Frequently Asked Questions

Interested individuals can come to the Nashville Area Habitat office to obtain an initial questionnaire or download it here. The questionnaire allows us to obtain a credit report to review the applicant’s credit history and estimate the applicant’s income. We will respond to each questionnaire by letter within approximately two weeks of receiving it. If the individual might be eligible, he or she will be asked to attend an application meeting to learn more about the Habitat program and to obtain a formal application. If the applicant does not look eligible, their letter will state the reasons and give information about other resources that can assist them.

Nashville Area Habitat staff will inform applicants about Habitat and the program requirements including sweat equity, locations and features of the homes, as well as requirements for being selected. The application packet and process will be given out and reviewed.

Prospective applicants fill out the application packet if they decide to pursue homeownership and partnership with Habitat. The Family Services department processes the application, reviews income and expenses provided by the applicant and may conduct an interview. If all initial criteria are met, Family Services presents a written report to the Family Selection Committee volunteers.

The Committee will evaluate each applicant’s housing need, ability to pay, and willingness to partner and will then recommend a home visit in order to learn more about the applicant’s current housing situation. The Family Selection Committee then approves or declines the applicant for the program.

We do not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, age, disability, religion, national origin, family status, marital status, or because all or part of income is derived from any public assistance program.

You will need copies of each household member’s identification and birth certificates or other legal residency documentation, three years of your tax returns, recent paystubs, verification of other income, bank statements, and copies of other monthly bills such as utilities and loan statements. Other documents may be requested depending on the individual situation. These items will be turned in with the full application packet after the application meeting.

Any debts or loans that are current and being paid on time will be evaluated in the applicant’s debt-to-income ratio. If the credit report shows collections, judgments, or charged-off accounts, the applicant will need the capacity to settle these within about 6-9 months (before they would close on the home). We may refer candidates to credit counseling services to assist them with specific items on their credit report.

You are entitled to receive a free copy of your credit report annually through the Annual Credit Report Request Service. You may do this through their website, www.annualcreditreport.com, or by calling 1-877-322-8228.

To be eligible, bankruptcies must have been discharged or dismissed for at least one year for Chapter 13 and two years for Chapter 7.

Self-employed individuals will need to provide Schedule C with their tax returns for prior years. For the current year, they will need to provide a profit and loss statement showing their income and expenses for the year to date. They must also provide copies of records showing income and expenses.

You must live in Davidson County for six months to be eligible. We also serve families living in Dickson County and build houses there. There are Habitat affiliates in most counties surrounding Nashville; visit www.habitat.org to find the one in your area.

The total time from starting an application to owning the home can take six months to two years. It generally takes two to four months to go through the selection approval process after applicants have submitted a formal application. Once approved for the homeownership program, partner families begin earning their “sweat equity” hours and saving for closing costs, which can take from 6 to 18 months.

When an applicant is approved by the Family Selection Committee, we refer to them as a partner family until they complete their sweat equity and purchase their home, at which time they become a homeowner. Partnership is a key component to the Habitat program as families partner with Habitat, staff, and volunteers to achieve Habitat’s mission.

Sweat equity is Habitat’s most valuable tool in building the partnership between families, Habitat staff and volunteers. The term, sweat equity, refers to the actual hands-on involvement of partner families in the construction of their own homes, participation in HomeWORKS classes as well as other Habitat and community activities. Sweat equity – a partner family’s physical and emotional investment in the mission of Habitat – is designed to meet three important goals: partnership, pride in homeownership, and the development of skills and knowledge to be a successful homeowner. Following approval of the Family Selection Committee, the prospective homeowner must complete the required number of sweat equity hours before being able to purchase their home.

The number of hours varies based on family make-up and various grant requirements. Partner families log more than 200 hours in the classroom learning about the responsibilities of homeownership, financial management and life skills in our HomeWORKS program. Partner families earn an additional 100-180 hours at the construction site building their own homes and the homes of their neighbors.

Up to twenty of the required sweat equity hours may be worked by someone other than the homeowner.

If you have a disability that prevents you from being able to do some sweat equity requirements, we will work with you on finding alternate ways to fulfill your sweat equity hours.

Classes are taught on Monday and Thursday evenings from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. Occasional classes are held on Tuesday evenings or Saturdays. It takes about four months to complete all class requirements.

We usually complete the home in eight days over four consecutive weekends, working on Saturdays and Sundays.

Partner families arrive at the build site at 6:30 a.m. and stay until about 5 p.m., or until the work ends that day, earning 10 sweat equity hours per day.

No. Our construction staff and supervisor on site volunteers will teach you and provide supervision.

There is a one-year warranty on heating, plumbing, wiring, and faulty workmanship. After the one-year period, repairs on heating systems, plumbing and electrical systems are the responsibility of the homeowner(s). Normal wear and tear maintenance is the responsibility of the homeowner from the day they move in.

The monthly mortgage payments, spread out over 30 years, range from $450 to $550, including an escrow for property tax and homeowner’s insurance. Mortgage payments are redeployed into Habitat’s “Fund for Humanity” to help build more homes for families in need. The homeowner will generally purchase the home for the appraisal value and may have multiple mortgages that add up to that amount – one or more requiring a monthly payment and one that is “silent” and only payable upon the sale or refinance of the home.

Our partner families are required to save closing costs for their new home, which are approximately $2,500. Families do not need to have this money when they apply, but they must have the ability to save it within six to nine months while they are in the program.

Nashville Area Habitat currently builds homes within communities. In 2010, we will be building homes in our Timberwood and Park Preserve communities, located in northwest Davidson County. All communities are governed by homeowners’ associations with restrictive covenants.

Nashville Area Habitat selects the community, lot, and floor plan for each family based on the timing of the build, funding requirements, and the family make up. The partner family will make choices from our samples for the color of the exterior, carpeting, and bath flooring.

We build single-family, three- to five-bedroom frame homes with approximately 1,100–1,500 square feet, depending upon the size of the family. The home is built on a concrete slab and has siding and a small front porch. A stove, refrigerator, and blinds for the bedrooms are provided . The three-bedroom home has one full bath and one half bath, the four-bedroom home has two full baths, and the five-bedroom homes has three full baths.