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WHO ARE HABITAT HOME OWNERS?The low incomes earned by Habitat families prevent them from obtaining traditional mortgages and greatly lessen their chances of buying a home. Every family who buys a home from HfHGV invests 500 hours of "sweat equity," helping to build their own house and/or other Habitat homes. Habitat for Humanity of Gallatin Valley then sells them a home at an affordable price using zero interest mortgages. Monthly mortgage payments do not exceed 30% of the family's income. WHAT KIND OF HOMES DOES HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF GALLATIN VALLEY BUILD?It is the objective of Habitat for Humanity of Gallatin Valley to provide simple, decent housing for lower income partner families. Such homes must provide the family with adequate living space, economic feasibility, shelter, security, privacy, and community accessibility.
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Adequate Living Space: simple, decent housing provides adequate living space. Required living spaces for Habitat homes include kitchen/dining, living, bathroom, bedrooms, and laundry/storage. Habitat guidelines include a maximum interior of 900 square feet for a two-bedroom home, 1050 square feet for a three-bedroom home, and 1150 square feet for a four-bedroom home. Economic Feasibility: a cornerstone of the Habitat program is providing simple decent housing at an affordable cost for low-income families. >The monthly payments (mortgage, insurance, and property taxes) should not exceed 30% of the partner family's gross income. Since Habitat mortgages are interest free, the monthly payment is 1/360 of the mortgage amount. Cost efficiency of utilities and transportation is also of consideration in the design of a Habitat home. Shelter: decent housing must provide considerable protection from the elements, at least to the extent of protecting the health of the families: Habitat homes must include adequate protection from heat and cold, humidity, pollutants, wind, earthquake, sun, and noise. This protection is achieved through siting, landscaping, structural integrity, roof overhangs, exterior materials protection, building-envelope impenetrability, controllable ventilation, sufficient insulation, and an adequate heating system. Security: decent housing must provide security in the form of protection from fire, theft, assault, etc. Security is provided by location, construction and material features and locking windows and doors. Privacy: decent housing provides privacy for individuals and families, both relative to others and within the family. Community Accessibility: a decent life includes relationships with other humans as well as access to schools, governmental institutions, and commercial and community services. HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF GALLATIN VALLEY SUPPORTS DIVERSITYHabitat is firmly committed to being a just and richly diverse organization. We therefore welcome applicants of every race, color, religion, gender, marital status, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation or belief, sexual orientation and status with regard to public assistance. WHAT IF I HAVE CREDIT PROBLEMS?Habitat wants to sell homes to low-income families in need who have demonstrated that they are able to handle their finances responsibly. If you have had problems with finances in the past, that's okay, as long as you are currently making timely payments on all debts and do not have an excessive amount of debt today. If you are concerned about your debt, we recommend that you contact a Consumer Credit Counseling Service. They provide credit counseling and hold workshops and follow-up counseling designed for low to moderate income persons who would like to become home owners.
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