Habitat, Bank of America partner on foreclosed homes

Habitat for Humanity Quad-Cities is branching out to housing rehab.

The nonprofit Christian housing organization that has built 80 newhomes in this area since 1993 has been donated atwo-bedroomMoline bungalowthat it will rehabilitate for about $30,000 and sell to a low-income family.

The 1920s-era home was givento Habitat by Bank of America via a new national alliance in which up to 2,000 foreclosed-upon properties will be turned over to various Habitat affiliates over the next three years.

Habitat has long shied away from rehab for several reasons, including the fact that older homes can have lead abatement issues, and theycan be "money pits," requiring moreto repair than they are worth, said Dougal Nelson, the director of development for Habitat Quad-Cities.

But the Bank of America homes offer a good opportunity because if Habitat can rehab a solid, existing property to near-new condition at half the cost of a new home, the organization can serve more people, he said.

"It's a great way to serve more families and to improve neighborhoods," he added. "No one wants a vacant home on their street. I'm thrilled."

Habitat provides the bank with postal ZIP codes for its coverage area and a profile of the desired square footage, number of bedrooms and so forth. The bank then reviews its properties, looking for suitable matches.

But because the bank staff is "lookingfrom afar,they dont always have a handle on suitability," Nelson said. "It rests on us to look at the property and be able to get back to them within seven days to say yes or no."

Habitat considersoverall condition, size, tax affordability andenergy efficiency, he said.

The Moline house is "in great shape and the perfect size" at about 1,000 square feet, he said. The taxes are affordable, it has new windows, some new insulation and a high-efficiency furnace, plus it has vinyl siding, meaning less future maintenance.

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Habitat, Bank of America partner on foreclosed homes