The housing nonprofit Habitat for Humanity was founded in 1976 with the vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield has worked since 1985 to uphold this mission of eliminating substandard housing and creating affordable housing for families in Fairfield County.
“Habitat for Humanity is such a great program,” said Carolyn Vermont, CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield County. “No down payment, no interest. Once they (the families) are in, they are there forever. We don”™t just build houses at Habitat, we build families.”
Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield County has delivered 272 homes since its inception, with most being located in Bridgeport.
“Land acquisition if our biggest challenge,” said Director of Construction Kevin Moore. “We do most of our building in Bridgeport on donated land from the city, or we are buying tax delinquent lots from the city for a dollar a lot. They are mostly vacant lots or have a derelict house on it that the city will level, so they are getting rid of a blighted vacant lot and gaining a taxpayer a year later, it”™s a win-win for the city.”
The organization is on track to deliver five news homes this year. This is a lower-than-normal number that has been exacerbated by the pandemic and the related supply chain issues and rising construction costs.
“Constructions costs skyrocketed during the pandemic,” Moore continued. “They”™ve come back down but they”™ve since plateaued at a level higher than where they were pre-pandemic. Now, it has all kind of leveled-off, but the total cost is about 10% to 20% more than before the pandemic.”
Habitat for Humanity is a needs-based program offering affordable housing to those who make 30% to 60% of the area”™s median income. The organization doesn”™t just build the homes and give them away. Rather, they originate the loans for the homeowner and work with a local community lending and banking institution, Capital for Change.
“Capital for Change handles the servicing of our mortgage portfolio which as of Oct. 31, consisted of 191 mortgages totaling $12,886,352.82,” said Vermont. “The sale of our homes is between Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield County and our partner families. Habitat offers families a pro-bono attorney to represent them at the closing, or they could choose to hire their own. Our Family Services Department has certified loan originators who work qualifying future homeowners and drafting and reviewing our mortgages for our real estate attorneys.”
Future homeowners assist in the building of their home, putting in what is known as “sweat equity” hours. One adult must contribute 200-hours alongside volunteers. And in the event a household finds themselves underwater financially after receiving a home, the organization works with them.
“The last thing we want is for a homeowner to go into foreclosure and lose a home,” Vermont added. “Usually, we will refinance and work with them. They pay what they can until their situation improves.”
Looking ahead into 2022, the organization is putting a greater emphasis on fundraising to help keep operational costs down.
“We essentially have to fundraise more because we don”™t pass that cost onto the future homeowner,” Moore said. “We need to find the funds elsewhere to produce the same number of units.”
