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BusinessECONOMY SERIES: MULTIMEDIA Applying For A Habitat Home
3/20/2009 4:20:15 AM | Lindsay McCoy
For low income families who are in search of a place to call home with few dollars to work with, Habitat for Humanity of Summit County offers help. The only catch to the process of becoming eligible has to do with how much debt the family carries.
Habitat For Humanity of Summit County is seeing an increase of families seeking its help. (Photo: Habitat For Humanity)
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When a family applies, their degree of need is factored into whether they are eligible. An average family of three would have to earn a minimum income of $16,750 to a maximum income of $27,750 to be considered. Next up is the credit check, the toughest area according to Rochelle Fisher, the Summit County Chapter executive director.
Fisher explained the family's debt to income ratio had to be 39 percent or less. When Habitat examines the applications, the debt ratio is usually too high.
"Their charge off debts and delinquencies are too high, so they show charge off on things like multiple cell phone bills, and sometimes utility bills," she said.
If a family has a credit issue, they're referred to Greenleaf Family Center for credit counseling. The organization sets the criteria high enough, so that families can pay their monthly mortgage payments.
"That's just the nature of habitat, because it is a mortgage, it is home ownership, it's a 20-year commitment, and so the families coming in have to be able to make those commitments," she said.
If a family's application is approved, then a credit report and background check is performed. Then the family has to agree to the terms of Habitat's contract and go before the Family Selection Committee for final approval. It takes about one year for Habitat to plan and build a home for approved families. There are eight designs of ranch and two-story style homes for each family to choose from.
VIEW The Choices Families Have When Picking Out A New Home
The Building and construction season kicks off every April and lasts for nine months. When it comes to paying the cost of the home back, each family is only responsible for the cost of construction. Fisher noted that there are no banks involved, it's all done through the organization.
"There's no interest charged on the loan, there's no overhead in administration charged on the loan and we service the loan here," she said.
Applications can be found at the organization's office, where mortgage payments are dropped off.
"It gives us constant contact with our families every single month," Fisher explained.
In 2008, the organization had its first family pay off in full. The organization is in its 22nd year of operation, and since its start, the organization has built homes for a total of 143 families. For the 2009 construction season, which kicks off in April, Habitat has five new houses to build and two homes to repair.
The average construction cost for a new home averages at $80,000, with each lot costing about $5,000. Each home is sponsored by individual donors, local church congregations, corporate and local businesses, along with state and city grants.
One The Web:
Habitat For Humanity of Summit County www.hfhsummitcounty.org
Greenleaf Family Center www.greenleafctr.org
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