Mike Brett, Executive Director, Hartford Habitat for Humanity | Habitat’s two decades in Hartford

Habitat has been in Hartford since 1989 and was founded in 1976. Why has this program continued to thrive locally and nationally for so long?

I think there are a number of reasons it has grown and continues to grow. For me it is the premise that this is not a hand out but a hand up. People work for the opportunity to have a home and change their lives. We require 150 hours of sweat equity and 50 hours of education such as maintenance, budgeting, insurance, etc. There are also many other factors. The visibility due to President Carter’s involvement (some folks still believe he started the movement), the success of the homeowners makes it a more visible result and involvement of many organizations like local religious organizations, national and local corporate supporters, and the volunteers. You see the results of your efforts and dollars. When you get involved in Habitat you see a direct result of time and money; not only the physical structure but the involvement with the families. The volunteers work side by side with the homeowners.

How many homes have been built in Greater Hartford in the last 20 years and how many people have new homes because of Habitat?

We have built 172 homes in 20 years. We have one home that is completed and will be dedicated on Dec. 11 and another 10 in different stages of construction. We estimate that number of folks to be 650. This does not take into effect extended families or generational impact or how the children of the original family have thrived. Building these homes has an impact for generations to come. 

What happens once somebody moves into a Habitat home? Do they own the home? What is the protocol if they want to sell the home?

We sell the homes to the family and they have the same responsibilities as any homeowner. They pay the mortgage, taxes and insurance. The mortgages are at zero percent and are held by Hartford Habitat. The mortgage principle is established based on affordability (Homeowners come from those in the 50 percent and under of the HUD median income. They are evaluated on their debt to income ratio to make sure, as best as possible, that they will succeed. These folks are the working poor … a term I use to make a point but one I do not like to use as a label). Getting back to the mortgage. Right now our mortgages will be in the $105,000 range depending on the number of bedrooms (most are three bedrooms). At the time of closing we will get an appraisal. From the appraisal we will establish a second mortgage, which will be the difference between the first and the appraised value. The second mortgage remains on the house but is not paid down unless the house is sold. Payments are only made against the first mortgage. The second mortgage prevents houses from being flipped. Also included in the wording of the mortgage document, it requires the person shown on the mortgage document to occupy the house, if not we will foreclose. This is to protect from turning them into rental properties. The homeowner can sell the property whenever they want. We sometimes get funding that requires homes to stay affordable for a period of time, so the sale may have to be to someone who fits the definition.

Do you measure success in terms of how long families stay in their Habitat homes? Is Habitat designed so families don’t actually stay in their homes but instead move on to different homes?

In some ways this is difficult to answer. For the most part the families stay in their homes for quite a long time. Our purpose is to create homeownership opportunities. We don’t measure duration as much as success. If they decide to move on to another house, it is a decision that they make on their own just like you or I would. Overall the homeowners of the 172 homes we have built over 90% of the original homeowners are still in the homes.

Are Habitat homes entirely built by volunteers or are professionals involved too?

We have a group of volunteers known as the “Weekday Saints.” It is a group of retirees (for the most part) who come out to work every week, either a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday all year round. There are more than 60 of these folks. A number have contributing the efforts once a week for years. We do use trade contractors for those tasks that need a license or the work is not volunteer friendly. That would be the site work, plumbing, and electrical. All the rest is done by volunteers under the supervision and guidance of our staff construction supervisors. As an FYI, we get very little donated to us that can be used in the construction of the house. We must pay for the materials, land and cost of the trade contractors. We raise the funds locally through, corporations, foundations, churches and individuals.