Home for the holidays: 'We know where we will be from now on'
PORTLAND, Ore. – Ann Lund and her family celebrated Christmas in the best gift they could have wished for.
“We know where we will be from now on,” Ann said.
The family moved into their new Habitat for Humanity home two months ago.
“Last year we would have been crowded, all together, a little too close,” said Ann's son Tyler Lund-Murphy.
So close, in fact, that Ann’s two sons often had to carry her daughter, Keeley, who suffers from Rett Syndrome, a nervous system disorder. Her wheelchair didn’t fit in their old apartment. But that’s not a problem anymore.
“The doors being wide enough for Keeley, the hallway not to have the wheelchair sitting right here,” she said.
Ann used to share a bedroom with Keeley, to be close in case she suffered a seizure. She doesn’t have to anymore, thanks to the home’s new amenities.
“Would have cost a fortune,” said Ann.
Habitat Humanity helped the Lund family finally feel like they were home for the holidays.
"I love my home,” said Ann. “I'm proud of it.”
I worked on a build that was organized through my employer. Â While I am not an expert - but a willing worker - my coworkers are experts at laying cable. Â They quickly and expertly laid cable and phone lines through several units in an 8-hour period. Â It was heartwarming and an experience that I won't soon forget. Â It is a really wonderful charity that provides homes and a feeling of a job well-done for the owner.
HFH can benefit everyone, My wife and I have remodled our home, most of the materials we used, we purchased from HFH, which by the way is less expensive then other D.I.Y. stores. In turn they use the money to help people such as in this article. You can find HFH by checking your listings in the area, or simple ggolgle it!
 @ghost rider I love their ReStores!  It's a great way to both save a few dollars and help a great cause.
HFH is a wonderful program giving people the ability to work for their homes and pay to own their home when it may not have been possible otherwise due to lower income. What a wonderful Christmas for this family. I wish them all the best in the future. As a caregiver of a family member myself, I also wish the Mother moments of rest among the hours of work. I can't imagine how hard she works to take care of, not only her daughter, but also her whole family. Love is a powerful motivator and better than any paycheck.
Awesome story. People loving people.
I have so much extra furniture to give away to Habitat for Humanity - I'm gonna get it placed there.
I am curious, Is HUD vanishing? is Habitat for Humanity the new HUD?
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 @lee986321 no. It's been around for a long time as it's own entity. HUD is different.
I'm glad they have a house now, I wonder when Habitat will help a single white male, probably never
Well, you won't know unless you apply. May I also add, that while I am NOT a fan of HFH it's not a "Free Ride" some may think it is. The houses come with a no interest 30 year mortgage. They pay as little as $500 a month plus add 500 hours of "Sweat Equity" into the house and classes on maintaining the house and their finances....So, this IS a GOOD program for those who are really trying.
@disgustedman You say you are not a fan but say it's a good program. Can I ask why you aren't a fan? It's a serious question - I'm always interested in hearing people's concerns about non-profits.
 @Repoman  @disgustedman Also if someone has needs like for a wheelchair to move through, it's my understanding that it's a lot easier to do that from scratch than try to replace stairs with ramps, widen doorways and hallways, etc.
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It's one thing if you already own the house versus building a new one, and I'm sure if someone wanted to donate a house to Habitat they'd happily consider remodeling it, but for clients with special needs it's easiest to just build a place that meets their needs than try to renovate one into something it was never meant to be.
 @disgustedmanÂ
Building simple houses from the ground up using a few tested designs is more economical than remodeling an older home, especially with regards to future maintenance. And the major point of HFH is for future howmowners to help build their own home. That creates a desire to take good care of the property when you've invested sweat equity and you also understand better how to take care of it when you've seen the 'bones' and what has gone into it. That's why they do it the way they do.
 @disgustedman
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Many of the people who volunteer fro the program are indeed pros.
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But if you've every done a significant remodel, you know that most pros would avoid doing one if nothing else but to avoid looking at all the errors their peers did when the place was last remodeled.
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I hate remodeling. Indeed hour for hour, a remodel costs more than a rebuild or even building from fresh. In construction time == money, and remodels always take longer.
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Could you remodel a house to be suitable for this person? Sure, but it is easier to just build something on a new site.
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Not only that, but it's much easier to get donations of barren land than homes. And even in bad shape the taxes on "improved" land are higher even if you must tear down a home a rebuild from scratch.
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So all in all, remodels are less desirable than new builds.
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OK, fair question. I'll repeat I LIKE the PROGRAM (Where the people get a home and financial/maintainence trainng)
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Now as to funding. HFH recieves about 80% from prvate donors (Plus the houses they sell) they also get funds from the stores they run (Re-Store) which gets donated items which they charge prices (At  times) equal or above home improvement store prices.
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A major thing that bothers me, is they have these "Volunteers" who help (And by the way, that's real decent of them) but when you could get pros who know how to remodel a house instead of building one from the ground up (That's why they can use volunteers, instead of knowledgeable craftsmen) thus time and money saved, but that's why the funding helps.
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I am NOT against HFH I just wish the'd have a solid program and use the help and funds in a more wise way.
 @archon312 I am under the understand their needs to be children involved.
 @archon312 I can't imagine what a sad life it must be to have to troll local news sites on Christmas night to belittle the work of a private non-profit charity.
 @archon312 Don't know what the income guidelines are for the area you're in, but here's a link to the page for the one local to me - and yes, there IS an income range listed for a one-person household. http://www.midcolumbiahabitat.org/homeownership/criteria