Partner Requirements

 
Once you complete you apply and get selected, you enter into a Family Partnership with Habitat for Humanity. As a family partner, there are a few things that you must do in order to stay in the program and get your new home.

Requirements
     Enter into a zero-interest mortgage for 30 years
     Commit to 500 hours of Sweat Equity
     Be willing to partner with Habitat
     Attend a series of workshops designed to make you a better homeowner

Now, you may ask yourself what a zero-interest mortgage is. Well, it is simply the method by which you pay out your home. Your mortgage payment goes into paying the cost of your home, covering taxes for the duration of the mortgage (30 years), and it pays for home insurance coverage (also for the 30 years of your mortgage). In addition to the payment of the mortgage, you also pay a small amount to help cover incidental maintenance like a leaking faucet, etc. without having to pay it out of pocket.

The repayment of your mortgage also helps fund future builds. You see, your payment also goes into a 'community fund' that when pooled covers the costs of building new Habitat homes for others. Thus, you are helping to build the future for all homeowners.

Sweat Equity is designed to help you learn more about your home and help those helping to build your home. These 500 hours (475 if you are a single parent) are logged at our jobsites, office, or anywhere else our volunteers can. Your kids, family, and friends can all help you complete this requirement. In addition, all the time you spend in the workshops is also counted towards your requirement.

What does it mean to partner with Habitat? It means various things. You must be willing to commit to the program. This means that you must complete your hours, attend workshops, and do the other requirements herein. In addition, it is be willing to move to our neighborhoods created for Habitat homeowners, like Tierra Prometida for example. It also means a lot more. We expect our families to be at the job sites to vist with volunteers, at special events to meet donors and sponsors, and be willing to meet with the media if necessary (certain restrictions apply). You see, as a Habitat volunteer, donor, or sponsor you give your time to build simple, decent homes for homeowners partnered with Habitat. Seeing a homeowner is a great thing because they can put a face to the labor they are giving selflessly.

Attending a series of workshops is also a requirement. These classes are designed to help you learn more about being a responsible homeowner and to introduce you to homeownership. Since many families in partnership are first-time homeowners, these classes help get families acquainted with the ins and outs of owning a home. Classes like budgeting, first aid, wills, etc. help the family out and that makes for a better world.