EVERETT—Habitat for Humanity Snohomish County’s brand-new Bayside Home, located just North of downtown Everett, has recently been sold to a Habitat homebuyer family the very same month construction reached completion.
“Thanks to your support and the many contributions from our community, we were able to hand over a set of keys that will open the door to their new home as well as to opportunities that had previously been pushed out of reach for them,” said Steven Li, Executive Director at Habitat for Humanity Snohomish County. “This family will no longer have to worry about being economically evicted by an out-of-control rental market but instead will be paying a stable and affordable mortgage for the foreseeable future while also building equity and wealth for themselves and their children’s futures.”
The happy new homeowners, Ivan and Eli Alvarado, shared that home ownership for working families like theirs has been out of reach due to inflation and cost of living.
The Alvarado family was selected by Habitat for Humanity’s Selection Committee for their Area Median Income, their ability to obtain and pay a sustainable, affordable mortgage, their willingness to partner with Habitat in completing their sweat equity and attend homebuyer education classes, and their need for safe, affordable housing based on the size, condition, and cost of their current living situation.
The couple has saved for years to purchase their own home until a spinal injury in 2020, and subsequent surgery, left Eli unable to work – reducing the family to a single income.
While recovering from her surgery, Eli used to carry her youngest child up four flights of stairs, often wet and slick with rain, to their upper-floor apartment. What’s more, when their complex experienced recent criminal activity the family felt more and more confined to their two-bedroom unit.
Habitat for Humanity’s contributions to the Alvarado family has allowed them the opportunity to purchase their own affordable single-level home where they can build a future for their three young children.
“When the email came out for Habitat – the Bayside Home – it was kind of like a godsent because Eli’s favorite neighborhood is the Bayside neighborhood, because she would have to go there a lot to get to the hospital, so it was kind of like it was meant for us,” said Ivan Alvarado.
When Eli was in the hospital for her surgery her hospital bed faced Rockerfeller Street, and now the family will be living on that street, which Ivan took as a blessing.
“We are so excited to be homeowners because we are both first-generation Mexican American and we will be the first, of our immediate families, to set roots in the United States where both of us, and our children, were born,” said Eli Alvarado. “It is an exciting situation to be in. To be able to say that you’re from somewhere, not just that you were born there, or grew up there, but you have roots there is something no one has been able to accomplish in our immediate families.”
The Bayside Home is a detached, 950 square-foot, single family home with three beds, one bath, and a furnished living area. Construction of the home reached completion in mid-February 2025, and the sale closed to the new homebuyers on February 28.
“As the first in their families to ever own a home, they have taken a huge step in breaking the cycle of housing instability that has become a growing challenge for too many of our neighbors earning below the median household income in our region,” said Li. “While there’s still much more work to do as we continue tackling our housing crisis, I’m grateful for the hope that we’ve been able to share with this amazing family.”
The decision to build a single-family home, and not a multi-family dwelling, Mark Tintinger, Marketing and Communications Specialist for Habitat for Humanity Snohomish County explained, came down to two factors: financial and community impact.
“From a financial standpoint, multi-family construction has become prohibitively expensive over the last few years with the cost of land acquisition rising drastically while elevated interest rates for construction financing have made multi-family projects extremely difficult to pencil out,” said Tintinger. “From a community impact standpoint, we have made a strategic decision to build housing in urban infill lots within existing neighborhoods to better align with our mission to bring people together to build homes, communities and hope.”
Because Habitat homebuyers participate in the building of their future homes alongside volunteers from the community, they will have established relationships within their neighborhoods by the time they move in, Tintinger continued.
“This community is what makes a house a home instead of just shelter,” said Tintinger.
In addition to the median income requirements of 50%-80% of the Area Median Income (AMI), the Alvarado family participated in the construction process of the Bayside Home, through a sweat equity requirement, which helps establish long-lasting relationships with neighbors and community members, while also granting intimate knowledge of their home, how it works in order to make repairs, and establishing a sense of pride that they built their home with their own hands.
Habitat for Humanity acquired the property back in February, 2023. Design and planning began March, 2023, through December, 2023 with homebuyer selection beginning September, 2023, through December, 2023. Permitting spanned from January, 2024, through March, 2024, with construction beginning April, 2024 and ending in February, 2025.
The total cost of the project ended up between $450,000 to $500,000, which includes the cost of the land. Funding to make the project affordable included contributions from individual and corporate donors, multiple private and foundational grants, a variety of gift-in-king donated materials, labor and services and thousands of volunteer hours.
Habitat for Humanity of Snohomish County operated as the general contractor for this project and the majority of construction was completed through volunteers.
“Several of our long-standing volunteers contributed a wealth of knowledge of the building trades, allowing us to complete most of the work in-house. However, we are always seeking partnerships with professional consultants, sub-contractors and material suppliers that are excited about the work that we’re doing and want to support or invest in our projects,” Mark Tintinger informed the Lynnwood Times.
Last December, volunteers, donors, neighbors, Habitat for Humanity staff and Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin came together for a Home Dedication ceremony honoring the achievements of the project all while acknowledging the many contributions from the community who made it possible.
The Bayside Home, along with Habitat for Humanity’s ongoing Home Repair Service program efforts are part of its strategy to contribute to the revitalization and resilience of the region’s neighborhoods.
“With the Bayside Home project nearby previously completed home construction and repair projects as well as our Everett Habitat Store, we hope to join the community towards building a stronger and more sustainable Bayside neighborhood,” said Tintinger.
While Habitat for Humanity Snohomish County plans for its next home construction project, it plans to be investing more resources in its Home Repair Service program, in addition to expanding opportunities for attainable homeownership.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
One Response
I could really use some help on getting or making a house for me and my husband. I am the only person bringing in any money to pay bills and rent. And that’s with my social security and my pension. Please help me to get a house of our own. I am disabled and we need a single floor house because the 13 stairs we have our killing my back yard my legs. Thank you