Homeownership FAQs
Who qualifies for a Habitat home?
Habitat homeowners must be active participants in building a better home and future for themselves and their families. Every Habitat home is an investment. For us, it is one answer to a critical need, and we believe that stronger homes will create stronger communities.
Prospective Habitat homeowners must demonstrate a need for safe, affordable housing.
Once selected, Habitat homeowners must partner with us throughout the process. This partnership includes investing “sweat equity,” or helping to build their own home or the homes of others in our homeownership program. Sweat equity can also include taking homeownership classes or performing volunteer work in a Habitat ReStore. 250 hours are required for individual applicants, and 350 hours for joint applicants.
Homeowners must also be able and willing to pay an affordable mortgage. Mortgage payments are cycled back into the community to help build additional Habitat houses.
Can anyone apply to be a Habitat homeowner?
Yes. Habitat does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, age, handicap, religion, national origin, marital status, familial status, or because a family’s income is derived wholly or in part from public assistance programs.
Habitat is always open to starting a conversation with motivated individuals and households interested in becoming Habitat homeowners.
How do you apply for a Habitat house? How long is the Habitat for Humanity home application process?
Applying is a multi-step process and begins with an online applicant information meeting (AIM). Twice each year Habitat for Humanity makes these information sessions available during an application round for homes to be completed in the next 12 to 24 months. We encourage all interested parties to attend one of these sessions as it will help answer some initial questions. It is only after attendance at one of these meetings that you can proceed to the next step, which is downloading an application.
What is the pre-qualification application?
This step allows us to determine if you might meet these eligibility criteria:
- Are you within the income guidelines of the program?
- Do you have the ability to pay an affordable mortgage?
- Do you live within our service area?
- Are you and your family citizens or permanent residents?
In this step, you complete the forms, provide pay stubs and tax returns, and authorize us to check your credit history, along with other program requirements.
Your application will be considered for a Habitat home if the following are true:
- Your current housing is not adequate.
- You are unable to obtain adequate housing through other conventional means. For example, this could mean not enough space, physical and or structural problems in your rental home, or that you are spending more than 30% of your income on housing.
- Your household income is within our income guidelines – see the chart on this page.
- You have the ability to pay an affordable mortgage.
- You are willing to invest sweat equity.
- You live in New London or Windham Counties, or the select few towns in Tolland county that fall within our region.
- You and your family are citizens or permanent residents.
- If you have not owned a home in the past three years.
What happens after the pre-qualification process?
Applicants who seem to meet the above criteria are personally invited to complete a full application, which involves bank statements, utility bills, tax returns, etc. Also included in the full application process is a home visit so that we can fully assess your qualifications in person.
Finally, all applications are evaluated and responses are provided to the applicants.
The length of time will vary for each applicant depending on how thorough responses and documentation submitted are in each step.
Future homeowners accepted into the program can expect that it might take as many as 24 months before moving in to their new home.
