The couple and their three children are working to earn Greater Cincinnati's 150th Habitat for Humanity home, located in Loveland at 614 Park Ave.

"Just getting the opportunity to get your own house is incredible," said Nick, 25. "I grew up in Over-the-Rhine, and have struggled through life. This was like getting a huge break."

The home, sponsored by Coldwell Banker West Shell, will be built by more than 800 volunteers, most of them company employees.

"We wanted to do something that involved our industry, and Habitat fell into that," said Bob Stanley, president of the local company.

This is the sixth home the company has built. Stanley has helped in the previous home-buildings.

"Every year, we've gotten to know the families, built right next to them," he said. "It makes the dedication event that much more meaningful. They've become a part of our family. It's very exciting to hand the keys to them."

For the Montgomerys, being the partner family for the 150th home with a corporate sponsor has made their dream a reality sooner than they thought possible.

Nick and Angie, 26, have three children, Christian, 5, Austin, 3, and Haven, 8 months.They had been trying to buy a home for about two years, but high debt and unexpected expenses made it difficult.

Then a neighbor told the couple about Habitat for Humanity. They applied in July. Three weeks later, they learned they were accepted and their home would be finished only five weeks after breaking ground.

"I don't think it's really sunk in. It's happened so quick," Nick said.

The couple has already begun putting in their "sweat equity," with nearly 200 hours at a home in Bethel. To buy the house, they'll put in 500 total hours, make a $500 down payment and have a monthly mortgage. The average Habitat home costs $65,000, giving homeowners a mortgage - financed through Habitat for Humanity - between $250 and $475 per month.

Some families are on a waiting list for 12 to 18 months, and building often takes 16 weeks, said Pam Claypool, development director for Habitat.

Habitat for Humanity was founded in 1976 as a faith-based service project with volunteers primarily coming from church and ecumenical groups, but corporate sponsors have become a part of the process.

The charity started in Greater Cincinnati in 1986. Now there are eight chapters covering Clermont County, Hamilton-Fairfield, Middletown, Oxford, Mason-West Chester, Hope (Lebanon), Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana.

Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity, which is independent of Tristate Habitat for Humanity, also has built more than 100 homes.

"Some communities are more active than others. This will be our 26th home in Clermont County. There are 40 in Middletown, and Hamilton has an entire block of Habitat homes," Claypool said. "It makes a whole-community impact. Homeownership gives people a different sense of their community. They typically take better care of their homes and neighborhoods than renters do."

And, like the Montgomerys, many Habitat home buyers are becoming the first in their families to own homes, Claypool said.

"We see our work as going out to do God's work, and doing what we're called to do as Christians," she said.

For the Montgomerys, faith continues to play a role in this dream.

"We've been praying for a house, but we didn't think it would come like this," Angie said. "The kids can't wait to move in, they're excited about it. This will be their first home to have a yard."