Nashville Area Habitat offers flood relief, launches new program in addition to traditional new-home purchase program

Steve Harding, executive vice president of the Tennessee Association of REALTORS and Chris McCarthy Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity president and chief executive officer

Well before the Cumberland River reached its highest, Steve Harding, executive vice president of the Tennessee Association of REALTORS was on the phone trying to secure aid for Nashville residents affected by the flood on May 1. Within 48 hours, he had received word that the national REALTORS Relief Foundation would provide $50,000 for distribution to flood victims through Nashville Area Habitat’s Critical Home Repair program.

The Critical Home Repair program is part of the agency’s ReConstruct program, which revitalizes neighborhoods by restoring and repairing existing homes. ReConstruct started in March with the restoration of a home on Meridian Street in East Nashville.

In response to the May 1 flood, the new Critical Home Repair program is offering flood victims who are homeowners the opportunity to apply for financial aid and zero-percent interest loans to fund deconstruction of damaged material and reconstruction to restore the property. Flood victims who are not homeowners may apply for the purchase of a new home in one of Nashville Area Habitat’s communities. Construction continues in Timberwood, and home building in Nashville Area Habitat’s newest community, Park Preserve, will begin this fall.

“As REALTORS, we have made a career of helping people find a place to live, so the thought of homeowners facing such great devastation and overwhelming fear of losing their homes really struck a chord,” said Harding. “We partnered with Nashville Area Habitat because we knew they had experience identifying families in need of assistance and would use these funds effectively to help put flooded homes back together again.”

Realtors have long been partners with Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity through Greater Nashville Area Realtors, which has funded and built 14 Nashville Area Habitat homes with the leadership of GNAR CEO Don Klein, in addition to sponsoring several Habitat homes in Dickson, Tenn.

The REALTORS Relief Foundation (RRF) was set up in 2001 by the National Association of REALTORS to help families following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Since then, more than $20 million has been raised for victims of disasters including wildfires, tornadoes, floods and hurricanes. Today, the RRF exists as a 501(c)(3) organization established to provide housing-related assistance to victims of disasters.

“We want to thank the Tennessee Association of REALTORS for being the first organization to donate funds for flood relief,” said Nashville Area Habitat president and CEO Chris McCarthy. “We had no idea when we started ReConstruct that it would become a way for our agency to respond to this natural disaster, but I believe everything happens for a reason. We have received many applications for ReConstruct since the recent flooding, and we are so happy to be able to serve families impacted by recent floods, thanks to the generosity and support of donors like Tennessee Association of Realtors.”