When Jerry was working as an actor in New York City and Los Angeles, buying a home was a dream that remained stubbornly out of reach. After switching careers and coming to Cornell for graduate school, he decided to pursue his goal. The pricey and competitive Ithaca housing market proved challenging, but INHS’s Community Housing Trust (CHT) offered the solution.

The CHT uses a special ownership structure to offer affordable homes to buyers with modest incomes. Jerry discovered the program when he spotted a for-sale sign on a downtown home. He enrolled in INHS’s Homebuyer Education programs shortly after. “I didn’t understand a lot of how the process works,” he explained. Jerry and his wife, Molly, who married recently, are now the proud owners of a CHT home in the historic Southside neighborhood of Ithaca. 

Jerry and Molly experienced markedly different housing journeys before they met: Jerry had moved countless times, whereas Molly, a teacher, had settled into one studio apartment for years. They both appreciate the financial stability of homeownership and the space and amenities that a house offers. “We’re still not over having our own washer and dryer,” Molly said, laughing. “We often just look at each other and think, ‘we’re so lucky.’” 

“I’m 50 years old and I spent a good chunk of my life going on and off food stamps,” Jerry shared, “and now I’ve got this leg into the market where I’m no longer bleeding money to a landlord. I’m a homeowner and I don’t feel that insecurity anymore.”