Build day in Springfield, IL

Day 25 - Springfield, Illinois

While the majority of Habitat's build projects are the construction of new houses, most of the builds we have worked on so far have been rehab projects, usually foreclosed homes that Habitat buys, rehabs and then gives to a family.

The house we worked on in Springfield was a foreclosed home that needed quite a bit of work. There were holes in walls and doors, burn marks in the floors and the yard was a disaster. There was a sad twist to the story however. The family who had lived in the home was a Habitat family and they had received the house from the organization 10 years prior. Even with the help of Habitat in making adjustments in the mortgage payments, the just couldn't swing it, and the house was foreclosed on. It just makes you wonder, where are they now.

I was talking to the project supervisor, John, about the case, the family and how sad it was that this was the way it is. While he agreed, he assured me that this is not at all typical of families that recieve Habitat homes. In fact, of the 80 homes the Springfield chapter has placed families in, only 2 have been foreclosed on...not a bad record.

I am learning through my involvement with the affordable housing cause that there is a misconception that Habitat "gives away" homes to those in need. This is in fact not the case. Each family that is interested in obtaining a Habitat home, must first apply. In doing so, they have to meet a number of requirements (for example, for the house we worked on in Springfield, one I'd the requirments was the family had to make less than 24,000 a year. The house is then sold to them for about 60,000.) The application is then submitted and reviewed by the board of the respective chapter. If the family is approved to recieve the home, they are required to take a number of classes and seminars about homeownership, money management, budgeting, so they have the tools and knowledge necessary to make mortgage payments and prepare to be home owners. In addition, each family is required to work a minimum of 300 sweat equity hours of work at a Habitat build site. At  least 50 of those hours need to be at their own site. It's really a cool aspect of the organization. Everyone involved is so invested before the keys are even handed over.                     

The first thing we had to do at the site was to gut the house and yard....it was chock full of moldy furniture, trash and even bugs...needless to say we filled a dumpster by 10 am...not an easy feat.

My primary job at the Springfield site was landscaping. I pretty much mowed lawns for four hours, but it was good. As a team of 30 we were able to accomplish so much in a day. They hope to have a family in there within the next month or so.

Here's a pic of the house at the build site!