Habitat for Humanity Homeowner's Seminar

Recently there was a homeowner's seminar here in my home town, sponsored by Habitat for Humanity of Marion county. I must say that I was hesitant about attending, but I figured what have I got to lose? Several people attended, but there weren't as many as I had thought there would be. Perhaps those who didn't attend have the belief, as I did, that you have to be dirt poor to own a Habitat home. Don't you know, that simply isn't the case. I realized at the seminar that it was possible that even I could own my own home. Owning my own home, like a lot of people, has always been a dream of mine.

You know that dream, the "American Dream", has always eluded me. I found out that I could become a new homeowner with an interest free mortgage. Sounds to good to be true, but it is. I kept repeating it in my mind, "Just think Linda, you could own a brand new home and not have to pay any interest whatsoever." Wow, I just couldn't imagine it! As far as any kind of monetary commitment, all I need is $700 to cover closing costs and of course $450/month for the mortgage payment, they said. Wow, that's doable! Even a single person can own a Habitat home. So how do they do it?

Habitat for Humanity Int'l is a non-profit organization. Homes are built by chapters or "affiliates" as they call them within a community. They have many sponsors which contribute money and materials, and volunteers come in and contribute their labor to help build the home. The homeowners monthly mortgage payment is recycled into a revolving "Fund for Humanity" that is used to build more homes. Monetary donations can be designated by the donor for a particular project, otherwise, donations are used where they are needed the most.

To qualify for a Habitat home here in Marion County the following criteria has to be met:

1. Your current housing is inadequate.(unsafe, overcrowded, substandard, etc.

2. You must be a permanent legal resident in the county in which you are applying.

3. You cannot currently own any property.

4. You must have a provable steady source of income. Since my family size is (one) my annual gross income would have to be between $14,400 and $27,350. I would need copies of my last 4 pay stubs if I only had a job.

5. Your debt to income ratio can be no more than 41%.

6. You must have and maintain good credit. No bankruptcies or foreclosures within the last 3 years, or and kind of existing judgments of liens.

7. Besides copies of the payroll stubs you must provide rent receipts/lease documents or a letter from family or friends about your current living arrangements. You will also need to provide all debts, balances and monthly payments and a letter regarding why you need to own a Habitat home.

8. you have to contribute 350 hours of your or your families time to build your home. My understanding is that you can also have friends come and donate their time towards the 350 hours if you are not able to do so.

9. Also you have to contribute 25 community service hours, 100 hours helping to build someone else's Habitat home, and 75 classroom hours. The classroom hours are so you can learn how to maintain your home, budget and financial management of your income. I'm not so sure what the community service hours are for.

The only thing I need to do to own a Habitat home is, "get a job.", which I am working on. I have everything else. Sounds like a great program.

There are some drawbacks to owning a Habitat home:

You don't get to pick the site where the home is built.

It takes about 14 months to build a Habitat home.

The homes are simple homes with just the basic necessities. No dishwasher, garbage disposal or anything like that and they are built in safe neighborhoods.

If you sell your home before 20 years after purchasing it you have to share the profits with Habitat.

Anyways, hopefully some day I will be able to own my own home, Habitat or otherwise. I'm not getting any younger.

For more information or to apply you can go to, http://www.habitat.org/. There you will find a search box where you can key in your zip code to find a Habitat affiliate in your area.