Two Fixed-Up Foreclosed Tulsa Homes To Be Given Away

How would you like to get a house for free? The Metropolitan Tulsa Urban League is helping out Oklahoma's own by giving two homes away.

It's pretty simple. Two North Tulsa homes are foreclosed on. Then Wells Fargo decides to give them to the Urban League, along with $15,000 to fix them up.

Giving back to the community is what the Metropolitan Tulsa Urban League does and now it's about to help two families out in a major way.

"We do have homeowners that have lost their homes, so this is a great avenue," MTUL Housing Counselor Deidre Alvarez said. "This is something they can look forward to. Something of their own that they don't have to pay the rent."

The league is fixing up two foreclosed homes in North Tulsa. One only needs minor repairs like new carpet, paint and some work in the kitchen. The other house, however, is in pretty bad shape.

"In the other home that we have just down the street was actually broken into," Manhattan Construction Project Manager Levi Frost said. "The entire kitchen was vandalized, HVAC system, so it's really made a certain element of what we're doing here more challenging."

But the show must go on.

"Through some generous donations of time and material, I think that we're actually going to be able to do a lot more with that $15,000, even with some of the setbacks that we've had through the vandalism," Frost said.

Fifteen people are in the running to win one of the homes. Deidre Alvarez explains there's a pretty lengthy qualification process they're going through.

"We do look at the budget," Alvarez said. "We do look at the income and make sure that even though you're not paying a mortgage, will you be able to sustain it."

After the work is done on the inside. The league plans to reach out to the community to help beautify the yard.

All of the construction is expected to be finished by June 1, 20012, and the families should sign the dotted line on their new home on June 11, 2012.

Since so many donations came in for the actual building material, the league said they hope to give the two families the remaining money to help pay for some of their bills.