Habitat for Humanity homes: who qualifies and how to apply

To qualify for Habitat for Humanity, you show your local Habitat office three things. You need better housing, you can pay an affordable mortgage, and you'll put in sweat equity: hundreds of hours of unpaid work on Habitat homes and in its classes. Each office sets its own income range, required hours and application dates.

Does Habitat for Humanity give houses away?

No. Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit, sells homes that it builds or repairs with volunteers, and you buy yours with a mortgage. Habitat makes sure your monthly mortgage payment is no more than 30% of your monthly income before taxes when you buy. Your payments then go back into building more Habitat homes.

Your local Habitat office, which Habitat calls an affiliate, runs everything: it picks the buyers, sets the rules and offers the mortgage. That's why the income ranges, hours and dates differ so much from one place to the next.

What are Habitat's three tests?

Every local office uses the same three tests:

1. You need better housing. For example, your home is badly built, damaged or too small, has mold or other health problems, or doesn't work for your disability. Paying more than 30% of your monthly income before taxes in rent or mortgage also counts.
2. You can pay an affordable mortgage. The office checks that you have steady income and can make the monthly payment. Some offices also look at your credit and savings.
3. You'll partner with Habitat. Once picked, you put in sweat equity hours and take homebuyer classes on budgeting, saving and home repairs.

How much can you earn and still qualify for a Habitat home?

Habitat's national page says household income must not be more than 60% of the area median income, the middle income in your area. HUD, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, publishes it each year. But each local office sets its own range, and the three below run from 50% to 100%. Most also set a minimum income, the least you must earn to make the payments.

The ranges don't match each other or the national 60%, so go by your local office's page, and ask it to work out your percentage with you.

Example. A household of three earns $60,000 a year before taxes, or $5,000 a month. 30% of $5,000 is $1,500, so Habitat would keep its mortgage payment at or under $1,500 a month. At Franklin Hampshire Habitat, $60,000 falls between the $38,000 minimum and the $71,025 maximum for three people, and $1,500 is inside the $900 to $1,800 range. The household would still need to show need and put in 250 hours, about 31 eight-hour days.

How many sweat equity hours does Habitat require?

Habitat's national FAQ says buyers put in hundreds of hours, and each local office sets the exact number. Franklin Hampshire Habitat and the Roanoke Valley office ask for at least 250, and Summit Habitat asks for 200 per applicant. You can earn hours by building your own home or other Habitat homes, or by taking homebuyer classes. You can also help in a Habitat ReStore, a store that sells donated building supplies and furniture.

Habitat's steps page says adults in your immediate or extended family can often put in hours for you. Franklin Hampshire Habitat says it changes the hours for people with disabilities.

How do you apply for a Habitat home?

You apply through your local office, in seven steps:

1. Go to an information session. Local offices hold them in person or online.
2. Apply during the open period. Offices take applications only while their enrollment period is open; the Roanoke Valley office usually opens once a year. Staff help you gather pay stubs and proof of your housing problems.
3. Have a home visit. Staff or volunteers visit to learn about your current home and your family.
4. Wait for the board's decision. Staff send their recommendations to the local board, which decides at most offices. The Roanoke Valley office says its board decides within 35 days of a complete application.
5. Take classes and put in your hours. You finish the homebuyer classes and sweat equity before you move in.
6. Sign the mortgage papers.
7. Move in.

The whole process takes time. The Roanoke Valley office says it usually takes 14 to 18 months from application to owning the home, and it picks roughly 5% of applicants. If your office isn't taking applications, ask to join its notification list so you hear when it opens.

What should you do next?

Find your local office with Habitat's find your local Habitat search, or call Habitat at 1-800-422-4828, and read its application page for the income range, hours and dates. A HUD-approved housing counselor can help you get your credit and savings ready, often at little or no cost; find one with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's counselor search.

Apply to other below-market homes while you wait. Search homes for sale on our listings page, see the housing lotteries open now and use our qualify check to see which listings fit your household. Also look at community land trust homes, where a nonprofit keeps the land so the price stays low, and down payment assistance programs in your state.