Becky Engen has a passion for writing and building and engaging with communities through social media. She graduated from St. Cloud State University, and began her career in marketing and advertising as a junior copywriter and social media specialist. Becky joined the Twin Cities Habitat marketing team in 2013 as the Digital Marketing Program Manager and loves that she continues to learn something new each and every day about the great people who work for, volunteer with, and are served through the organization.
It has only been a few weeks since we shared our last ReStore Recap, but a lot has happened in those few weeks! The biggest news is our Pre-Earth Day Sale happening TODAY at our Twin Cities Habitat ReStore locations.
What started as a church project to house a refugee family and her children, has blossomed into a strong coalition and an amazing partnership between local faith groups and Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. This coalition, also known as Holy Hammers, has inspired new coalitions to form around the Twin Cities metro, and across the nation. At the core of the coalition are several incredibly dedicated people—one of which, is volunteer coordinator for Presbyterian Church of the Way (PCOTW), Judy Murakami.
Here are the next batch of news, project, shopping, and donation updates from the ReStore ReStoration Blog! If you want to receive notifications whenever we post a new ReStore-related article, be sure to subscribe to the ReStoration Corner blog.
If you're currently paying a mortgage payment, you are likely paying escrow.
Escrow is an account separate from the mortgage account where payments are made to fulfill conditions of your mortgage. These conditions are usually things like property taxes and insurance. Although your escrow is kept in a separate account, it is still generally collected as part of your monthly mortgage payment (or, can be paid as a lump sum). Your escrow payment can fluctuate from year-to-year and it's important to pay attention to the numbers—it can save you money in the long run!
Our Twin Cities Habitat ReStore team has been hard at work putting together fun DIY projects, offer their tips & tricks for shopping for used items, and hosting their annual 50% OFF Everything Sale last month. In case you missed it, here are some highlights from the ReStoration Corner blog!
Understanding key financial terms is essential for first-time homebuyers (and anyone else getting ready to borrow money from a lender). Knowing what these terms mean and what a lender may be looking for can help as you make financial decisions.
As one of the newer additions to our financial coaching team, Pa joined our staff in July this year, and is excited to be working with families on their journey to homeownership.
It's safe to say that the first-time homebuying journey can be daunting, scary, exciting, confusing, disappointing, nerve-wracking, fun, and emotional—all at the same time. One of the best tools a homebuyer can use in navigating this complex journey is a trusted realtor partner. We checked-in with a few local realtors (Julia, Nene, and Adade) to gather some tips on things to consider when looking for a qualified realtor.
We are very excited to announce two new ways to volunteer with Twin Cities Habitat! One of these roles was developed to assist families that are interested in our programs and services, and the other is part of a pilot program we're launching to support our new Age in Place (AIP) work. Read about these new roles below and be sure to express interest if you're willing to lend a hand!
The saying goes that a lot of things in life happen by chance. Just pure luck. And if you applied that to Isabel and her family owning a Habitat for Humanity home—you’d be right. Well, sort of…