Habitat for Humanity Profile

1224 W. Ostend Street after renovation. Baltimore city corner rowhome with beige painted brick and a blue front door.
1224 W. Ostend Street after renovation. Photos from Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake.

Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake

Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake provides an excellent example of how One House At A Time can become One Block At A Time and even One Neighborhood At A Time, eventually transforming communities across the city.

1224 W. Ostend Street before renovation. Baltimore City rowhome with boarded up windows and chipped paint.
1224 W. Ostend Street before renovation.

The local affiliate of this national nonprofit organization is applying its successful affordable housing model to transform vacant homes purchased at One House auctions, along with other properties clustered in targeted neighborhoods citywide. The blighted properties that had been deemed a nuisance in the community are completely rehabbed into Energy Star-rated homes for qualified family partners.

 

Expanding Home Ownership

Once accepted into the program, family partners commit a minimum of 250 sweat equity hours as part of their partnership with Habitat Chesapeake. They must complete a minimum of 150 hours on the construction site, 50 hours in the organization’s ReStore retail operation, and 50 hours in Homebuyer Academy classes. In turn, they earn the opportunity to purchase an affordable Habitat Chesapeake home with a 0% interest, 30-year mortgage.

“When we acquire properties at very reasonable prices, like those we get from One House At A Time, the real benefit is that we can more readily create more affordable housing options,” says Jerry Hazelwood, Compliance Manager at Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake. “And, it’s not just affordability that One House offers, they also help streamline the acquisition process and cut red tape, which is a big help.”

Habitat Chesapeake is either working on or has completed and sold nearly 400 houses in Baltimore city. All were completed with sweat equity from new owners, whose no-interest loans were capped at 30% of income. All are first-time home buyers, and many are single-parent households, said Jerry.

 

1121 Ward Street before renovation. Baltimore City rowhome with boarded windows and doors. Half formstone, half brick walls.
1121 Ward Street before renovation.

Transforming Jefferson Street

The success of Habitat Chesapeake is particularly remarkable in the McElderry Park community of East Baltimore, where 94 houses are in various stages of rebirth. In the 2400 and 2500 blocks of Jefferson Street, for example, 17 vacant properties have been transformed into attractive homes; 40% of these were purchased through One House.  Of the seven properties transferred through One House auctions for between $5,000 and $11,000 in 2010-2012, three have sold ($108,000, $112,000, and $121,250). The SDAT value for the remaining four homes ranges from $55,300 to $130,000.

This investment has had a ripple effect: six additional vacant properties nearby were subsequently renovated by owners to use & occupancy standards. Other One House properties rehabbed by Habitat Chesapeake are located on Dumbarton, Kenwood, Lakewood, and McCabe.  “This is the kind of synergy created by the program,” said Jerry.

 

Making a Difference in Pigtown

1121 Ward Street after renovation. Baltimore City rowhome with an added floor, new stairs, and painted green and black.
1121 Ward Street after renovation.

Across town, in Washington Village (also known as Pigtown), Habitat Chesapeake is having an impact with 24 gut rehabs and 18 new rowhouses completed. Two of the vacants were from One House auctions: 1224 West Ostend Street (bought for $10,000, currently valued at $51,500) and 1121 Ward Street (purchased for $5,000, currently valued at $151,800). Now, they are attractive, Energy Star-rated houses, offering significant energy cost savings to homeowners because of the materials, insulation, and appliances used.

“By clustering properties in a particular neighborhood, we can create greater impact and make more of a difference,” explained Jerry.

 

Habitat Chesapeake plans additional One House auction purchases in the future. “The One House At A Time auction process works very well,” said Jerry. “It’s great to have partners who are interested in building communities.”

 

 

 

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