ADVISORY/Option One Mortgage Builds Its First Habitat for Humanity Detroit Home

Business Wire, July 11, 2003

Lifestyle Editors/Feature Editors/Business Editors

ADVISORY...for July 12 (Saturday)

DETROIT--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 11, 2003

WHO:    Option One Mortgage and Habitat for Humanity-Detroit

WHAT:   Option One Mortgage and Habitat for Humanity-Detroit
        are hosting a house dedication ceremony.

WHEN:   Saturday, July 12, at 10 a.m.

WHERE:  3377 Williams St.

WHY:    Celebrating the completed construction of the newest house in
        Detroit's Tri-Centennial Village, a 16-block neighborhood
        located in Core City Neighborhood on Detroit's near west side.
        Corporate executives are traveling from California to attend
        the house dedication.

The house is the first Detroit Habitat home to be sponsored by Option One Mortgage, which has built homes with Habitat in its Orange County, Calif., headquarters location, as well as in locations served by its national branch offices. Option One Mortgage, along with Detroit Habitat home investor partners Banc of America and RBS Greenwich Capital, contributed $100,000 to Habitat Detroit to sponsor the house build and support its service programs.

Option One Mortgage employees invested more than 2,000 hours, along with other Habitat volunteers, to construct the three bedroom, 1,050 square-foot home, including raising walls, setting trusses, roofing, siding, insulation, drywall, painting and other construction activities. In addition, the Smith family contributed some 300 volunteer hours working on the home and other Habitat homes as part of their commitment to owning the home.

"Our business is about helping people achieve the dream of homeownership, so this is an excellent opportunity for the Option One Mortgage team to come together to give back to the community," said Paul Rossetter, manager of Option One Mortgage's Detroit branch. "We are very excited to be building a Habitat for Humanity home and contributing to the revitalization of Detroit's neighborhoods."

"We are very pleased to work with Option One Mortgage for the first time to support families in need of affordable housing," stated Rob Dewaelsche, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Detroit. "Option One Mortgage has been very supportive and we are grateful to their management and employees for their commitment to Habitat's mission."

Since 1986, Habitat for Humanity Detroit has provided simple, decent housing to more than 115 Detroit families in need. Habitat Detroit's current efforts are focused on creating Tri-Centennial Village -- a comprehensive development project in Detroit's Core City Neighborhood. Habitat for Humanity provides the first step in a revitalization process that leads families, and ultimately entire neighborhoods, to dignity, self-sufficiency and prosperity. When completed, the Tri-Centennial Village Initiative will have at least 60 new affordable Habitat homes. For more information about this project, visit www.habitatdetroit.org.

Option One Mortgage became involved with Habitat for Humanity in the metropolitan Detroit area as the corporation and its employees became interested in helping to address the need for affordable housing for low-income families and neighborhood revitalization in Detroit.

Founded in 1992, Option One originates and acquires non-prime products through a national network of brokers and lenders. Its non-prime servicing and sub-servicing operation has more than $33 billion under management as of June 30, 2003. H&R Block Mortgage Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Option One, markets a variety of direct-to-consumer mortgage products nationwide. With headquarters in Irvine, Calif., Option One employs more than 3,800 associates nationwide.

Option One Mortgage is a subsidiary of H&R Block Inc. (www.hrblock.com), a diversified company with subsidiaries that deliver tax services and financial advice, investment and mortgage products and services, and business accounting and consulting services. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.optiononemortgage.com.