Self-Help Article in The News & Observer

Self-Help was featured in the Raleigh News & Observer over the weekend. Our mantra when selling homes and lending money is to use common sense and always look at the big picture. It's kept us afloat so far, and hopefully will allow us to continue to do good things for the people and communities that need our services. As an organization, we usually go out of the way not to blow our own horn, but I'm glad the N&O decided to do a story on us. I think it's good for people to know that not all lenders have acted irresponsibly, and that it is possible for a lender to succeed by caring about people as much as it cares about its bottom line.

A blurb from the article:

"One year into the credit crunch and mortgage meltdown, a Durham financial institution that banks on neighborhoods at risk is still doing business as usual.
How so?
Common sense, said Martin Eakes, co-founder and CEO of Self-Help, a Main Street nonprofit that has, according to its Web site, provided $5.24 billion to 60,130 homeowners, small businesses and nonprofit enterprises since it started the practice in 1984.
And it's still buying, rebuilding, selling and lending for and to just the sort of people in just the sort of places who are caught up in the sub-prime lending mess. Yet, with much of the country's banking, developing and real-estate industry in crisis, "Financially, we're doing fine," Eakes said in an interview this week.
Not that he doesn't feel depressed and keep his fingers crossed.
"So far, our borrowers are doing pretty well, but I'm anxious for them a little bit," he said; but, "I'm depressed for those communities we have helped to build up." "

See the full article at http://www.newsobserver.com/978/story/1180193.html.

New Photos of our Sustainable Design House

We toured our sustainable design home at 1020 Kent Street a few days ago. The more visible sustainable and energy efficient elements are now being installed as the home is completed. We were there as the light fixtures went up and the carpet went down. Here are some photos from our visit:

Here's a view through the back door into the house. Bedrooms to the left, kitchen and living room to the right. You can see through to the front door. The concrete stained floors look great, although they are covered with paper to protect them as construction is completed.

The bedrooms all feature Flor Fedora carpet tiles. The tiles are partially made of recycled materials, can be easily arranged into alternate patterns, are low VOC, and don't trap dirt like traditional carpets. Here in the master bedroom, we did taupe tiles with a brick colored border. The 2 additional bedrooms are solid taupe.

The light fixtures have a modern feel and are equipped with energy saving compact florescent bulbs.

The back porch will be a great place for cookouts and hanging out. It opens to a cleared area and a brick planter.

The driveway form is complete and ready for concrete. We want to preserve as much permeable surface as possible, to prevent drainage and erosion issues. Most of the driveway will be two concrete strips with a strip of grass between. At the top and bottom of the driveway are concrete crosswalks, allowing access to the front and rear doors.
1020 Kent Street, Durham, NC - For Sale $120,000 - http://www.self-help.org/homes-for-sale

1036 Kent Street Nears Completion

Our new construction home at 1036 Kent Street is nearing completion. I went by today and the builder was laying straw in the yard, a sure sign that the end of construction is near. The design of this home is one of our most popular, for several reasons. Part of our plan to build sustainable and energy efficient homes is to do infill development - building in existing neighborhoods. These neighborhoods usually have smaller lots, which challenges us to put a lot of livability in a small space (thanks to a wonderful architect, www.tightlinesdesigns.com) . To that end, this home does several things well. We've incorporated 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths in less than 1300 square feet. The main floor has 9 ft ceilings to give a more spacious feeling to the home. The downstairs living area is a large, open area, which allows for greater flexibility. The master bed/bath are on the main floor as well. Upstairs, we have two additional bedrooms with a "jack and jill" shared bath, and a laundry closet. This home also uses its attic space for easy storage. There are four separate "crawl in" attic spaces on the second floor - easy to slide things in, and no need to climb up into the attic.

In short, this home has a lot of features of a suburban subdivision home, done in less space, but designed so that you'll never notice.

1036 Kent Street
Price: $121,000
Sale of this home is available to first time, owner occupant homebuyers. Some income restrictions apply. Great financing by the city of Durham and the North Carolina Housing and Finance Agency - own for the price of rent (really:)).
Energy efficient design with a two year comfort and use guarantee.
Call 919-956-4675 for more information.

Sabbatical?

I haven't posted in a few weeks. Not that I don't have lots to talk about. I've been in transition to my new position on the real estate development team at Self-Help. The team works to build energy efficient and affordable homes in communities across North Carolina. Many of these communities are dealing with industry loss, dilapidated housing stock, and other issues. As we build, we want to attract homeowners and investment, and help to rebuild sustainable and prosperous communities.
That being said, I'm not sure where R.E.Market Durham goes from here. I'll still be working on homes in Durham (some very exciting projects), but will also be spending significant time in Goldsboro, Fuquay-Varina, Charlotte, and Greensboro. The purpose of this blog is to take the national real estate picture and distill it down to its Durham essence. I believe that I could do that even better with a first hand view of other North Carolina markets.
Posts here will be sporadic as I learn the five markets I'll now be working in. I hope to be able to bring an even better informed perspective once I'm back in the saddle.