Our Homeowners

The Homeowner

Habitat houses begin with a dream of homeownership and a desire on behalf of the community to provide "a hand up" to working families who - for whatever reason - are unable to purchase a home by conventional means.  Habitat homes are not given away - they are sold to pre-qualfied homeowners (called "partners") using a zero-interest, zero-profit mortgage.  The selected future homeowner must pass a rigorous qualification process, which includes:

• proving citizenship or legal status in the U.S.
• working or living in the county of residence for at least one year
• a 20% income to debt ratio
• a proven ability to pay bills on time and reasonably carry a mortgage

After pre-qualification, the new partner must spend 100 hours working on another Habitat house being built for another family; then, they must spend 100 hours working on their own home (we call this "sweat equity").  In addition, they must successfully complete "Living Smart", a course designed to teach financial management and home maintenance to new homeowners.  

Habitat homes must be owner-occupied, they can never have "second" mortgages placed on them, and they are covenant-protected, including lawn and home maintenance requirements and numbers of residents per house restrictions. 

Our homeowners are proud of their neighborhoods and are commited to keeping the American dream of home ownership alive and well.  Habitat is a home-builder, a mortgage company, a property management group and a family support ministry all in one.