Sable Homes finds attainable housing solution for Belding family with new May Apple design. Watch the Fisk family’s journey as they celebrate homeownership
Meet Tracey and Skyler Fisk and their two boys, Noah and Asher.
The Fisks approached Sable Homes in July 2023 while unsuccessful in an extensive search for a home that would accommodate their budget and their family of four in Belding. Residing in Belding was an important factor as Tracey Fisk is a first-grade teacher and the couples’ two boys go to school and participate in extracurricular activities in Belding. Sable Homes worked with the City of Belding to help the Fisks turn their dream into reality. As construction of their house began in May 2024, the Fisks will be the first homeowners of Sable Homes’ May Apple design.
“It was budget-friendly, big enough for our family and in a spot where we want to be – with the housing market so crazy right now, trying to buy anything the right size was ridiculously expensive,” said Skyler Fisk, who works in food service delivery. “There was nothing that was the right fit or in a budget that we could afford. There wasn’t much available in Belding in the first place – but anything that was, was either in really rough shape or it was over our budget. Sable Homes’ May Apple home worked out really well for what we needed at a price we could afford. Sable Homes made us feel like we got more house for our money than any of the other builders we ever talked to through this process.”
The 1,152-square-foot home is designed to be a 3-bedroom, ranch-style home, built on the Sable Homes’ patented Freedom Foundation©, which features a thick, foam barrier surrounding the slab foundation, that provides insulation and protection. The Freedom Foundation allows homeowners to build a house without a basement or crawl space, yet have a stable, insulated and energy efficient affordable home. The May Apple home starts at $195,000; the cost of the lot is not included.
“We hear from people every day that cost of homeownership and renting are hitting them hard. With the lack of existing housing for sale, it continues to be difficult for individuals to buy a home here in West Michigan,” said Sable Homes President John Bitely. “With our cost-effective May Apple design, we found a way to provide quality housing that allows anyone to achieve their ‘American Dream’ of being a homeowner without putting a massive hole in their pocketbook.”
“Sable Homes built our last house and did a good job – they communicated well with us with everything that was going on and the process was smooth,” said Skyler Fisk. “We liked all the choices we had throughout the design process. We’re excited to be out of our rental and in our new home soon. It’ll be nice to have everything on one floor – and not have to go up and down stairs.”
“Our boys are excited, ‘We’re moving to Belding!’ We are so ready,” said Tracey Fisk. “Sable Homes has made us feel like we’re part of their family and that they care about us. They made it easy and comfortable.”
Throughout our video series, watch the Fisks’ journey of homeownership unfold – from signing the closing papers and groundbreaking, to framing and putting the final design touches on their home, to getting the keys and moving in – the final step in achieving the American Dream.
Tracey Fisk, a first-grade teacher in Belding, has had multiple people come up to her exclaiming: “They’re starting your house!” With the help from Sable Homes, Tracey and her husband, Skyler, who works in food service delivery, found a way to build an attainable home in Belding where their kids also go to school and participate in extracurricular activities.
“The community is excited for us to be there and we feel the same way,” said Tracey.
“It’s always exciting to see progress,” said Skyler.
In this second video segment of the Fisk family’s homeownership journey, construction crews break ground on the Fisks’ lot where they’ll soon live.
“The barriers of the housing market right now – everything is so expensive. To get any house with any size to it is just outrageously priced. A lot of our decision to build a May Apple home had to do with cost. This house is big enough for what we needed and in a spot where we wanted to be,” said Skyler Fisk.
“I’m excited for our May Apple home to be energy efficient. The house we’re in right now is very old so our heating and cooling bills are wildly expensive.”
Watch the third video segment of the Fisks’ homeownership journey as construction crews frame their new May Apple home.
An exciting time for Tracey and Skyler Fisk as cabinets are installed in their Sable Homes May Apple home and the family can envision where furniture and all their belongings will go.
“It’s fun to see it all coming together and taking shape and looking like a house,” said Tracey Fisk. “All of us are picturing where beds will go and what items will go in which cabinets – it’s exciting.”
“We’re excited and ready to move in,” said Skyler Fisk. “It’s been a smooth process and overall, things have gone really well.”
Watch the fourth video segment of the Fisks’ homeownership journey as cabinet installation takes place in their new May Apple home.
The first Sable Homes May Apple home is near completion in Belding! Homeowners Tracey and Skyler Fisk and their boys get a glimpse of the construction progress during a walk-through of their new May Apple home with Sable Homes Sales Manager Karin Kay.
The Fisk’s 1,152-square-foot May Apple home is designed to be a 3-bedroom, ranch-style home, built on the Sable Homes’ patented Freedom Foundation©, which features a thick, foam barrier surrounding the slab foundation, that provides insulation and protection. The Freedom Foundation allows homeowners to build a house without a basement or crawl space, yet have a stable, insulated and energy efficient affordable home.
“We were looking for houses for almost a year and could not find anything in our price range that was livable,” said Tracey Fisk. “Sable Homes was able to come up with a new floor plan, called the May Apple, and it fits us really well. Sable Homes was able to make this process very easy for us to build our new home.”
“We were looking at affordability for what we needed and the May Apple was able to give us what we needed from that,” said Skyler Fisk. “It worked out really well.”
“It’s beautiful,” Tracey Fisk said during their final walk through. “It looks clean and crisp.”
