Renovated Habitat for Humanity focuses on refurbishing homes

Published: Friday, March 6, 2015 at 1:05 p.m. Last Modified: Friday, March 6, 2015 at 1:05 p.m.

She paused a moment to survey the bare room that once was a kitchen, and would be again. She smiled. "Oh, yeah, it'll be worth it, too." Because by the end of the year, barring any unforeseen hurdles, this two-bedroom, two-bath on a quiet cul-de-sac in Silver Springs Shores will be hers.

Lofton and her son, Gregory, are among a current batch of Habitat for Humanity clients logging "sweat equity" to qualify for a new or, as here, like-new home. And they can finally leave the wood-frame house with collapsing floors, mold, leaking roof and no heat or air conditioning on Ocala's west side.

"Sure, it's a lot of work," said Gregory, 21. "But it'll pay off in the end. To not put your foot down and have it go through the floor "

The Loftons' new home stems from a partnership forged nationally between banks, with their daunting inventory of abandoned and foreclosed houses from the Great Recession, and Habitat for Humanity, with its legion of lower-income clients who'd like nothing more than to move into one of them.

The banks donate the properties to Habitat, which refurbishes them to like-new through the work of volunteers and prospective new homeowners.

"It's win, win, win," said Brad Nimmo, president and CEO of Marion County Habitat for Humanity. The property is off the bank's books; a neighborhood eyesore is restored to respectability; and someone needing to get out of ramshackle housing gets a new home.

Habitat has been around for many years. The local Habitat has converted nine donated homes since 2013, with three more in the works.

Habitat continues to build houses from the ground up. In fact, proceeds from Saturday's second annual Strawberry Festival will help finish Habitat's first ground-up house in Belleview, and maybe build a second one there, too.

But for now, there's a strong focus on the makeovers, donated by Bank of America, Chase and Wells Fargo, Nimmo said.

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Renovated Habitat for Humanity focuses on refurbishing homes