One Year Update
It’s been almost 1 year since the project was complete and our first family moved in. The first family of 3 from Afghanistan continues to live in the upper unit and work with their church sponsor through the steps of resettlement. Like many families resettling in the city, they have faced many challenges, but have also had a number of successes.
Another family of 3 from Afghanistan, a mother and two children, moved into the lower unit for about 8 months through the help of Nationalities Services Center (NSC). They have since moved on to a new area to better meet the needs of their family.
More recently, a Haitian mother and her two boys have taken their place in the lower unit through Bethany. They are still getting adjusted to life in the city.
In total, that makes 9 people that have been able to call Kingdom House their home in the last year. While they have all faced unique challenges in their journeys, we are grateful to have been able to come beside them in their transition by providing a home, even if just for a period.
Property Maintenance
Like all properties, Kingdom House has required some ongoing maintenance to keep it in top shape. One particular challenge has been a leak from the upper unit kitchen and bathroom to the lower unit living room.
While it would seem like an easy issue to fix, the leak has been an on and off issue for many months and has required some unexpented ongoing maintenance costs. On multiple occasions, our team believed the issue to be fixed, only to have it start up again a few weeks later.
In the last month, we were able to find a suspicious pipe junction that served as part of the drainage for both the bathtub and the washing machine. This most recent fix seems likely to be the primary source of the ongoing issues, and we are hopeful that the family in the lower unit can get some prolonged peace.
Because of the prolonged maintenance beyond the typical expected upkeep, it has taken the property longer than average to build up it’s reserve fund. Once that fund has sufficient margin to cover any future unexpected repairs, we’ll be able to begin using any additional profits to support other ministry work abroad.
What’s Next?
Since becoming a tax-exempt nonprofit, we have been able to take advantage of several unique circumstances. There are a few rules specific to real estate owned by a nonprofit. We are currently working on applying some of these rules in order to significantly decrease some of the operating costs of managing each of our properties. If successful, we may potentially be able to save several thousand dollars per year for each property, including Kingdom House, which would be a significant advantage over a traditional for-profit real estate company.