Habitat area turning hostile, family says

The Indianapolis Star ^ | December 27, 2003 | Timothy Evans

[CobaltBlue]

Just googled a bit - Habitat for Humanity claims to have built over 150,000 houses worldwide. Seems like you're going to find a few bad apples in anything that large scale.

'Tis the season for giving and having a big heart. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater!

[deport]

MEMPHIS, Tenn.- Memphis leads the nation in the number of Habitat for Humanity homeowners who file for bankruptcy and lose their houses, according to a published report Sunday.

Ninety-two of the first 229 Habitat homeowners in Memphis _ 40 percent _ filed for bankruptcy, and 17 have lost the houses they helped volunteers build, according to The Commercial Appeal newspaper. Dozens more are nearing foreclosure.

Habitat founder Millard Fuller has long warned that some failures are expected because the charity targets people with subpar credit and disadvantaged backgrounds, but the newspaper said its eight-month investigation found that none of the program's other 19 largest U.S. affiliates have a similar record. ..........

An examination of bankruptcy files of the 92 Habitat homeowners who filed cases since 1991 reveals that owners were victimized by home repair scams and loan-flipping schemes. To pay bills, others turned to fringe lenders charging sky-high interest rates.

One of the program's hallmarks is its no-interest mortgage. Yet, often succumbing to aggressive sales pitches by lenders in Memphis, as many as 40 Habitat homeowners have refinanced, taken a high-interest second mortgage or pledged their home as security on criminal bail bonds... {end snips}

[The Duke]

A sow's ear does not a silk purse make!

[Viking2002]

Agreed. The nobility of the idea is often negated by the fact that a sizable proportion of the recipients are human scum with no moral code or sense of responsibility. Some people are simply savages, and no amount of intervention and support will change that.

[Blue_Ridge_Mtn_Geek]

Some important differences between Habitat and typical "affordable housing" activities (there are others, but these are key):

1. No government funding.

2. Occupants of the homes must participate in construction of their own, or other homes, as part of the contractual arrangement.

3. Construction is funded from the prinicipal repayments on previous HfH housing loans, made at 0% interest.


As this example shows, the results are far from perfect. Other problems I've read about include homeowners who refi their 0-rate loans into high rate subprime loans to get "cash out", then default and lose their house.

So, families get a chance, through a program which requires a certain amount of sweat equity, to own their own home. The fact that some of them blow their opportunity is unavoidable, but at least its not a case of "enforced charity" funded by your tax dollars. And the ones who "make it" have an opportunity to build on that foundation and continue to work their way out of impoverished conditions into a better life.

I've worked on several HfH projects, and think the investment was well worth it (in spite of occasional failures).

[Blue_Ridge_Mtn_Geek]

MEMPHIS, Tenn.- Memphis leads the nation in the number of Habitat for Humanity homeowners who file for bankruptcy and lose their houses, according to a published report Sunday.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

This is not too surprising; Memphis TN-MS-AR MSA is the bankruptcy capital of the USA: no other metropolitan area has a higher per capita bankruptcy rate. Apparently the bankruptcy ethic is highly developed in this area.

[autoresponder]

Otherwise the 2nd mortgage or bail bond sucked money out of their homes and they walked away ripping of taxpayers and volunteers who were dumb enough to drive nails and say wood on weekends for people who sat on their butts.

Very nice.

[CobaltBlue]

I am one of those people who by choice lives in a neighborhood without a homeowner's association, but I think that it's more common these days to live in a house which has a homeowner's association.

I wonder if maybe the writer is trying to suggest that a homeowner's association was called for in this case? And, if one exists, maybe the homeowners themselves need to get their rears in gear?

But I am not aware of any other situation where builders remain involved in the community once it's done.

[Rebelbase]

I've done a lot of work in Habitat Neighborhoods and have seen some do well and others become a slum overnight.

The ones that did well were lower priced extensions of more suburban type subdivisions.

Its the ones built into economically depressed sections of town that are having problems.

The first thing to be noted is a lot of these folks were raised and lived in Section 8 HUD subsidized housing or county projects prior to becoming homeowners. As such, they are used to having landlords and assume that the governement entities that helped them obtain their own house is are going to also help them maintain their property.

