custom features, and Brian Markwell, an electrician, used his skills to add value to the structure. There’s a picture window, special cabinets, extra electrical outlets, a downstairs bathroom and stair lighting.

“At night it’s just spectacular,” said Tamy Markwell, looking out the window of the master bedroom.

The hardest part of the program for the Markwells was helping with the other homes and not being able to work on their own.

“We worked the first few months and didn’t see anything for us,” she said. “When they finally dug the hole for here, we felt like a part of it.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo