Last week Tim and I had Hands of Hope.
Actually, we had Hands of Blisters and Hair of Paint and
Fingernails of Doom. We were fortunate enough to be part of a team
of people who built a house in downtown Sacramento from foundation
to finish in only 6 days. Whoa, doggies! That’s some progress.
Last week Tim and I had Hands of Hope.
Actually, we had Hands of Blisters and Hair of Paint and Fingernails of Doom. We were fortunate enough to be part of a team of people who built a house in downtown Sacramento from foundation to finish in only 6 days. Whoa, doggies! That’s some progress.
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry that eliminates poverty housing and homelessness from the world. Through volunteer labor and donations of money and materials, Habitat builds and rehabilitates simple, decent houses with the help of the homeowner (partner) families. Habitat houses are sold to partner families at no profit and financed with affordable loans. The homeowners’ monthly mortgage payments are used to build still more Habitat houses.
Not a giveaway program, homeowners invest hundreds of hours of their own labor – sweat equity – into building their Habitat house and the houses of others. In order to qualify for a home, they must be in a low-income bracket, have stellar credit, and pass a rigorous interview and evaluation process. This entitles them to a home for about the same amount of money they would pay in rent.
There are safeguards built in to ensure the homes are not flipped for a one-time profit. Each home carries a silent second, which comes forth only if the home is sold or refinanced.
Tim and I participated in Hands of Hope, a project of Buffini and Company, the nation’s largest real estate coaching company, in concert with Habitat for Humanity. Brian Buffini donates $75,000 per house and his clients (like me!) donate the necessary labor. Hands of Hope emerged out of a grassroots effort from Buffini’s clients who initially built four homes in the Katrina-ravaged South. This year Hands of Hope will build 12 houses in each of Buffini and Company’s major client centers across the US.
We did what is known as a “blitz build.” The typical Habitat project in Sacramento takes 6 to 9 months. The future owner donates 500 hours of labor. Half of that has to be completed by the family, and the other half can come from whatever volunteers they can scrounge up. Usually about half of the labor is subbed out to professionals. For “our” house, only 20% of the work needed to be done by professionals because we were able to find very talented Realtors in our ranks. We Realtors are not just another pretty face.
This house went from a slab foundation to furnished and finished in only six days because of a huge cooperative effort. The city and county building inspectors made themselves totally available to us…even coming at night and early in the morning before work. They were amazed at the speed and quality of work. They came one afternoon after the close of the workday to okay the plumbing and electrical so sheetrock installation could commence. When they stopped by the next morning on their way into work, they were totally blown away to find the house totally sheet rocked. Never in their long careers had they seen such a job!
A local electrical firm called Apex Electrical Contracting agreed to do all that type of work. They were so enthusiastic…they even had vests made up with their names, the date of the build, and a giant yellow lightening bolt across the back. This was a labor of love for them.
AmeriCorps volunteers joined us as well. According to its Web site, “AmeriCorps is a network of local, state, and national service programs that connects more than 70,000 Americans each year in intensive service to meet our country’s critical needs in education, public safety, health, and the environment. AmeriCorps members serve with more than 2,000 nonprofits, public agencies, and faith-based and community organizations. Since 1994, more than 400,000 men and women have provided needed assistance to millions of Americans across the nation through their AmeriCorps service.”
The AmeriCorps workers on our build were young, energetic and enthusiastic. It was a delight to work with them.
The house itself was designed by the winner of a competition held at the local junior college. He was on-hand with his parents, amazed to see his drafted plan become a three-dimensional reality.
The final day Tim’s group installed the sprinkler system while mine turned the dirt in the front yard, added topsoil and raked it, and laid out sod. At the end, there was a dedication ceremony. All the volunteers ringed the house, laid hands on it, and blessed it. It was an amazing spiritual experience. Oh, and then we all had chocolate cake and nearly broke our arms patting ourselves on the back.
Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. If you ever get the opportunity, or see yourself clear to make the opportunity, you should go for it.
There are local affiliates of Habitat for Humanity in Hollister, Los Banos, Aptos and Seaside. Affiliates are directly responsible for all aspects of Habitat homebuilding in their area: fund-raising, site selection, family selection and family support, construction, and mortgage servicing. The affiliate’s relationship with Habitat is one of partnership. The affiliate builds houses or rehabilitates existing ones, while Habitat provides support services and resources. For more information, visit www.habitat.org.
Oh, and be kind to your Realtor. You just never know what he or she might be up to.
