Since writing this note I have talked to a local realtor very knowledgable
in that area and she informed me that local restrictions will force Habitat
to build one house per two lots (the lots are
very small). It may have to do with being located within a watershed of a
lake that is used as a
source of drinking water. I understand Habitat is fighting the restriction
but the realtor says
they will not get their way. They can build but within the restrictions.

Around these parts the typical habitat house is wood stud, roof truss and
vinyl siding.
Not very pleasing to look at. We do not need concrete houses here. We
don't have hurricanes every year. About once a century we may get class 1
winds (80-90 mph). Pictures on a local web site shows home pictorials with
unpruned shrubs and tall overgrown grass. A little planning can go a long
way with making these homes architecturally pleasing with minimal additional
cost. I'm trying
to convince an architect friend to work up a design sketch.

"Chas" wrote in message
...
Looking at a nice new community on which to build a 2000 sq ft ranch in a
development of about 200 homes ranging in price from 230,000 to 390,000.
Across from the soon to be second entrance, grading and sewer/water pipe
activity has commenced along some soon to be paved dirt and gravel roads.
I
recently learned that our local (Charlotte, NC) Habitat for Humanity has
purchased land on which to place homes.

I am curious as what effect (if any) this would have on home values in the
immediate area. There are two higher end developments 1/2 and a full mile
up
the road and three other communities of new homes in the 135,000 to the
200,000 range within the same stretch.

Made a call to habitat after starting this note and learned that 50 lots
have been bought and there are about 150 more, all of which are vacant (no
homes). This development was started in the late 50's to early 60's with
no
follow through except dirt roads cut and lot surveys. Looked at our local
GIS system online and saw where the habitat homes will fall directly next
to
and between my hope to be community and another with several homes in the
400,000 - 500,000 dollar range.

I have no personal objections to a few structures going up. I would
probably
volunteer to help out a couple of weekends, but if the eventual numbers
are
in the 100 to 200 range then that would cause me to pause. Educated
opinions
from appraisers or other homeowners with similar experiences will be
greatly
appreciated.

thanks in advance for any and all responses................