Modifying the standard Habitat home for Michael

Habitat for Humanity made several modifications to its three-bedroom floor plan to design Lori Williams' house, which will be the first wheelchair-accessible Habitat house in Greeley.
* Extra space: Builders are making Michael's room bigger by taking 3 feet of space from the third bedroom, which is technically considered storage because there will only be two occupants in the house. Lori needed the third room for Michael's wheelchairs — he has an electric chair and a manual chair, and the home won't have a garage.
* Gaining access: A concrete ramp will lead up to the side door, and a double door will open out so wheelchairs can fit through easily. He will be able to look out his window toward the trees. Also, a wheelchair-accessible shower stall and toilet will be installed in Michael's bathroom.
All of the customization raised the house cost to $105,000, which is about $11,000 more than the basic three-bedroom model offered through Habitat.
Lori's payments will be about $425 a month, which is what she insists on paying her father in rent now. The difference is that she will own this house.
Even with the additional costs, the price is far less than what Lori would pay without Habitat; the home would be worth more like $150,000 on the open market.
"It's just a good feeling to be able to say I'm buying a house. To me that's a big deal," Lori said. "I wish I would have done it sooner."