Moving into an affordable house

The Rodriguez family of Freeport was welcomed to their new Inwood neighborhood by Town of Hempstead officials with a “Welcome Home” placemat and commemorative key to their new $172,000 home on Aug. 5.
New homeowner Ramon Rodriguez, along with his fiancée Virsania Feliz and their son, Eric, were winners of the Town of Hempstead’s affordable homes lottery. The 20-year-old program selects families to purchase a home at a discounted rate to other homes in surrounding communities.
Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray and Councilmen Anthony Santino and Bruce Blakeman were on hand to welcome the new homeowners into their new residence.
“Congratulations to Mr. Rodriguez, Ms. Feliz and their son, Eric, for starting this new chapter of their lives at this splendid home in Inwood,” Murray said. “Our town looks forward to celebrating more of these wonderful occasions as we continue our successful affordable homes program.”
The Jeanette Avenue house is one of five affordable homes in Inwood constructed by Freeport-bases Anray Custom Builders. Three other affordable homes are located on Walcott Avenue and one is on Monroe Street. They are all 1,715-square feet in size and have three bedrooms, 1.5 baths, a dining room and separate kitchen, a living room, a laundry room, a utility room, and a one-car garage. These five homes were built during what is called phase 13 of the lottery program’s construction component.

Feliz said she was excited about moving into her new home. “I can’t wait to decorate,” she said. “I can’t wait to entertain and invite people over. I’d love to have a barbecue in our back yard.”
The Jeanette Avenue home and the four others built in phase 13 are Energy STAR compliant. The appliances in those houses, such as the refrigerator and heater, have a high energy efficiency rating.
Nine-year-old Eric Rodriguez said he was looking forward to attending his new school in the Lawrence School District. “I’m excited about making new friends,” he said. “I can’t wait to play in our new yard. I feel so important, like the president. I’m really excited.”
As part of the lottery program, families must go through an application process. Once they are approved, they are submitted into the lottery pool. When they are randomly selected, the winning homeowners are not to resell or foreclose on the homes they win for 10 years. The goal of the affordable homes lottery program is to replace blighted homes and improve neighborhoods.
“Through our town’s affordable homes program, we help families realize the dream of home ownership, and we’re also enhancing our communities,” Santino said.
In June, the Town of Hempstead marked National Home Ownership Month by breaking ground on phase 14 of affordable home construction. In the new phase, seven houses will be constructed in Roosevelt and Freeport. “With pride, we welcome this family to their beautiful new affordable home in the community of Inwood,” Blakeman said. “I wish them many years of happiness as they begin a new journey as homeowners.”