Habitat for humanity - what's the payment default rate?

1/26/2003 | glockmeister40

[glockmeister40]

There is a housing program out there called Habitat for Humanity. Volunteers build houses and low income people get to have them for cost. In my neck of the woods a three-bedroom Habitat house would go for around $70k.

The people that move in to them pay back the cost of the house over 20 years. My question is: does anyone out there know the default rate on habitat houses?

As an aside, I think ex-president jimmy carter started up this program. If you don't know anything about him, just look up the word loser in the dictionary. You'll see his picture there.

[steplock]

What? The namby-pamby socialists actually release data that would make them look like gullible fools?

I would give them a bit of credit ... the default rate for Hahabitat is probably lower that the socialist giveaways of homes to those who never owned one before - if you were jobless - if you destitute - if you never held a job in your life - if you were NOT white!

[elfman2]

A couple of months ago I heard on a local Sunday morning talk radio program that the default rate on Habitat for Humanity homes was zero. That seemed unlikely, perhaps they were just referring to their projects here in Monroe County Florida (the Keys).

[skinkinthegrass]

Don't know...Anything w/ Jimmy Carters' history
is suspect, though.

[HairOfTheDog]

I don't know the answer to your question, but there are better targets to aim criticism at than this organization. Habitat for Humanity is a charity I hold in pretty high regard. It is a primarily Christian-based organization that builds houses for people, largely with private church donations, but also with corporate and building industry donations and volunteers. I have helped on a HfH house, for a nice family that I still think about today.

[Viva Le Dissention]

If you really want to know, go look at its books. They have to publish all that crap. I'm betting it's pretty low, too.

And by the way, although not the world's best president, I happen to think that Jimmy Carter is a pretty darn good guy.

And as an aside, not to you, but to someone else on this forum: if he wants to sell houses at no-profit and at no-interest loans, good for him. That's not socialism; it's doing something nice.

Besides, for as much as a lot of you people piss and moan about Christianity being some endangered species of religion in the United States, I figured ya'll would have gone crazy about Habitat, seeing as it's a Christian ministry.

[Keith in Iowa]

Learn more about Habitat: http://www.habitat.org/how/historytext.html

[P.O.E.]

A group of us from work volunteered at one of these "Habitat" houses.

The about-to-be new owners were also supposed to show up and do a certain number of hours of work. They showed up, noodled around, chatted with each other and the volunteers, shuffled around, and left - maybe doing about 5 minutes of the two hours they were there.

There are some salaried people there, too, I assume paid by "Habitat" for professional work. One guy took all day to cut about 20 feet of one strip of siding for the porch soffits.

The house was near completion. I happened to drive by about a year later - the house was just as we left it. The new owners did ZIP to upgrade the place - no flowers, lawn, painting, etc. It was quickly on its way to being a wreck.

It's a bunch of B.S.

[livius]

Jimmy Carter was NOT the founder of Habitat. He's simply its most visible representative, although a relative who works for Habitat said that he's rapidly becoming a fund-raising liability.

Habitat has a very low default rate. They screen their applicants very carefully, and move quickly if there are homeowners who appear not to be holding up their end of the bargain. It does happen, of course, but it's not very common. It also probably varies from place to place, since Habitat chapters function more or less autonomously, and some are probably better run than others.

It's a good program, DESPITE Jimmy Carter's ugly mug on its fundraising literature!

[Proud_texan]

I don't know what the default rate is but I think they (HH) do a good job and I've done some work for them (the waiting list to do so is huge, a credit to the charity of Americans when allowed to do so).

They don't take any money by force (IOW they don't accept any gubberment money or at least they didn't used to) and homeowners are required to put in x hours of sweat equity.

I think it's a pretty good model. You give people a hand up, they work very hard for it and they have a real stake in it. The application process is pretty brutal, it's not a giveaway by any means; you have to be committed.

Carter didn't start it but like Bush gives it some visibility. It's probably the only thing Carter is qualified for (okay, that and fending off killer rabbits), but I give him points for giving it visibility.

