Providing long-term, affordable housing
for low-income families
ABOUT US and Mi Casa's History
Mi Casa is an independent charitable 501(c)3 non-profit. It was formed in 1990 by a small bible study group from All Saints Catholic Church in the Puyallup Valley of Washington State. These original compassionate volunteers were concerned for families in the community affected by the lack of affordable housing, food, adequate medical care, and financial resources and they decided to act by creating Mi Casa.
We, the current Board of Directors, continue to carry out the founding Board’s vision. Housing and normal living costs continue to make affordable housing out of reach to low-income families. Because we place a high value on family integrity and community support, we believe that needy families are better served by staying in their own communities and not be uprooted from their support groups and sources of income.
Mi Casa is an independent charitable 501(c)3 non-profit. It was formed in 1990 by a small bible study group from All Saints Catholic Church in the Puyallup Valley of Washington State. These original compassionate volunteers were concerned for families in the community affected by the lack of affordable housing, food, adequate medical care, and financial resources and they decided to act by creating Mi Casa.
We, the current Board of Directors, continue to carry out the founding Board’s vision. Housing and normal living costs continue to make affordable housing out of reach to low-income families. Because we place a high value on family integrity and community support, we believe that needy families are better served by staying in their own communities and not be uprooted from their support groups and sources of income.
Who We Serve
- Mi Casa has 38 rental units with the ability to provide long-term housing for 164 women, men and children.
- We use our homes to rent exclusively to low and very-low-income families who have been referred to us by other agencies.
- Basic Demographic of our tenants: Household size ranges from 2 to 7 people. Target population served is very low-income families. In 2022, fifteen of our households were extremely low income (less than 30% of the area median income (AMI) as published by HUD); thirteen of our households were very low income (30-50% AMI); and five were over 50% AMI. The affordable rents we charged averaged $560 for a 1-bedroom unit, $670 for a 2-bedroom unit, and $1,040 for a 3-bedroom duplex or triplex unit – less than half HUD Fair Market Rents. The majority of the households consist of single mothers with children.
- Our rents are far below market value (normally 50% or lower than fair market value).
- Additionally, if a tenant cannot make payment due to a setback or crisis, we can offer subsidies (from our endowment) for a period of time that it takes to get back on their feet again. This is key to avoiding the cycle of being in and out of a homeless situation.
- Both the low rents and subsidies allow us to be a long-term option for housing for families without the specter of homelessness looming over them.
- Our tenants stay in our housing until they can establish themselves in the standard housing market. Success is when a person has housing stability, their children are not bouncing from one school to another, and parents can focus on rebuilding their life. Often this is a long process, but provides great rewards and reduced homelessness.
Who We Are
- Our volunteers run the Non-Profit. Through our dedicated and skilled volunteers, we have specific committees chaired by members of Mi Casa's Board of Directors: Accounting and Finance, Properties, Marketing, Tenant Concerns, and our Executive Committee.
- We retain a professional property manager to manage the properties on an ongoing basis.
- We take pride in maintaining our properties in excellent working order so that they are safe and our tenants feel they are well taken care of.
- Our homes are 1–3-bedroom Duplexes, tri-plexes, and four-plexes throughout Sumner and Puyallup and Edgewood. We choose properties that are convenient to schools, the bus system and affordable shopping; many of our homes are within walking distance to these services. These homes are scattered throughout the Puyallup Valley rather than grouped in a low-income area.
- We do not provide on-site services.
How We are Funded
Mi Casa is incorporated as a non-profit in the State of Washington and received their 501(c)3 status from the IRS in 1991. We receive funds through donations from individuals and corporations, government and private foundation grants, and the reduced rents from tenants.
We bought our first two four-plex apartments in Sumner with a Housing Trust Fund Grant in August 1991. Since then, we have been securing grants and special non-profit assistance to obtain the other 10 properties.
With the low mortgage payments or no mortgage payments at all, the reduced rents pay most of our operating costs.
With no employees or dedicated office space, Mi Casa's administration costs are less than 2%. WE ARE RUN BY VOLUNTEERS.
For capital improvements we have won grant monies from the Pierce County Community Connections SHB 2060 funds. We have also received private donations that we place in an investment account to assist in major repairs and subsidizing tenants if they unexpectedly fall on hard times.
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Do you have questions or comments? Please contact us via email to our Board of Director's President, Steve Miller, at president@micasahousing.org or leave a message on our phone at 253-200-1363. We are all volunteers, but we will get back to you as soon as we can. Thank you for your interest in Mi Casa's affordable housing mission.
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