The suspense was almost palpable as the four families vying for the newly built Meredith Avenue home stood in its front yard waiting to see if their name would be called. San Jose City Councilman Yeager was given the honor of randomly selecting the new homeowner by choosing one of four pieces of paper in a fedora on June 10.

When the names of Syed and Kaniz Malek were announced, there were shouts of congratulation toward the married couple.

Their new two-story, rust-colored home—just a stone's throw from Lincoln Avenue—was built by the volunteer-based YouthBuild program, which is part of the San Jose Conservation Corps, with the intent of providing a place for a low-income family to live.

"I think we are both speechless," 24-year-old Kaniz told everyone. "We couldn't imagine we would get this home."

As Kaniz stood shaking at the podium that was placed on the 1,435-square-foot home's front porch, Syed thanked the entire crowd, but especially thanked "everyone who made it possible for us to live in San Jose."

The couple has lived in a condo in Santa Clara for 1 ¹/2 years. They will move into their new three bedroom, 2 ¹/2-bath home with Syed's mother and father once all the paperwork is cleared in approximately 60 days, 30-year-old Syed says.

Syed is a financial analyst and Kaniz is a student at California State University, Hayward. Syed is originally from Bangladesh but was raised in the Middle East. Kaniz is from Malta and says the two have been married since 2001.

This is the second home built by the San Jose Conservation Corps YouthBuild program but the first time a lottery has been held for one of the nonprofit's homes. To qualify for the home, four people have to reside at the property with a combined annual gross income that does not exceed $126,600.

The fair-market value of the house is $522,000 but under the program, the Maleks won't pay more than $401,000. San Jose Conservation Corps director of YouthBuild Ken Fuller said the house has been appraised for $850,000, although he saw a house down the street that just sold for just over $1 million.

He says the Victorian-style home was built in six months, "in a high-end style to match the neighborhood."

The lottery concept was Fuller's idea, and he had mixed emotions about leaving the house for the final time.

"This has been a special place for me," he says, smiling. "I would love to have a chair on the front porch."

Plans for additional San Jose Conservation Corps homes are already in place, with construction to begin on seven homes in Blossom Hill in September. Once completed, they will also be given away in the same lottery style.

YouthBuild worker Nidya Martinez put hours of labor into the Meredith Avenue home and says the experience was not only rewarding for the Maleks but also for the youth who spent months learning a new trade and developing teamwork. Most of the youth who built the home are also in the process of rebuilding their own lives.

"We were building teamwork, building a home and building our lives," she says.