Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco

690 Broadway Street
Redwood City, CA  94063
(650) 568-7331
tduong@habitatgsf.org
http://www.habitatgsf.org

Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco is a local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. Habitat's homeownership program allows families working in service, manufacturing, retail and other sectors to live near their jobs in decent, safe, permanent homes. The Habitat for Humanity philosophy encourages self-help by providing a "hand up-not a hand out." Habitat homeowners invest a lot of effort into their dreams, including 500 hours of "sweat equity" to help build their own homes, as well as additional time for homeownership education. Houses are sold to partner families at no profit and financed with affordable, zero interest mortgages structured never to exceed one-third of their monthly income.

Since 1989, Habitat Greater San Francisco has built more than 135 homes throughout San Mateo and San Francisco counties. Its geographic area extends nearly 100 miles from East Palo Alto in southern San Mateo County to Novato and coastal areas of Marin County. A total of 28 incorporated cities and 38 unincorporated communities are included in its service area. Currently, Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco is building eight townhomes on Lincoln Avenue in Redwood City and twelve single-family homes on De Long Street in San Francisco's Outer Mission neighborhood. It will also soon break ground on seven new homes at Whitney Young Circle in San Francisco's Bayview community and has proposed new affordable housing developments on Terminal Avenue in Menlo Park, Mission Street in Daly City, and Lower Eagle Rock Road in unincorporated Marin County.

Announcements and Events

Habitat for Humanity has home for sale in Belle Haven

Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco has a 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom home for sale in the Belle Haven neighborhood. We will be holding two orientation meetings in April  for families interested in applying for this home..

The orientation dates are Thursday, April23rd from 6:00-8:00pm and Saturday, April 25th from 12:00-3:00pm. They will be held at the Menlo Park Senior Center, 110 Terminal Avenue. 

If you should have any further questions please feel free to call Emily Andrews at (650) 568-7322.


Habitat's Neighborhood Revitalization Program

Location: Law Offices of Jones Day, 1755 Embarcadero
Date and Time: Thu, Apr 2, 2009 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

From: David Cropper [mailto:dcropper@tmgpartners.com]
Subject: Please read and reply: Habitat's Neighborhood Revitalization Program

Friends: 

I would like to personally invite you to learn about one solution to the foreclosure crisis in East Palo Alto and Menlo Park .

Please join me next Thursday, April 2 at 8 am in Palo Alto .   Details are below and a formal invitation is attached.  

If you have already Rsvp’d, please accept my apologies for sending this to you again.

By way of background, last fall at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church we saw the now infamous slides of many foreclosures in East Palo Alto versus relatively few in Menlo Park .  Many of you were appropriately appalled and subsequently joined the email list put together by Todd Johnson to help address this crisis head-on. Some were also at the follow up event at church moderated by Marc Prioleau.

You may also know that our local Habitat for Humanity chapter (yes, I am still a Board member…) has recently implemented a new program to help address this epidemic by purchasing foreclosed homes from banks and moving families back in to what would have otherwise become vacant houses.

There are groups talking about many facets of the foreclosure problem including loan modification and pre-foreclosure counseling. All of these efforts are necessary.  BUT…we are now (unfortunately) in a window where banks are foreclosing on record numbers of homeowners in our community.  This fact has created an environment where Habitat right now can buy homes more effectively than building from scratch.  Here’s how:

q                                          On average it takes 3+ years and more than $300,000 for Habitat to build a new house on the Peninsula .  

q                                          The cost of purchasing a foreclosed home, plus the cost to repair and restore the house is now LESS than the cost of building new, and the time required to purchase and renovate a home is 6-9 months versus 3+ years.

By Habitat purchasing the homes, remodeling them with our traditional volunteer labor and family sweat equity, these homes are put back into service as affordable housing as opposed to remaining vacant, often boarded up properties.  As a result, this endeavor is called Habitat’s Neighborhood Revitalization Program.

Next Thursday Habitat is holding a breakfast to discuss this program with community leaders and potential donors. Can you please join us?  This is a crucial issue-one of the most pressing matters facing our community, and we need your help.

Please let me or Tina Duong (TDuong@habitatgsf.org) know if you can make it.   If you can’t attend but would like information about this program, please call Tina at 650.568.7331. Here are the details:

Community Leaders Breakfast Forum: Learn how you can be part of a long-term answer to the foreclosure crisis. 

Thursday, April 2, 2009

8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.

Law Offices of Jones Day

1755 Embarcadero Rd
Palo Alto, CA 94303

Hosted by: R. Todd Johnson

Thanks for enduring this long email.  I hope to see you Thursday.

David P. Cropper

Activities