Our Families

Habitat works specifically with low and very low-income families. A typical family earns approximately $15,000–30,000 per year. We work with families of all races, religions and creeds. The average family size is 4 to 5 persons.

A family selection committee chooses families. There are three principal requirements: housing need, ability to pay and willingness to partner with Habitat. The need for a decent house is the most important criterion in the selection of a family. Only families who cannot purchase a house through conventional means are considered. A family must be able to meet the financial obligations of homeownership. They must be willing to partner with Habitat by attending the financial management and home maintenance workshops and keeping their mortgage payments current. In addition, the family must complete the required hours of work (sweat equity) on their home, other Habitat projects or community projects.

In addition to completion of up to 475 hours of sweat equity, families pay up to $2,500, which covers deposits for taxes, insurance and transaction costs of closing. The family enters into a zero-interest mortgage, usually for a 20-30 year period, for the cost of the house. As the payments are made, they are re-invested in building other homes.

The idea of Habitat is to build a permanent community. Family selection is based on the premise that members of that community will wish to live in their homes permanently. In addition to the first mortgage, the homeowner signs a second mortgage which represents the difference between the Habitat cost and the market value of the home. As payments are made on the first mortgage, payments are forgiven on the second mortgage. If the house is sold, however, both mortgages are due, and Habitat will re-invest the proceeds in building other homes. The forgivable second mortgage is used to prevent a windfall profit from an early sale of the home. The homeowner is not penalized, as their initial cost was significantly below the market value.