The city housing dept. regularly gets phone calls from Habitat homowners to fix things as simple as window screens, and even have their yards mowed. In other instances the homewonders are immigrants who cannot speak English and are ignorant of city codes...raising chickens and roosters under their decks and building improvements without the required permits. I know of one guy who built a garage without a permit...the city came out and tested the footings, found them inadequate and made the guy tear the garage down.....Cost from start to finish was about $3000, and thats from someone who had very little money in the first place.

Another problem is housing values. These homes are subsidised when built and sell for about $10,000-15,000 less than what a comparble home in other parts of town go for. The reality is this: If 100 people buy new houses in the east side of town for $85,000 each then that is what houses on east side of town are worth. You cannot add value to a home just because it costs more to buy one two miles away. Those 100 new homes set the market price in that area of town. For the 3 years it took to build them you could not sell a comparable new house within a mile of the Habitat Homes for anymore than the price the Habitat Homes were selling.

The streets and sidewalks of the Habitat neighborhoods that are built in the crack and drug portions of town have become shorcuts for the dealers and hookers to get from one area to another, so that's another problem.

I know of one Habitat neighborhood with 4 distinct ethnic nationalities that speak three different languages. The "blending and melting" hasn't happened...its been 5 years old now. There is tension there between those that refuse to let go of their prior country's culture and those who refuse to accept chickens, roosters and goats living next door as well as not being able understand the languages.

Habitat builds houses not communities.

[Miss Marple]

I agree. No builders in this state stay involved in the community.

Habitat is being held up to unrealistic standards. On the other hand, the owners are right in that they are having problems. Habitat is not the cause, though.

It seems to me that it is other homeowners who are the problem.

[sistergoldenhair]

Habitat builds houses not communities.

In a nut shell; well put.

[CobaltBlue]

It seems to me that it is other homeowners who are the problem.

You're right, they don't seem to be complaining about the houses themselves.

It's a lesson to us conservatives. We like to think that people take better care of their own private property, but home ownership doesn't necessarily change attitudes acquired over generations of being given every basic need by the government.

[wizardoz]

Guy Camara said that didn't happen: "Habitat basically walked away after the houses were built."

And that is human nature, my friends. Give a man a home and he wants to know when you're going to start mowing the lawn.

[lysie]

My family lived in a housing project for 12 years...during the 50's and 60's. Dad never worked and Mom busted her tail to save enough money to have her own house built with no help from Habitat or anyone except the rent was based on her income....$75.00 a month???

At that time the project was a stepping stone to a better home.

Over the years she noticed younger generations moving in the project. The result was like night and day. The new tenants had no respect for the property at all. Contrast that with my mother who upon moving from the projects after a full days work...scrubbed the walls and floors for the next tenant because she didn't want to leave the place a mess.

Spring cleaning was done every year by my brother and me, some of which consisted of scrubbing fingerprints off the walls.

It's all about self pride.

[Blue_Ridge_Mtn_Geek]

See

http://www.smrresearch.com/countybkr.htm

for discussion of how the central county of the Memphis MSA is "special" in the records of bankruptcy filings.

[Tacis]

This is not a problem caused by Habitat, it is whitey's fault, no question!

[RJCogburn]

Location. Location. Location.

[pa_dweller]

And keep on thinking free! :^)

[rintense]

I am very active in our local Habitat, where the majority of homes are built within established neighborhoods. All Habitat recipients have a mortgage to pay, based on the cost of the home (which is the building cost and the lot). They also have to put in hundreds of hrs of sweat equity into their own home, as well as to help other homes be built. Our local program has a 'follow up' on teaching owners upkeep and home repair.

But it sounds like some of the local Habitats around the country are not holding up their end of the bargain. The idea, however, that Habitat should be responsible for an individual's personal choice is absurd. They have absolutely no control over what choices people make. Could Habitat screen applicants a little better? Sure. But I don't blame Habitat. I blame the owners who have let down their communities, their church (which is usually the sponsor of the family), and THEMSELVES. They have made choices of their own free will. Habitat just assumes that people will appreciate the gift that has been given them.

[Elliott Jackalope]

Habitat for Humanity, creators of "insta-slums" from coast to coast!