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HomeMy WebLinkAboutINNOVATION ISLAND - ODP - 40-05 - CORRESPONDENCE - (5)I hope I've answered all your questions to your satisfaction. If not, feel free to e-mail me again. Blessings, Candace Mayo Executive Director Fort Collins Habitat for Humanity, Inc. 4001 S. Taft Hill Road Fort Collins, CO 80526 Phone: 970-223-4522 Ext. 202 Fax: 970-223-4524 www.fortcollinshabitat.org -----Original Message ----- From: Stefanie Walts [mailto:pswalts@hotmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, November 16, 2005 9:22 AM To: Candace Mayo Cc: solt@fcgov.com Subject: Questions Importance: High Candace - I have several questions regarding the proposed development. 1) From the 29 Habitat homes that currently exist in Fort Collins, what is the average number of children per home? 2) What is the projected square footage for the 3 bedroom unit - the 4 bedroom unit? 3) A big concern is the length of the Anticipated Development Schedule with a Project Complete date of 2008-2009. Can you please outline Habitat's plan of action from Starting Home Construction in Oct. 06 to completion? 4) How many of the original 29 Habitat homes have been resold to date? 5) Please define the plan of forming a strong HOA to maintain this development. What is Habitat's role in this? I appreciate your willingness to answer these questions. -Stefanie Walts course, we charge our families only what it costs us to build those units —the cost of the bricks and sticks and City fees. However, the units will appraise for much more and would sell in the $179,000 to $185,000 range at market rate. 3) A big concern is the length of the Anticipated Development Schedule with a Project Complete date of 2008-2009. Can you please outline Habitat's plan of action from Starting Home Construction in Oct. 06 to completion? Actually, we probably won't begin construction on Innovation Island for another few years. We currently have other lots in the City where we are building, and we will complete those first. It will probably be several years before we even begin building on the Innovation Island property. Of course, we will comply with City Code Section 2.2.11 (D) (3) which requires that Habitat have "substantial completion" (defined as completion of water, sewer, curb and gutter, streets, street lights, fire hydrants, etc.) within 3 years of final approval from the City. For instance, if we were to receive final approval from the City in January 2006, we would have to have the site "substantially completed" by January 2009 in accordance with the City's requirements. 4) How many of the original 29 Habitat homes have been resold to date? See #1 above answer. 5) Please define the plan of forming a strong HOA to maintain this development. What is Habitat's role in this? This Innovation Island Community will have a Home Owners' Association just as you have one in your neighborhood. Habitat has a vested interested in the upkeep and maintenance of these units. After all, Habitat holds the mortgages on these units (unlike in a typical development where 29 different banks might hold the mortgages in the community). We want to be certain that our financial interests are protected and that the homeowners are keeping their units up. We are also concerned because we want to insure that Habitat maintains its reputation in the community. Our homes fit well into the community and our homeowners are proud and caring homeowners. The Homeowners' Association Fees will cover external painting as needed, all grass mowing and snow removal. In essence, because the Homeowner's Association handles all exterior appearance, you as a neighbor, can rest assured that this development is well maintained. You may not be aware that when a Habitat family is selected, they become part of the Habitat family. They are assigned an "advocate" who works with the family on Homeowner Training which includes budgeting, maintenance of their homes, how to be a good neighbor, etc. Our first-time homeowners receive extensive training and their advocates remain their friends into the future. The advocates and the staff keep in contact with our homeowners over the years and we KNOW them. Homeowners become advocates to upcoming families, they continue to volunteer and they serve on other Habitat committees. They are not just a number to us. I think it's important that your group understands that dynamic as well. Stefanie, I'm sorry it's taken me awhile to get back to you, but I've been in meetings all morning and over the lunch hour too. Thank you for your questions. They are good ones. 1) From the 29 Habitat homes that currently exist in Fort Collins, what is the average number of children per home? only one of the Habitat families has sold their home, so I'm basing your request on the 28 homes we have remaining. The home that sold was the second house that we built in 1993. All the rest of our Habitat homes are owned by the original homeowners and they're still living in their homes. You may not know that Habitat has in its deed of trust a restriction that prohibits Habitat Homeowners from renting their homes to anyone else. They must remain the primary resident in the home or we may begin foreclosure proceedings. we are proud of the fact that we have not had a single foreclosure or default. We find that because of the sweat equity (300 hours for a single -parent family and Soo hours for a dual parent family) and relationships that our homeowners have with our staff and those who helped volunteer to build their homes, they have an emotional attachment to their homes, so are reluctant to sell --even if they have the economic wherewithal to move. We have several families right now who could afford to move on to larger homes, but they choose to stay in their home because of their "emotional" investment as well as their financial investment. As you know, Fort Collins Habitat was incorporated in 1993. I just took our current list of families and children, and this is what I calculated of the number of children per household. In our remaining 28 units (all are single-family homes) we have 40 adults and 53 children or approx 1.8 children per household. However, at Innovation Island, we hope to provide housing to seniors. This is a new dynamic for Fort Collins Habitat for Humanity. There is a dire need in Fort Collins for affordable senior housing homeownership units that are handicap adaptable or accessible. We hope we can accommodate that population as well as families with children. 2) What is the projected square footage for the 3 bedroom unit - the 4 bedroom unit? The current plans for the units include: 3 bdrm ranch = 1184 square foot plus an unfinished basement (handicap adaptable) 3 bdrm 2 story = 1372 square foot plus an unfinished basement 4 bdrm 2 story = 1476 square foot plus an unfinished basement. If the units were sold at market rate, a market study of comparable units has shown that the Innovation Island units would sell for approximately $179,000 to $185,000. At the neighborhood meeting last month, someone asked how much the units cost. I answered that question honestly. It will probably cost Habitat with its volunteer labor, approximately $130,000 to build. I'm afraid some of the folks chose to quote the units at valued at $130,000 which is not the case. And, of