Leo’s Home nonprofit takes on first project by prepping Greenfield house for sale to first-time homebuyer

Sam Shanky of Leo’s Home and homeowner Wendy Robinson of 64 Grove St. in Greenfield.

Sam Shanky of Leo’s Home and homeowner Wendy Robinson of 64 Grove St. in Greenfield. STAFF PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ

Homeowner Wendy Robinson and Dixie of 64 Grove St. in Greenfield.

Homeowner Wendy Robinson and Dixie of 64 Grove St. in Greenfield. STAFF PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ

64 Grove St. in Greenfield.

64 Grove St. in Greenfield. STAFF PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

Staff Writer

Published: 02-03-2025 3:46 PM

Modified: 02-03-2025 5:56 PM


GREENFIELD — Grove Street resident Wendy Robinson, 82, bought her two-story home for $116,000 five years ago. As she plans to downsize, she’s participating in a new pilot program run by the housing nonprofit Leo’s Home to make repairs so the house can be sold to a first-time homebuyer.

The 64 Grove St. property, Leo’s Home Executive Director Sam Shanky said, marks the nonprofit’s first project. Leo’s Home will oversee capital repairs to bring the property into compliance with Federal Housing Administration regulations and in return, Robinson has agreed to allow the nonprofit to list the house for a reasonable, but not top-dollar, asking price.

“Home ownership and wealth are really tied together and, philosophically, I don’t think it’s a good thing for the country, for the community or the people who don’t have much wealth,” Robinson said. “This is a win-win. I get help fixing up my house, financially, but also having somebody else to help, and in return you take a little less on the sale.”

According to Leo’s Home, at least 30% of all homes in western Massachusetts were built before World War II, resulting in an aging housing stock in need of repairs. Additionally, construction of single-family homes is failing to keep pace with demand. The nonprofit states the Pioneer Valley is projected to have a deficit of 20,000 housing units in 2025.

Touring Robinson’s home, Shanky pointed out that the house has knob-and-tube wiring with direct insulation — an electrical system that Shanky said is antiquated and can be a fire hazard. There was also some lead wiring in the basement, and the basement floor had a large hole in it, alongside a number of channels for drainage.

Shanky said Leo’s Home plans to begin work on the Greenfield home within the next few weeks, noting that the Northampton-based organization has access to electricians and repair personnel willing to complete improvements for tens of thousands of dollars below market value. He clarified that Leo’s Home will not work to acquire any property, but will ensure the house is made available to a first-time homebuyer.

“What I really would like to create is a pipeline for accessibility for home ownership, and I’m hoping that there are other people like Wendy who are in positions similar to this one,” Shanky said. “There’s certainly some percentage of folks who are in a position like this, where they’re in a house that they know needs more work than they can really put into it, or is a little bit bigger than it needs to be for someone like Wendy, who’s living by herself.”

Admitting that Leo’s Home has not been in existence long enough to boast or defend any kind of record — the nonprofit had its soft launch in November — Shanky said he hopes to expand the program in the future, opening it up to a wider variety of homeowners and income-qualified buyers. He’d like to implement a step-down purchasing system similar to Springfield’s City of Homes initiative, in which homes can be sold for an incrementally larger sum each year after being initially purchased.

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“What I hope to create is some kind of … step-down purchasing — some way to do it so that we’re not working on houses that are immediately flipped,” he said. “What they’re doing in Springfield is called step-down purchasing. The first year, it’s even, and then every year you can sell the house for an extra 3% more or something like that.”

For more information about Leo’s Home, visit tinyurl.com/LeosHomeNonprofit.

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.