Sonoma Gives: Helping homeowners from the ground up

When Ben and Julia Merilatt moved into a two-bedroom apartment in 2011, it met their needs. And, at $1,000 per month, it was affordable on Ben’s salary as a psychiatric technician at Glen Ellen’s Sonoma Developmental Center.

But as their family grew - Ezra arrived a few months after they moved in, and Logan came along a year later - the living space seemed to shrink.

“Logan turned out to be a climber,” said Ben. “When he became more mobile and rambunctious, we quickly realized we needed more space.

“We wanted to put up padding and barriers to keep him safe, but in an apartment, there’s only so much you can do. Since storage space is limited, it’s also difficult to tuck away stuff the kids shouldn’t interact with, and two kids playing in a confined area create an insane amount of clutter.”

But these issues, though difficult, could be dealt with. The constant rise in rental costs was a different story.

“The first time our rent went up,” Julia said, “I thought, ‘There go three boxes of diapers we need to buy.’ With each additional notch upward we struggle to figure out where the money will come from.

“Do we disconnect from basic things like the Internet or a cellphone, reduce our food budget?”

The average Sonoma County apartment now rents for $1,579 a month, up 30 percent in the past three years, according to Real Answers, a Novato tracking firm.

The Merilatts are one of an increasingly large number of local families that constantly scramble to keep a rental roof over their heads. However, this young couple found a happy escape from their dilemma.

In a county in which the median housing price reached $515,000 in December, they’ve accomplished the seemingly impossible: they are buying a home.

That’s thanks to Burbank Housing, a nonprofit organization that creates home ownership opportunities for low-income people in Sonoma County.

This is now accomplished largely through Burbank’s owner/builder program, which brings participating families together to build their own homes, as a team, from the ground up.

Thanks to favorable financing geared to first-time homebuyers from local, state and federal funding sources, Burbank homes come with a reduced mortgage loan, reduced cash down payment requirement and other financial advantages.

Now the Merilatts are working with future neighbors to build homes in Burbank’s Catalina Townhomes project, 2740 Dutton Meadow in Santa Rosa, the 24th mutual self-help community created by Burbank Housing. All homes will be Energy Star certified and come with a two-car garage, three bedrooms and two or two and a half baths.

“We’d been looking into FHA loans and other federal subsidy loans with no down payment,” Ben said. “But it was impossible. We’d always end up with a payment of $2,500 or more each month.

“But with our rent edging on $1,275 per month, with us getting zero equity, we kept trying. And then we looked at Burbank. They cap things at 35 percent of your current income, so your payment comes in $500-800 less than FHA. That’s locked in, too.”

Construction started in December 2014, with a projected end date ranging from 12-18 months (the Merilatts insist they’ll be in their new home by Christmas). Families work side by side with their future neighbors a minimum 20 hours per week.

“Our house is going to be beautiful,” Ben said.

“Our own washer and dryer, a garage instead of a carport, a dishwasher, an efficient central heating system so we don’t have to bundle up in winter to keep the PG&E bills low. And 2.5 baths - that’s awesome! We’ve always had to share.”

Julia’s mother babysits when Julia and Ben are working on Catalina Townhomes, and occasionally brings the boys to the construction site.

“Ezra sort of understands what’s going on,” said Julia.

“He looks through the fence and likes all the activity. Someday this will be his home.”

For information about the second phase of Burbank Housing’s Catalina Townhomes, call 526-9782 or visit catalinatownhomes.com.