Have worked on 3 H4H houses but the biggest challenge is the social work. Most who qualify for a house have messed up lives and don't know how to manage their lives let alone money. 2 of 3 were single moms who really couldn't afford to put in the 500 hours of required sweat equity and had kids from obviously different fathers (apparently 1 of which moved in before the open house but hadn't invested any sweat). Neither they or the the 3rd couple were married (definitely not the H4H way). And one night our work was called off due to shootings in the immediate area.
A close friend helped do minor repairs of existing H4H houses. One involved replacing the front door and master bedroom door after the boyfriend was released from jail and came after his girlfriend. Fortunately the police got there before he beat her up (but after he'd kicked both doors in, she'd added a dead bolt to the master bedroom door knowing his violent tendencies).
With the right future homeowners the concept is solid: decent housing for a 20 year zero interest mortgage (the sweat equity is the only required down payment). I houses I worked on had monthly payments of 1/4 of what my rent on a 2 bedroom apartment was.
This home was built in the neighborhood where NBA Legend "Dr. J" (Julius Erving) grew-up... A bit of a tough neighborhood but getting better every day!
I had lunch with the the new owner of the H4H home. She was young (mid-20's), single & smart. She was living in a small 1 bedroom apartment, taking care of her abandoned, very young niece and her younger brother. You could tell she was a hard-working individual (who was trying save money) with the "right stuff". You wish more "kids" her age had their act together like her and cared about people so much...
Her monthly rent on her small apartment (in a nice neighborhood) would be the same as her new monthly mortgage payment. Everyone at the job site felt encouraged by her optimism & outlook on life.
Once again, it was a very gratifying day!
Cheers,
Pete
