Leigh Brown Helps Mom Become A Homeowner

Associate Donates Money, Time to Help a Mom Become a Homeowner

By Anne Ross, RE/MAX Times Associate Editor

With the swing of a hammer and a percentage of every commission check for the past two years, Leigh Brown helped a single mom become a homeowner.

In 2006, Brown (ABR, CLHMS, CRS, SRES), Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Signature Properties in Concord, N.C., decided she wanted to help Habitat for Humanity provide a home for a local family. So she started putting aside money from each transaction with the goal of saving enough to pay for one home.

The Hall of Fame and Platinum Club member invited her clients to participate in the effort.

"I told my sellers on closing day about it and offered them the opportunity to make a donation, too," she says. "Many of them were surprised I was giving my money away, and some even decided to match my donation."

Brown says it costs Habitat for Humanity $60,000 to build a home in her community; that's the amount she set her sights on. The 1,000-square-foot home has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, and is valued at about $110,000, Brown says.

"The homeowners don't make any down payment but they put in at least 250 sweat-equity hours into building the home," Brown says. "A lot of people have a misconception that the organization gives the homes away for free, but the owners pay for them in addition to working on them."

The house was built in seven weeks. It was finished before Christmas so that Kenya Jordan and her two daughters could spend the holiday in their new home. The project was a community-wide effort.

"A high school senior with an interest in architecture developed the floor plan for his senior project," Brown says. "A local company donated the wood floors and many volunteers worked on the weekends."

Brown hopes to pay for more Habitat homes in the future. A slower market doesn't deter her from putting aside some of her income.

"If the market stays this way for a while, I can do it every two years for sure," she says. "This is a time when we as agents need to give the most. If the market comes back, I'd like to do it every year."