At 25 Years Montclair HOMECorp Buys Its 100th Residence

A Montclair nonprofit recently reached a milestone to accompany its 25th anniversary. 

Homes of Montclair Ecumenical Corp, a community-based organization that promotes affordable housing in town, bought its 100th property on Feb. 16. 

The single-family home located at 26 Tichenor Place will be repaired in the coming months and sold at an affordable rate lower than Montclair’s average, said HOMECorp Executive Director Beverly Riddick. 

“This is very, very exciting,” said Riddick. “It is quite a milestone for an organization that is as small as ours and that has been around for 25 years.”

The three-bedroom home on Tichenor Place has been vacant for more than a year. The residence is located on a narrow, sleepy suburban street in the Fourth Ward, a few blocks away from Nishuane Park and the West Orange border. 

The goal for this home, said Riddick, is to sell it to a middle-income “work-force family” — such as a teacher, police officer or a municipal worker — and a first-time homebuyer. 

HOMECorp purchases and resells most of its homes to low- and moderate-income families, so this home on Tichenor Place was a good opportunity to focus on middle-income earners, said Riddick.  

“The middle-income folks sometimes get shut out, we find,” said Riddick, “because of the kind of funding we use. ... We have a little more flexibility” with this home. 

The home will need between $30,000 and $40,000 worth of repairs, said Riddick, including a new roof, new flooring and painting, among others.  

The renovations are expected to be completed by May. Asking just under $200,000 for the home, Riddick said she anticipates HOMECorp having no problem finding a family to purchase the home. 

“It’s a great opportunity for a family just starting out who wants to buy a house or get out of renting,” said Riddick.