She Has Her Eye On A Home — & A Community

Keisha Moye-Obuekwe (pictured) took a new homeowner’s class offered by Neighborhood Housing Services. Now she’s in the market to buy her first home, so she checked out an NHS open house in Newhallville.

The three-bedroom home at 335 W. Division St. had been vacant for almost a decade when NHS acquired it from the city and gut-rehabbed it. Now it’s got new everything — including new floors (exposed wood in some rooms, wall to wall carpeting in others), new windows, and all new appliances.

A former two-family home, it’s now a one-family on two floors, with an unfinished basement and attic offering possibilities for expansion. (See before and after photos at the bottom of the story.) Moye-Obuekwe checked out the windows in the attic, and also the heating system in the basement.

She spied the moisture in one corner of the basement and wanted to know more. Sarah Custer, a VISTA volunteer working with NHS who accompanied Moye-Obuekwe on the house tour, said workers had been cleaning up in the basement preparing for the open house and that may have been the source of the dampness. On the other hand, it had rained all the night before and maybe that was the cause.

Moye-Obuekwe currently rents a place on the East Shore. She was interested in the Newhallville house, which she proclaimed ​“spacious,” for herself and her husband. She said she had no preference for flooring as long as it’s nice. ​“Carpet, wood floors are nice, and tile works for me also,” she said, as she passed through the tile-covered kitchen and bathroom. The kitchen countertop appealed to her. ​“This may not be granite,” she said, ​“but it’s still really nice.”

She asked if NHS sells any handicap-accessible homes. Custer responded that the two-story homes are not handicapped-accessible, but pointed out that this home has one bedroom and a full bath on the first floor, with another full bath and two bedrooms upstairs. Moye-Obuekwe asked because she is certified as a therapeutic foster parent. While she is not caring for any children right now, she has in the past and expects to in the future.

The small backyard is fenced in and neat. The backyards on either side were full of trash. Asked if that would make a difference in her decision to pursue the house, she said no. ​“In looking at properties, one thing you do is look at your neighbors to see what’s going on, but I think sometimes when coming into a community with that type of mess, I think maybe just keeping your property up can add to the community. Maybe neighbors can step in and give people a helping hand.” She said that scene would have bothered her in the past, but now, ​“I just try to look at it as, it’s not where you live, it’s how you live. I’m just looking at how I can add to the community.”

NHS holds open houses at its rehabbed properties to showcase its work, but the houses are generally already sold. This house is still available; the price is $150,000. In the course of the afternoon, more than two dozen prospective buyers came through. Click here for a thorough description.

Moye-Obuekwe asked how she should follow up on her interest. Custer suggested she make an appointment with an NHS housing specialist to confirm her eligibility — interested parties must be first-time buyers and at or below 80 percent of the region’s median income level.