Habitat for Humanity affiliates provides the opportunity for hardworking families to become successful homeowners. Habitat offers a ‘hand-up, not a handout’ by making it possible for disadvantaged families to own their own home and build equity. Family partners are selected based on three criteria:
1) Need
Successful applicants must demonstrate that their current housing is inadequate usually due to rent exceeding 40% of income, overcrowding, structural damage or health and safety risks.
2) Ability to Pay
Partner families purchase Habitat homes with zero percent or very low interest mortgage payments that do not exceed thirty percent of their monthly income. The payments enter a revolving fund used to build future Habitat homes. Habitat affiliates consider credit history, employment and debt-to-income ratio to determine a family’s ability to make regular payments, taxes and insurance and to cover closing costs. This is not a give away program.
3) Willingness to Partner
Habitat partner families are involved in all aspect of home building. They commit to working volunteer ‘sweat equity’ hours from the time they are selected to the home dedication. The amount of hours required varies slightly by affiliate, but a sweat equity component is a value of all Habitat affiliates.
Specific requirements vary for each affiliate. Find a local affiliate near you to find out more info!