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| American Dream Comes True for Las Vegas Family |
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(November 13, 2007) --
The housing boom in Las Vegas has helped hundreds of home owners build equity. But for others like hard-working single mom Patty Parker and her two daughters — rising home values have kept the tantalizing dream of home ownership just out of reach.
Out of reach, that is, until Sunday, Nov. 11. That was the day Patty; Jasmyn, 14; and Kassidy, 12 received the keys to their very own three-bedroom home from NAR President Pat V. Combs during an afternoon dedication ceremony.
The Habitat for Humanity International home was built by NAR members in conjunction with the annual conference. Members of the Greater Las Vegas Association worked on the home throughout the summer and also built a second Habitat home next door.
“I am so excited and proud to have a permanent place for my family to call home,” Parker said. “The girls are most excited to have their own bedrooms after sharing a room for so many years.”
Parker has worked as an environmental services technician at St. Rose Dominican Hospital for the last seven years. Both Parker and her daughters contributed hundreds of hours of “sweat equity” to Habitat in order to qualify for a home. Parker did construction work while Jasmyn and Kassidy contributed by earning good grades.
A 7-Year Tradition
This is the seventh year that NAR has partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build a home in the city hosting its annual conference. REALTORS® have also contributed to Habitat for Humanity's homebuilding efforts abroad and along the Gulf Coast.
Following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, NAR and its state and local REALTOR® associations raised more than $4 million to build 54 homes in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Working with Habitat, teams of REALTOR® volunteers from across the country are still volunteering their time and skills to help build these houses; construction will continue through 2008.
“Habitat builds not only give REALTORS® a chance to give back to their communities, but teaches them about construction techniques and home designs in different parts of the country,” says Betsey Owen, as she took a break from installing insulation during Sunday's Habitat for Humanity build.
Owen and her husband, Mike, ARB®, CRS®, with Coldwell Banker in Boca Raton, Fla., have helped build 15 REALTOR® Habitat homes, including one last year in Slidell, La., and one constructed as part of NAR's Tsunami Relief Fund in 2005.
A Perk: Learning Practical Skills
“I'm hoping to learn more about doing a Habitat project so I can take the knowledge back home for a project,” said first-time volunteer Queen E. Carter, a REALTOR® associate with Home Town Real Estate, California City, Calif.
Ten dollars of each Conference registration fee goes toward sponsoring the home. To date, more than $6 million in NAR sponsorships — as well as hundreds of hours of volunteer labor — have built homes in a dozen cities here and abroad. Last year's conference supported multiple homes in story-ravaged New Orleans.
This year, REALTOR® volunteers also devoted their time to assist The Children's Service Guild, a Las Vegas-based nonprofit that helps children touched by the family court system. The guild, headed by 2006 REALTOR® Magazine Good Neighbor Award winner Sharon Friend, provides everything from toys to bedding for young offenders and victims of crime.
— REALTOR® Magazine Online
The 2007 REALTORS® Conference & Expo is Nov. 13-16 at the Venetian Resort Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The meeting, with some 30,000 attendees, features more than 200 conference sessions and 744 exhibitors.
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| Reprinted from REALTOR® Magazine Online (http://www.realtor.org/realtormag), November 13, 2007 with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. |
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