Everything I Wanted



Not too long ago, Laura Allyn felt stuck.
But now, sitting in her one-bedroom home in Burlington, surrounded by family pictures and paintings – many of them done by her mother – Laura explains how this welcoming home once seemed so out of reach for her.
“It was a very dark time. I was really depressed. I wondered if I was going to be stuck staying with family,” said Laura. “Champlain Housing Trust was a lifesaver for me.”
In 2008, after years of chronic heart issues, she had to undergo a heart transplant. Recovery from the procedure was a difficult, long-term process that prevented Laura from returning to her full-time teaching job at Burlington High School.
For much of this recovery, Laura shared a home with her brother. For a little while it worked well, but this was only meant to be a temporary arrangement. What she really wanted was to be on her own again. As a homeowner.
She was on a limited income, and she knew it wouldn’t be easy to afford a place of her own, so she moved back in with her parents to save money. When she heard about Champlain Housing Trust’s programs to help people with limited incomes become homeowners, she thought she might qualify.
Laura soon found herself on CHT’s website looking at homes for sale through the Shared Equity Program. That’s where she first saw the condo that is now her home.
One of the first things you notice about Laura’s home is her balcony overlooking Perkins Pier and the Burlington Waterfront. It’s the type of amenity that people would likely associate with a luxury condo or a high-end apartment. Thanks to the Shared Equity Program it is the perfect place for Laura, and her cat Mango, to relax and enjoy the view.
“The best part of the day is to sit out on the deck in the morning and just watching people coming and going. There is always something happening on the waterfront.”
For Laura, the property makes sense long term where she could age in place and live affordably. CHT’s program not only offers lower mortgage costs – it also commits to preserving this affordability for future owners. Laura is the third owner of the home.
“My mother asked me ‘don’t you want a nice little house with a yard?’ and I’m like, ‘No. I want this place.’ It really has everything I wanted.”
Laura thinks she may have eventually found a place on the market, but certainly not one on the waterfront and who knows how long it would have taken. Just scraping together a big enough downpayment could have been a two or three year proposition.
“CHT’s shared equity housing has given me a home. I don’t think I could be as happy anywhere else that I’d want to stay. I’m very happy here.”