Becoming a Habitat Partner Family and building a home of your own takes more than just building, it takes commitment, involvement, a willingness to partner with us, and work alongside our staff and volunteers to build your family a safe, decent, affordable home.

In addition to a family’s willingness to partner with Habitat for Humanity of West Central Minnesota, they are selected based on their need for a safer, more secure, and affordable home, and their ability to pay back the no-profit, no-interest mortgage. In the end, each family we partner with becomes completely dedicated to owning their own home while continuing to help us assist other families for years to come. That is, each time a family pays their monthly principle mortgage payment, the amount paid is reinvested back into "Fund for Humanity" to help us build more homes for families throughout West Central Minnesota.

Qualifications

Habitat for Humanity holds to three basic criteria for family selection when choosing a partner family to purchase a home:

Need for adequate shelter: Families will be chosen who are living in inadequate or substandard conditions or pay over 50% on housing costs.  Circumstances considered may be overcrowding, deplorable physical conditions of the dwelling, or some other factors that constitute inadequate or substandard living conditions.

Ability to Pay: Families must have incomes that are too low to enable them to secure conventional financing from a bank or other traditional lending institution.  But, their income and credit history must be sufficient for them to make the monthly payments required on the no-profit, no-interest Habitat mortgage.  A Federal guideline is used to determine income eligibility.  

Willingness to Partner: Families must be willing to partner with Habitat for Humanity of West Central Minnesota in building the house.  This means fulfilling the requirements of Habitat homeownership by putting in the mandatory sweat-equity hours in building their own houses and/or other Habitat houses.   Selected homeowners are required to attend homeowners classes.  These hours are part of the sweat equity requirement.  Families must agree to pay a  $500 down  payment before closing on their home.  Families must  agree to make monthly mortgage payments.

Income Guidelines & Credit Standards

These guidelines are adjusted each year and are based on numbers defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These figures include all forms of income: employment, public assistance of cash, social security, disability, etc.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development just released updated guidelines that are effective Jan. 19, 2012.

Applicant's must meet the following income guidelines:

Habitat for Humanity of West Central Minnesota reserves the right to revise these guidelines at any time.