Tamika Walker Feels Right at Home in Wolf River Bluffs House

We’re excited to share that we have our first homeowner in the Wolf River Bluffs development: Tamika Walker! Tamika was able to purchase her very first home after completing Homebuyer Education classes, and she and her family moved in on July 14, 2014.

Tamika has lived in the Memphis area for more than 20 years, but she had never fulfilled her dream of owning her own home, until now. Over the past few years, she has worked hard to build her credit and researched all the steps to become homeownership ready. While busy completing these steps, Tamika had her eye on our Wolf River Bluffs development and dreamed of buying a home there one day. Now that dream is a reality, and Tamika does not take her home for granted.

“It’s great just walking up and down the subdivision and feeling safe in my own neighborhood,” said Tamika. “As a mother, it means the world to have a roof over my two daughters’ heads. One of my top priorities in owning a home is to show them how important it is to have something that belongs to you, which you can take responsibility for and have pride in.”

While enrolled in our Homebuyer Education class, Tamika gained insight into all of the items she needed to bring to the table in order to buy a home. Furthermore, Sharon Walker, our Homebuyer Education Manager, personally assisted and counseled Tamika throughout the home buying process.

In addition to finding a place that she and her family could call home, Tamika was interested in finding a house that was environmentally friendly. Sharon explained to Tamika that the homes in our Wolf River Bluffs development, which she had her eye on, are MLGW EcoBUILD certified and feature solar panels, which conserve energy and cut utility costs. After hearing this, Tamika was sold on living in Wolf River Bluffs.

“The eco-friendly component was a major factor when I was choosing a home,” said Tamika. “My utilities in the past were so costly, and I have already seen a huge difference in my bill while living in this house. Everyone always asks me about living here, and I tell them it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”

Start the below video at the 2:45 minute mark to watch Tamika tell her story. 

For more information on the Wolf River Bluffs development, please contact Anne Meadors at (901) 272-1122.

United Housing Employees Help Keep Memphis Beautiful

After working at United Housing for almost two years, Bianca Patel began to think of new ways for the nonprofit to participate in eco-friendly practices. This thinking led Bianca, Accounting Coordinator and Administration Services, to implement an in-house recycling program at our office in November 2013.

“I noticed that most of the trash we were throwing out was actually recyclable, so I wanted to give our employees a way to recycle,” said Bianca. “This program parallels our other ‘green’ projects we have been working on, specifically United Housing’s Wolf River Bluffs development, so it was easy to get everyone on board.”

Bianca doesn’t just strive to keep our environment clean while at work. Although there aren’t any recycling programs that service her neighborhood, she still makes it a point to gather all her recyclable products and take them to local drop-off locations. Her concerted effort is obvious, and her coworkers have taken notice and joined in.

“The response from my coworkers has been great,” said Bianca. “I have also been able to get our neighbors in the office complex to participate, which has been encouraging.”

The program is one year old this month, and our office alone already recycles 50 to 100 pounds of materials every month.

Saturday, November 15 is America Recycles Day, sponsored by Keep America Beautiful (link to http://bit.ly/1yAv2xW). Want to help us keep our city beautiful? Find out how you can recycle in your neighborhood by visiting: http://bit.ly/1u1WLqq.