Cape Area Habitat for Humanity dedicates 58th home

Cape Area Habitat for Humanity dedicated its 58th home Sunday.

That�s 58 families in the Cape Girardeau area � some in Jackson, some in Perryville, but most in Cape Girardeau � who have partnered with Habitat for Humanity to get into a home they otherwise couldn�t qualify for, said Jeff Long, president of the Cape Area Habitat for Humanity, and a real-estate agent.

�I know what a big deal it was for my wife and I when we first bought our house,� Long said, adding it was several years into their marriage, and was financed through FHA.

Long said he�s learned that what keeps the majority of people from buying a house is, they can�t scrape together a down payment.

That�s unfortunate, he said, because for middle-class people, homes are an excellent way to build wealth, but that�s where Habitat for Humanity comes in.

From left, Demello Jones, 10, Shaunessy Jones, 6, Kenlea Jones, 15, and Jennifer Jones smile Sunday at the dedication of their family's new Habitat for Humanity home in Cape Girardeau.KASSI JACKSON

�We don�t give homes away,� Long said. �Applicants are vetted, we interview them � they must have income, must have a certain credit score.�

Applicants who are approved for a loan put up some money to start an escrow account, Long said, and Habitat is the loan holder.

Then the home is built, using �sweat equity�: the future homeowners put in work on the home, alongside volunteers, using donated materials.

�We�re the agency that helps people that can�t get a loan anywhere else, but have income and the credit score and are willing to do sweat equity,� Long said.

Since he is a real estate agent, Long said, he helps people buy and sell homes, �so this fits in well with what I do for a living: trying to put someone into a home.�

The Jones family's Habitat for Humanity home is seen Sunday during the dedication celebration in Cape Girardeau.KASSI JACKSON

Long said a dedication is exciting, to have a ribbon cut and tell the homeowner, �This is yours. Congratulations.�

�It�s a long journey,� he said. �The phrase we use is, �It�s a hand up, not a hand out.��

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630