Title: Home Renovation Advisor
Company: Acts Housing
Work Location: 2414 W. Vliet St, Milwaukee, WI 53205 (work will be at the office and in the field)

Would you like to work on a team transforming lives through homeownership while working at a fast-paced, exceptionally diverse, non-profit social enterprise?  Acts Housing is a place where every individual’s contributions are honored and where there is significant opportunity for personal and professional growth as the organization rapidly expands to meet the needs of our communities.

Summary: Acts Housing is looking to add a Home Renovation Advisor to join their team to help service the Milwaukee market as a guide to Acts families who purchase homes for owner occupancy that need significant repairs. As a Home Renovation Advisor, you will develop the scope of work for each project and support the family through the process of selecting contractors, expediting the construction, setting reasonable self-help tasks, and accessing available home rehab funds.
 
What you’ll do as a Home Renovation Advisor:

• Develop comprehensive, room by room, detailed scopes of work for decent, safe, and sanitary occupancy of homes in various stages of disrepair.
• Assist homebuyers and homeowners in their efforts to secure fair and realistic contracts for rehabilitation services from qualified and competent contractors.
• Coach and guide families through the construction process to maximize families’ opportunity to successfully complete and sustain home ownership.
• Effectively manage relationships with Acts families and advise them on approach to and pros and cons of change orders.
• Document progress of home rehab and renovation projects in customer relationship management software.
• Evaluate vacant homes in need of substantial repairs and recommend appropriate disposition strategies to Acts Real Estate.
• Collaborate with the various departments (real estate, counseling, marketing) of Acts on activities such as home inspections and prospective scopes, orientations and outreach activities in order to deliver a comprehensive program.
• Coordinate and manage group volunteer projects from outside organizations and agencies.
• Manage routine maintenance and repairs for Acts office building.

 
What we’re looking for in a Home Renovation Advisor:

• High School Diploma or equivalent. Post-Secondary education (college) is preferred.
• 3+ years of experience/exposure to home renovation, remodeling, construction or rehab process.
• Valid Driver’s License and access to an insured vehicle to drive to site appointments.
• Fully COVID-19 vaccinated or willing to get fully vaccinated prior to start date.
• Knowledge of materials, methods and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures.
• Ability to provide high-quality customer and personal services and truly advise home owners of the process. This includes understanding customer needs, effective communication with customer and problem resolution skills.
• Strong communication and computer skills.

 
Benefits & Perks:

• Paid Time Off (15+ days based on tenure) plus 12 Paid Holidays and 4 Personal Half Days
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance (United Healthcare)
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Health Savings Account (HSA)
• 401(k) with 3% Company Match
• Welfare Benefits Plan - term life, personal accident, and disability insurance
• Voluntary Life and Personal Accident Insurance
• Adoption Assistance Program
• Maternity/Paternity/Adoption Leave
• Paid Bereavement Leave
• Commuter Benefits Program
• Payroll Direct Deposit and Debit Card Options
• Access to online library of 3,000 courses and 20,000 digital books
• Discounts to various goods and services via the Insperity MarketPlace

About Acts Housing: Over its 26-year history, Acts housing has helped more than 3,000 low-to-moderate income families achieve homeownership; 950 of those families reclaimed distressed properties with Acts' support.  Acts' full suite of homeownership services makes it a nationally recognized leader in homeownership, with significant demand both from our neighbors and community stakeholders to do even more to support new and existing markets. In 2021 alone, Acts supported more than 270 families to transition from renters to owners (a 50% increase over our prior best year ever!).
 
Acts is a dynamic and growing organization that is adding new employees in 2022 to better meet the needs of families in the markets we currently serve (Milwaukee and Beloit) and future markets that are eager to benefit from our homeownership services.

Acts Housing Homeownership Acquisition Program:

Milwaukee is losing 1,000 homeowners of Color every year, a pace that has persisted over the past decade. This terrible trend for neighborhood stability has been driven by absentee investor owners who are buying up large swaths of single-family  homes and turning them into permanent (and often poorly maintained) rentals. The Acts Housing Homeownership Acquisition program will disrupt the absentee investor owner business model by outcompeting them for the best homes, making these homes available to low-to-moderate income (LMI) families for owner occupancy. 

Acts Housing was incorporated in 1995 to empower families of LMI through homeownership. For Acts' first 15 years, its services included homebuyer coaching, real estate brokerage services, and home rehab support. In the aftermath of the foreclosure crisis, when banks simply would not lend to families to help purchase and rehab distressed, foreclosed homes, Acts filled the void, forming Acts Lending, a nonprofit lending affiliate in 2013. Now, faced with the growing land grab by predatory investors, Acts is prepared to innovate yet again, forming this new social enterprise to further its mission. 

Because of Acts' commitment to its mission, the organizational culture often feels more like a start-up than a nonprofit. The Real Estate Acquisition Program is a new service line led by Dorothy York (who served as Acts' COO for five years before accepting the position of VP Real Estate). This department will operate at a fast pace alongside complimentary programming including homebuyer coaching, Acts Lending, and home rehab coaching. With a goal of acquiring 100 properties per year by 2023, candidates that are brought onto the team can expect both challenges and the incredible reward of helping families access affordable, stable, sustainable housing. 

Click on this link to watch a short 3-minute video about Acts Housing before applying.  
 
Acts Housing embraces equity and inclusion. We seek a diverse pool of candidates for our open positions knowing that a team comprised of people with unique characteristics, experiences and identity allow us to better serve our communities.