Habitat for Humanity is a self funded charity through zero interest loans

by: Mark.Eibner - View Profile on 2008-08-22 @ 1.54:26 am Leave a comment »

MetroBrokersIPTV: This is Metro BrokersTV, with Metro Broekrs, and we are at the Habitat for Humanity project out here in Commerce City, Colorado and I am with Allison Moe and welcome Allison.

Allison Moe: Thank you.

MetroBrokersIPTV: I understand you are the construction superintendent.

Allison Moe: Yeah, supervisor out here.

MetroBrokersIPTV: So, how did you get that position? Did you go to college?

Allison Moe: I did. I studied architecture and social theory in college and when I got done I wanted to learn how to build houses, not just how to draw them. So, I got myself involved through AmeriCorps, which is a national service program and from there, they hired me on as a full time staff member.

MetroBrokersIPTV: Well, so long have you been with Habitat then?

Allison Moe: Three years overall, two years here in Denver.

MetroBrokersIPTV: How many other projects do you think Habitat has going on in the Denver metro area now?

Allison Moe: We right now are probably doing about 12 units. Now, that is only on a couple of different sites; this for example is a duplex, so it is two units on one site, but at any given time, it is between 9 and 13 or 14.

MetroBrokersIPTV: Well, so, how about the materials here. I am curious. How do you guys get your materials? Are they all donated or you buy them?

Allison Moe: We do have to buy probably about 90% of the materials that we use on the houses. There are some that are donated; it is a nation wide sponsorship. Dow Industries donates a blue R3 insulating foam. It is also a vapor barrier. Whirlpool donates appliances. Again, this is done for every Habitat house built in the country. So, we benefit from that partnership greatly and then every once in a while somebody would donate shingles or paint or something like that, but we plan on purchasing everything.

MetroBrokersIPTV: So, the rest of the money then you said, you got about 10% in donations, where is the other 90% come from to build these homes?

Allison Moe: A lot of it is individual donations and sponsorships. Every house does have to have a sponsor to help us with some of those costs, but we are a home ownership program, which is a big miss conception, so, our homeowners buy these homes and they make monthly mortgage payments to Habitat. We act as the bank and so we use the money that they are paying every month to help us build more houses.

MetroBrokersIPTV: That's interesting. I didn't realize that Habitat was actually acting as a financier for these projects.

Allison Moe: Yeah. That's the way we are working. So, what is nice is that the more houses we build, the more houses we can afford to build in an area, so it is sort of a self sustaining and self growing process.

MetroBrokersIPTV: Yeah, that's interesting. What kind of rate structure do you use as compared to say, are you familiar with interest rates and so forth?

Allison Moe: We are a zero interest mortgage company. Well, nonprofit, as a nonprofit, we do not charge interest.

MetroBrokersIPTV: Wow. That's great. Well, thank you very much Allison. You answered some great questions.

Allison Moe: Yeah.