Last week, RHLS Managing Attorney, Judy Berkman, watched a hopeful family open a door to their brand new home.
Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia’s 2330 Greenwich Street is the sixth new home in the Point Breeze section of South Philadelphia that Habitat has developed this past year. After the Sylla family completed 350 hours of Habitat’s “sweat equity,” including working on the home’s construction, working at the new Habitat for Humanity ReStore at 23rd and Washington, and participating in homeownership educational workshops, Deborah McColloch, Director of Philadelphia’s Office of Housing and Community Development, presented them with a set of keys.
Regional Housing Legal Services and Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia have worked together to bring families home for many years, with Judy Berkman providing legal counsel for the development and sale of over ten new or rehabilitated homes this year. Judy conducts workshops for homeowners preparing for settlement, drafts the Habitat loan documents, and attends the settlement process, ensuring everything goes smoothly for both Habitat and the eager families.
In addition to assisting with the settlement process, Judy provides counsel on issues including owner-occupied critical repairs, weatherization, and tangled title that can hamper applications for new homeowners, or threaten the stability of existing homeowners.
Judy considers her work with Habitat extremely rewarding, seeing families reach their goals after so many hours of hard work.
“It is very heart-warming and inspiring to see the joy and sense of accomplishment on the faces of the new homeowners! I especially enjoy working with Habitat staff, who are all wonderful people and are so dedicated to their work.”
For the 2330 Greenwich Street property, Judy assisted with acquisition of the property from the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, negotiated with them regarding the budget, drafted some construction contract documents for Habitat’s subcontractors, and worked with Habitat on the Agreement of Sale package. She also drafted the board resolutions and first mortgage loan documents, as well as the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh’s Affordable Housing Project subsidy loan documents.
Currently, Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia has five homes under construction and plans to start construction an additional twenty-one properties in the fall. The 2330 Greenwich Street property is Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia’s 185th home.
RHLS is proud to partner with an organization that is able to bring families the stability, comfort, and joy of homeownership, as well as the benefits that dedicated homeowners bring to their communities. Most importantly, we offer our congratulations to Aisha and Sekou on the settlement on their new home!