The Buckhannon River Habitat for Humanity plans to start building a new home this April.
Phil Loftis, BRHFH treasurer, and Dave Poling, BRHFH president, attended the Feb. 18 Rotary Club of Buckhannon-Upshur meeting to present the plans for their next project and discuss how their group coordinates to build homes.
“As of last December, we were able to acquire a couple of lots — actually three lots split into one and a half lots each — that we’ll be using to build new houses here in town, within the city limits,” Loftis said. “We expect to begin construction on the first of the two lots this spring. We’re in the planning process for that now. We’ve been working with the city zoning officer, and I’m really excited; I think this will allow us to make a big contribution to the area.”
Habitat for Humanity is a global nonprofit organization that partners with families, volunteers and donors to build affordable homes. Homeowners typically work alongside volunteers to build the home and then pay an affordable mortgage designed to fit their income.
The two lots acquired by Buckhannon River Habitat for Humanity are located at the intersection of Reger Avenue and Shawnee Drive, on Ambrose Street.
“The first home we are scheduled to build is 1,200 square feet with three bedrooms,” Poling said. “The family is an adult woman and her adult son — both on SSI — and he has joint custody of two eight-year-old girls. There’s a common area, kitchen and a bathroom big enough to be handicapped-accessible in the master bedroom. We also put in a half bath. I’ve been told two eight-year-old girls, a grandma and a 30-year-old man won’t get by on one bathroom.”
Poling also reached out to Fred Eberle Technical Center to see if their carpentry students could assist with the build.
“We’d like to get started around the first of April, and these kids can build the walls for us,” Poling said. “We can store them, and then when we’re ready, we can set the walls up or bring [the students] out to get them involved. It would benefit us and them.”
Habitat for Humanity is always looking for locations to build new homes and always needs more volunteers.
“If you know anyone who has property they can’t use or that has been sitting around empty for a while, please let us know, and we will actively go out and try to solicit,” Loftis said. “We’re also working to grow the sustainability of our group, including talking with other local affiliates in the state of West Virginia.
“We are one of about seven or eight active affiliates at this point, and there used to be a lot more. It has been a tough decade or so for affiliates in West Virginia. We have a small group of pretty active volunteers, and we’re always looking for more, both in terms of working on the job site and in support roles as well. We welcome all contributions and support.”
Buckhannon River Habitat for Humanity receives regular inquiries from applicants looking for a new home.
“We have two qualified families right now,” Loftis said. “It’s not a done deal just because they qualified once, because if it takes us two years to build a house, they may or may not still be qualified, but we’ll work with them however we can to make that happen. We’re working with one family the most right now to get them into the house that we’re getting ready to build. It’s going to be a year before that house is finished.”
According to the Habitat for Humanity website, each local group’s family selection committee selects homeowners based on three criteria: the applicant’s level of need, their willingness to partner with Habitat, and their ability to repay a mortgage through an affordable payment plan.
“At the end of the period, they will be evaluated again to make sure they still qualify, and they attend classes that train them in how to be good homeowners, so this is an education process as much as anything,” Loftis said. “Once they are qualified, the mortgage they sign is a formal closing, just like any other real estate transaction. There are two different mortgages they sign. One is for the cost of the materials to build the house, and the other is for the equity we have built up by contributing our time and effort in building the house. That second mortgage expires in about half the time of the first mortgage, so if they stay in the home for 10 years, they don’t have to pay that part back.”
Poling said he visited two families who qualify for a new home and was struck by their current living conditions.
“I lived in some terrible places in college because it’s what I could afford, and those places look like the Taj Mahal compared to where these people live in this county,” Poling said. “The roof leaks, and they can’t get the landlord to do anything. They don’t want to upset him because they’re afraid they would have to find something else that costs more. We are these people’s last chance. They’re good people, and they must put 350 hours of their time into this house, or they will not get it. They can bring their friends to help earn the hours. The last woman worked odd hours, so we let her put her time in at the Clothes Closet. It benefited the community; you can work with people.”