[Non-Sequitur]

The default rate varies from chapter to chapter. Most chapters do a careful job of screening those people that they help and since most recipients are required to put in a considerable amount of sweat equity into their homes then it's safe to say that houses tend to go to those who are motivated. So depending on the number on the number of houses completed in a given chapter a 0% default rate wouldn't be impossible. Even in the larger chapters the default rates tend to be lower than the average for the areas.

Now let me ask you. Since Habitat for Humanity is a charity and relies of people like me for it's manpower, since Habitat provides the mortgages itself without any sort of government guarantees, and since it is doubtful that any Habitat projects are going up in your area, then what the hell do you care what it's default rate is?

[The Great RJ]

The local Habitat group recently spoke to my SERTOMA club and was very open about the default rate --about 4% in this area (SD).

People aren't just given these homes, but have to put in hundreds of hours of "sweat equity" in the building/rennovation. They are also extensively screened. In addition they are also expected to provide labor in building/rennovating another home for another applicant.

I've been a Habitat volunteer on and off for years and it might be one of the better things Jimmy Carter is associated with--I don't believe he was the founder.

Your local Habitat group is also a great place to recycle left over cabinets, plumbing fixtures and excess building materials from your own projects.

[knuthom]

As an aside, I think ex-president jimmy carter started up this program

Do a little homework before posting things you know little about. I didn't know who founded Habitat for Humanity, but I knew it existed before Carter got involved. It took only a minute or two to find this:

Since its founding in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller, Habitat for Humanity International has built and rehabilitated more than 125,000 houses with families in need, becoming a true world leader in addressing the issues of poverty housing.

[HairOfTheDog]

That is not my experience. We built a whole group of habitat houses, I think there were six on the street, all in about three days. An amazing feat after spending the better part of six months on a remodel of our own house.

The families all worked hard, according to their skills... The rest of the volunteers and contractors, skilled or not, had a great time but also worked their butts off, and I was shocked at how efficient it was.

[P.O.E.]

Maybe we just got one of the bad eggs.

With all the other positive notes from FReepers on the program (and since I love working on houses) I may try another of these Habitats.

It's going to have to wait awhile, though. We just bought an old Victorian, with a few TLC projects of its own.

[HairOfTheDog]

Heh.... It will take a lot longer for you to finish than it does HfH! An old Victorian will never really be finished! ;~D

[HairOfTheDog]

One of the families we helped was a tiny Vietnamese woman, sweet family, and she was a wonderful hostess. Weighing no more than 90 pounds, she was not the one to be carrying lumber, but she fed everyone all day, cooking hot dogs, and bringing everyone cool water. She did what she knew how to do, and was tearful in her appreciation of what everyone was doing for her.

I knew her prior to HfH... I got involved in HfH and helping out through knowing her personally. She had lost her husband in the Vietnam war. Her stories of the atrocities she had seen in her life humbles me whenever I think for a minute that I have something rough.

I haven't been back by her house in some time now.... But I am quite sure that even when money is tight, she will make sure there are always yellow flowers on her porch.

[P.O.E.]

I feel less like the owner and more like the curator - this place seems to have a life all its own.

[HairOfTheDog]

Our old house was/is very much like that! - Ours thinks it would be a good idea to move closer to the beach! - Our job is only to slow it down I think!

[Quix]

He did NOT start it.

He joined it.

Their default rate if my understanding is accurate from Hawaii's example is something around 30%

They screen the applicants very carefully. They want folk who have a will and an ability to succeed--to overcome serious disadvantages; a series of devastating family circumstances etc.

I don't know if the $70,000 is accurate. The labor is all donated. Often the land is donated. The families are basically paying for materials, as I understand it.

It's a good, Christian based program. It's what people should be doing for each other rather than government handouts.

Carter is much better at that than any of his other craziness. I think he was a terrible president and even crazier for supporting Dilldo and Shrillary. But I support his Habitat work wholeheartedly. Besides, it somewhat helps to keep him off the street.