This entry was posted on Monday, June 8th, 2009 at 10:21 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
“Rescued Homes”
Habitat for Humanity of Tulare County has been working with hard working, very low-income families for 15 years. In any given year we have been able to build 3-5 brand new homes with Habitat homeowners. In 2008 the chance to purchase a foreclosed home presented a new, unexpected opportunity. To date we have purchased 5 foreclosed homes through our “Rescued Homes” program which could double or triple the numbers of families we can serve in a year and help neighbourhoods by refurbishing homes that have been vacant for some time.
The new program works the same way as our “New Homes” program and the homeowner must work 500 hours of sweat equity on their home and other Habitat projects, until their hours are finished. When the home is complete they purchase the home from Habitat with a no-profit, no-interest loan. All our homeowners are matched to homes that fit their needs and chosen based on availablily and need. A good partnership between Habitat and the new homeowner is key to the programs success.
The City of Visalia is partnering with Habitat to help identify and then purchase these homes through the City’s “Redevelopment Loan Fund”. Acquiring and remodeling these homes will not only give Habitat the opportunity to serve more families, it will also revitalize our community.
