Could you use a break from your day to day routine? Why not contact your local Habitat for Humanity and volunteer?
I recently had the opportunity to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity of Denver. The Denver Colorado branch of Habitat for Humanity was founded by volunteers in 1979 and has built 395 homes throughout the Metro Denver area. These homes have housed over 1,700 people!
In my opinion, Habitat is a wonderful program. It's not a handout, but a cooperative effort. In order to get into the program, families go through a rigorous screening process and additionally agree to participate in building their home.
The homes are sold to the familes at no profit, through a no interest loan. Families that receive a home provide a down payment and also contribute 250-500 hours of their own sweat equity toward building their home – as well as building the homes of other families participating in the Habitat program.
Sometimes we need a helping hand to get back on track and I see the Habitat program providing this in a dignified manner. It provides families a springboard toward building better lives.
The strange thing is, as I find anytime I've volunteered, I almost feel guilty because I feel that I got more back from the experience then the day of labor I put. Being involved in real estate I enjoy seeing different architecture and learning about energy saving, especially green technologies. Homes built by the Habitat for Humanity of Denver are not just built with affordability in mind. Their team of experts design and construct high quality, energy efficient homes. The innovations in Habitat homes constructed in Denver typically exceed most building standards and consistently receive five-star energy efficiency ratings from E-Star Colorado.
Through volunteer, I was able to learn more about how to implement some energy efficiency techniques in a practical and physical sense. This is knowledge I can use as I preview homes, not to mention implementing some of the things I learned in my own home. I certainly have no objection to lowering monthly bills! I even got some exercise. Best of all, I also had the privilege working alongside the eventual homeowner in one of the units.
So if you're looking for a break in you day to day routine, why not give your local Habitat for Humanity a call?
If your interested in learning about Superior Colorado or Louisville Colorado feel free to give me a call. Even if your not in the housing market. This is an amazing area and I love sharing things about it - I can give you an insider's look into the area, as only a “local” can.
Great post, great volunteering, and great inspiration for others, Mike. Kudos to you for being so generous with your time. I like the tie-in with gaining new knowledge that will be helpful to us in real estate. What better way to learn than hands-on. Most importantly, though, you've helped build a home for someone. That, my friend, is simply awesome. I'm suggesting this for a feature.
Thank you so much, Tanya. I love win-win situations and this is an absolute example. As everyone cleaned up the sight at the end of the day, we were all tired, but I'm pretty sure everyone felt good about how the time was invested.
The Denver Branch of Habitat is very well run and the homes they build are excellent. Nice Post Mike!
Thanks Tricia. I remember attending a Habitat overview a couple of years ago at an Home Energy Efficiency seminar. During the presentation, the presenter commented that when they first started building homes cost was the primary concern. Unfortunately, what they learned was that after the new homeowner moved in, they had difficulty paying the energy bills in the winter.
Now there seems to be a healthy focus toward balancing cost and energy efficiency. Long term everybody benefits from this approach.