Blitz build helps construct Fox Valley homeowner dreams

Flexing one's muscles for six hours and getting drenched in sweat may not sound like the best way to spend a summer day. But George Dobrijevich doesn't mind.

The sales engineer from Indiana climbed up and down ladders, pushing in place pink fiberglass insulation pads, one after the other.

"Lunch break? I didn't know there's a lunch break," he said with a grin.

Together with nine other volunteers, Dobrijevich on Tuesday was remodeling a Carpentersville home for a low-income family.

"It's a worthwhile cause. These are actually people who work for a living. It's just a way for them to get affordable, decent housing," he said.

The northern Fox Valley affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, a nonprofit home building group, organized the effort. The "blitz build" at 1731 Papoose Road, began Friday and is expected to be completed July 31, the local office's 20th birthday.

Since 1990, the Fox Valley affiliate has sold 59 homes to low-income families in Carpentersville, Elgin and St. Charles and offered them zero-interest mortgage loans.

Since about 75 percent of the building and remodeling work is done by volunteers, the group can keep prices within an affordable range, said Executive Director Barbara Beckman.

Habitat traditionally has built modest homes from scratch, but with so many foreclosures these days it makes sense to spruce up existing homes, Beckman said.

Thanks to the blitz build, John Hartzler's stepdaughter Allison Chrastka will officially become a homeowner when she moves in in late August.

"The volunteers are doing all the siding, painting, insulation and landscaping. With the amount of work and hours, I'd say (we could save) $50,000," said Hartzler, of Hoffman Estates.

Generally, a family whose income is between 40 and 60 percent of the area's median household level is qualified to apply, Beckman said. That is between $24,000 and $44,000 a year for a family of four. But the economy has brought that median income down, making it more difficult to qualify.

"Unfortunately, fewer people are qualified. We have to turn down a lot of applicants because of poor credit or too much debt," she said.

Nevertheless, this Habitat for Humanities office is planning 20 housing projects in 2010, more than in any previous years. Ten of them are remodels, which help people become homeowners. The others are helping current owners with exterior maintenance.

To keep up its support, in 2006, the Northern Fox Valley group opened a building materials reuse center, ReStore Elgin, at 800 N. State St. Home supplies donated by retailers, manufacturers and homeowners are available at reduced prices to the general public. Beckman said the store contributes about $500,000 annually to Habitat's home-building program.

Habitat for Humanities will host an informational meeting for those looking for a house at 10 a.m. Aug. 7 at ReStore. Call (847)-836-1432 to reserve a spot.

Interested volunteers can sign up for the building programs at hfhnfv.org.