Watch the fifth video segment of the Fisks’ homeownership journey as they get a glimpse of the construction progress during a walk-through of their new May Apple home.
Sable Homes’ first May Apple home is now complete! Homeowners Tracey and Skyler Fisk and their boys are excited to officially get the keys and ready to move in to their new May Apple home in Belding!
“We are very excited to move in,” said Skyler Fisk. “It’s exciting to be around all the things we’ve been doing and have our own place.”
“We also feel relieved that it’s done and it’s ours. We get to make it our home,” said Tracey Fisk. “When we walked in, I just thought, ‘oh my gosh, it’s beautiful! It’s clean, it’s crisp.’”
The Fisk’s 1,152-square-foot May Apple home is designed to be a 3-bedroom, ranch-style home, built on the Sable Homes’ patented Freedom Foundation©, which features a thick, foam barrier surrounding the slab foundation, that provides insulation and protection. The Freedom Foundation allows homeowners to build a house without a basement or crawl space, yet have a stable, insulated and energy efficient affordable home.
“Everything looks really good,” said Skyler.
“It’s going to make a world of difference,” said Tracey. “After sports, just being able to come home and have a little bit of time and not have to go right to bed. We’ll be able to come home and eat and spend time together as a family. It’s going to make our life a lot better. It’s going to be nice having our village of people so close to us.”
“The community itself is certainly excited,” said Skyler.
Watch the final video segment of the Fisks’ homeownership journey as they get the keys and take possession of their new Sable Homes May Apple home in Belding.
Homeowners Tracey and Skyler Fisk and their boys have lived in their new May Apple home in Belding for a few months, and couldn’t be happier about their new home and choosing Sable Homes for their builder.
“Truthfully, the biggest bonus for us is the location – which was what was holding us back in the first place over anything – getting something in the area we wanted to be in,” said Skyler Fisk. “We’ve had lots of people over and it never felt too crowded.”
“Even with 10 kids running around – there’s room for it,” laughed Tracey Fisk.
The Fisk’s 1,152-square-foot May Apple home is a 3-bedroom, ranch-style home, built on the Sable Homes’ patented Freedom Foundation©, which features a thick, foam barrier surrounding the slab foundation, that provides insulation and protection. The Freedom Foundation allows homeowners to build a house without a basement or crawl space, yet have a stable, insulated and energy efficient affordable home.
“We love the slab foundation because when the boys aren’t around, it’s quiet,” said Tracey. “We were surprised with the amount of storage in the kitchen. We still have one cupboard that’s pretty much empty because we don’t really need it and we haven’t had that in any other house.”
The couple shared that their May Apple home fits all of their family’s belongings better than they initially thought, and their boys use one of their closets as a cool hangout space.
“Affordability was a big part of our decision – it was significantly cheaper than most anything else that we looked at,” said Skyler. “And we’ve definitely seen smaller electric and gas bills than we had in any of our previous houses.”
The Fisks also explained that the home’s accessibility – all one level, no stairs and easy access – has been beneficial, especially when they have visitors with mobility limitations.
“It definitely exceeded our expectations and is a way better fit for our family than what we imagined it to be,” said Tracey. “Everyone who we worked with at Sable Homes has been very welcoming, helpful and positive. It’s been a great experience.”
“They communicated with us really well about the process and what was going on,” Skyler said of the building process with Sable Homes. “They got everything done when they said they would get it done.”
“Thank you, Sable!”
Watch as we revisit the Fisks in their lived-in Sable Homes May Apple home in Belding several months after taking possession.
From closing to moving in: Sable Homes May Apple model a perfect affordable fit for first homeowners
After an unsuccessful and extensive search for a home that would accommodate their budget and their family of four in Belding, Tracey and Skyler Fisk are the first homeowners of Sable Homes’ new May Apple design, which brings a solution to attainable housing in West Michigan.
“We were looking for houses for almost a year and could not find anything in our price range that was livable,” said Tracey Fisk. “Sable Homes was able to come up with a new floor plan, called the May Apple, and it fits us really well. Sable Homes was able to make this process very easy for us to build our new home.”
The Fisk’s 1,152-square-foot May Apple home is a 3-bedroom, ranch-style home, built on the Sable Homes’ patented Freedom Foundation©, which features a thick, foam barrier surrounding the slab foundation, that provides insulation and protection. The Freedom Foundation allows homeowners to build a house without a basement or crawl space, yet have a stable, insulated and energy efficient affordable home.
“Affordability was a big part of our decision to build a May Apple home – it was significantly cheaper than most anything else that we looked at,” said Skyler. “The barriers of the housing market right now – everything is so expensive. To get any house with any size to it is just outrageously priced. This house is big enough for what we needed and in a spot where we wanted to be,” said Skyler Fisk. “We were looking at affordability for what we needed and the May Apple was able to give us what we needed from that. It worked out really well.
“And we’ve definitely seen smaller electric and gas bills than we had in any of our previous houses,” Skyler added.
“It definitely exceeded our expectations and is a way better fit for our family than what we imagined it to be,” said Tracey.
Watch the Fisks’ journey of homeownership unfold – from signing the closing papers and groundbreaking, to framing and putting the final design touches on their home, to getting the keys and living in their new May Apple home in Belding – the final step in achieving the American Dream.