Meet Our Homeowner Development Coordinator: Adade

(Updated June 2019)

"I am the go-to person of the team."

That is Adade's primary role as the Homeowner Development Coordinator at Twin Cities Habitat.

Adade has spent half his life living in the Minnesota metro, and has spent more than sixteen of those years in the mortgage industry. He started his career in loan origination, and went to sell real estate. He previously worked at Twin Cities Habitat in the role of lead counselor in the Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention Program from 2009 to 2011, at the peak of the foreclosure crisis. During his first stint with Habitat, Adade helped prevent more than 1,500 foreclosures through counseling, financial assistance, and negotiating with lenders.

After leaving Habitat, Adade began helping a lender-initiated foreclosure prevention center in Edina, Minnesota. This initiative was one of the first of its kind to assist homeowners facing foreclosure. Following his work with the lender initiative, Adade began working as a licensed realtor. He recalls working with dedicated, hardworking clients who could not qualify for a loan due to their low income. Having a background in real estate helps guide clients and staff when it come process and adaptation as the housing market changes.

“My background helps me provide valuable customer service and guidance to policies and processes,” says Adade. “With my extensive market and industry knowledge, I provide unmatched service to clients and the organization.” Adade’s customer service is so outstanding he was the recipient of the Excellence in Service Award 2018 from The Minnesota Homeownership Center which is used to recognize outstanding work by housing industry professionals in the state of Minnesota.

Following his real-estate experience, Adade found his way back to Habitat as one of our financial coaches. “You really want to help them, but you are so limited,” Adade said. He continued to say that when he is at Habitat he has, “...the opportunity to do more. By myself, I can only help one or two families in the lower income range, but Habitat allows me to be a part of something bigger.”
In his current role as the Homeowner Development Coordinator, Adade supports his team when it comes to training, processing, and day-to-day client-related questions. He also works closely with Habitat's Realtor Network.

“Every time I wake up, I enjoy going to work,” Adade said. “I truly feel that this must be a calling for me. I enjoy working with families and meeting them where they are in the process. You need someone to be there for you, and someone you trust telling you what to do, what to expect, and how things will play out.”

Even though some families may choose not to go with Habitat’s Homeownership program after working with a coach, Adade says the knowledge given to families will have a huge impact on their lives. All families eligible for homeownership with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity earn less than 80% of Area Median Income (See up-to-date Homeownership Program income guidelines)

“To survive on that income is not easy,” Adade said.

Adade also shared that a majority of the families he meets don’t know they can qualify for homeownership. Once they work one-on-one with a coach, many end up feeling more confident, empowered even, after learning about the different requirements, loan options, other expenses, and the realities of being a homeowner. This allows each homeowner to make the best decision for themselves and their family.

“I’m not going to tell you what to do, but if you tell me what you want to do, I can tell you how to get there and what we need to do,” Adade said. “What works for one person may not work for the rest. We can craft our plan to their specific need.”

After speaking with Adade, it’s clear he has a passion for helping families and is a strong advocate for allowing families to make the choices, and for him to serve as their guide through the homebuying process. At the end of it all, Adade’s real goal is to set families up for ongoing success.

“To me, there’s more to successful homeownership than just closing on a home,” Adade said. “A successful homeowner is a good citizen. A good neighbor. And a good community member.”

When he's not assisting families through the homebuying process, Adade enjoys spending time with his family and cooking. He also has a special talent as a D.J., and shared his passion with the rest of the Twin Cities Habitat team by providing music for our annual holiday party!

To learn more about the Habitat Homeownership process, please visit our Homeownership webpage.