Coldwell Banker, Habitat partners in home building

Realtors in Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls aren’t just selling homes; they’re building them, too, as part of a partnership between the Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp. and Habitat for Humanity International.

The real estate agents are building the home at 204 Linda Way in Post Falls for the family of Joni Campbell.

“We are busy backfilling around the foundations and installing the ledger boards in the porch area,” said Terry Kiser, who recently retired from the North Idaho Habitat for Humanity organization to become a Coldwell Banker Realtor.

“Working in that organization was great for me,” said Kiser. “There are so many times I walk down a street here in town, and a (home recipient) will come up and hug me. That says it all for why I do it. We are looking at getting this home on Linda Way built and turned over to the Campbells early next year.”

Coldwell Banker announced less than a year ago a mission to organize the sponsorship of 100 homes for Habitat for Humanity International. The Realtors at the Coeur d’Alene and Post falls offices are carrying out this mission locally, in conjunction with the North Idaho Habitat for Humanity branch in Hayden.

“It is nice to be a part of something substantial like this (building),”said Todd Kavanagh, Coldwell Banker Realtor and volunteer coordinator. “The walls were pre-fabbed (built off-site), and we are getting set to have the NIC carpentry program come in and install the trusses, and then we’ll get back in and tackle the rest.”

“When we first started this effort, we had 110 agents sign up for participation in the construction, to donate supplies, or a combination of the two,” he said. “Since, then we have had many more sign up and are looking at 100 percent participation from the agents and employees of our two local offices.”

Future homeowner Joni Campbell and her twin teenage boys have been putting in “sweat equity” by helping to build the home. They have qualified for a no-interest loan through Habitat for Humanity.

“A home recipient has to put in 300 hours of labor on Habitat homes before they are eligible” for the loan, said Mary Ann Bethke, of North Idaho Habitat for Humanity. “Two hundred of those hours have to be put in on the home they are to inhabit.”

Habitat for Humanity bought just under two acres in the area for $92,000, and wants to build 12 homes on the site.

“We had to measure very carefully for our clearances (of the buildings and the lots),” Bethke said. “The two-bedroom homes will offer 955 square feet, while the three-bedroom homes have around 1,100 square feet. We have applicants approved for eight of the 12 homes and are in the midst of accepting open applications for the other four right now. We begin our selection process for the other four in January.”

Other homes to be built in the subdivision include one by the “16 Penny Gals,” a group of local women builders. The Thrivent Financial group may build another house.

“They are a Lutheran-based group, and area Lutherans will do all the building,” Bethke said.