A new nonprofit, helping homebuyers purchase affordable housing, has hit the ground running with about 460 homes in the pipeline in under two years. Created in March 2023, Thistle and Nest offers homeownership to people who qualify, while helping them build equity.
Founder Amy Warren has been in the construction industry for 22 years. In 2014, she founded Rooted Homes when it was named Kor Community Land Trust, a nonprofit providing affordable, zero-energy housing.
In late 2021, she left and joined forces with local developer, and co-founder of Thistle and Nest, Larry Kine. Together, they wanted to make a greater impact on a larger scale.
After some time workshopping the business, Thistle and Nest was formed as a nonprofit in 2023, the same year it was awarded about $23 million from Oregon Housing and Community Services.
“We had this little, young nonprofit that all of a sudden had $25 million in funding backing us. It was a big deal, and we were pretty excited to take it on,” Warren said.
Today, Thistle and Nest has planned developments in Bend, Madras and Prineville. Woodhaven, its first neighborhood underway in east Bend, will include 133 units once finished. Another in southwest Bend is set to create 104 homes.
“With the scale of homes that we’re building, it’s our goal and our hope that if someone is buyer-ready, meaning they qualify for a loan and they have all their funding sources lined up, that we have a home for them,” she said.
To qualify for a home, buyers must make less than 80% of the Area Median Income for their household size. With this limit, a household of two can make no more than $67,000 a year.
With more affordable housing programs popping up around Central Oregon, Warren is excited to see more availability within the region.
“I feel like, finally, our town has a capacity where if you want to purchase a home and you’re under 80% of the area median income, there is something out there, opportunities and options.”
While Thistle and Nest has many projects set for the next few years, Warren hopes to always give buyers the best experience during the process – one of her favorite things about her job.
“It’s very important to me that our nonprofit treats every potential client that comes to our door with a level of dignity through, not just the home and quality of the home…but also in their interactions with us,” she said. “We don’t want it to ever feel like you’re buying a subsidized home. You’re just buying a home.”
This article appears in Source Weekly November 7, 2024.
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