Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga has opened the door to its next group of homebuyers, and the window is short.
The nonprofit's Future Homeowner application process opens Sunday, Oct. 18, and runs through Saturday, Oct. 31, Chattanoogan.com reported. Anyone interested must submit the online Pre-Qualifying Questionnaire by 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 31. Habitat says the questionnaire is only the first step.
The program is meant to help individuals and families with low-to-moderate incomes buy a home. Applicants must meet requirements tied to housing need, ability to pay and willingness to partner with Habitat.
Who qualifies
Habitat's homeownership page spells out the rules. First, applicants must have a housing need. Examples include:
- Low income or high housing costs
- An unsafe home or unsafe surroundings
- Overcrowding or homelessness
- A home that cannot meet the needs of a household member with a disability
- Not qualifying for a traditional mortgage
Second, they must be able to pay. Habitat homeowners buy their homes from Habitat with a 30-year mortgage at 0% interest. The monthly payment covers principal, property taxes and homeowner's insurance. Applicants must:
- Have had steady income in the United States for at least 24 months
- Show they can make regular payments for rent, utilities and other bills
- Have lived in Hamilton County for at least 12 months
- Make regular monthly deposits into an approved savings account for closing costs
Habitat also lists things that rule an applicant out. These include a bankruptcy in the past 24 months, owning a home in the past 36 months, or $2,000 or more in collections, charge-offs or outstanding judgments on a credit report.
Sweat equity and classes
The third requirement is a willingness to partner. Families who are selected become Habitat Partner Families. Before moving in, they must put in volunteer hours, which Habitat calls "sweat equity":
- 200 hours for individuals with disabilities
- 300 hours for single applicants
- 400 hours for couples
Habitat says sweat equity means hands-on work building the family's own home, as well as other Habitat and community activities. Partner families also take education classes that count toward their hours. The classes are designed to prepare them "to build, own, and maintain their new home."
The nonprofit encourages applicants to watch its homeownership information videos and attend an information session before filling out the questionnaire. Habitat says it accepts applications only during announced periods, so families who miss this window will have to wait for the next one.
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga has served families in the area since 1986, according to its website. Homeowners build alongside volunteers and pay an affordable, 0% interest mortgage.
Why it matters for Contractors
Every family Habitat approves is a future house, and every house means work: site prep, foundations, framing, roofing, mechanicals and finishes. This application window kicks off the next round of that pipeline. Habitat has not said how many families it plans to select or how many homes it expects to build in the coming year.
Habitat also builds differently from a typical builder. Its website says homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers, and that it partners with corporations, churches, civic groups and individuals to get homes built or improved. For local contractors, that leaves room to help with donated materials, discounted labor, sponsoring a build or bringing a crew out for a volunteer day. Contractors who want paid work should ask Habitat directly how it hires trades and which parts of each house it contracts out.
The partnership model also changes who is on the job site. Partner families earn sweat-equity hours by working on construction, so trades who volunteer or work on Habitat homes will be working next to future homeowners who are learning as they go. Habitat's education classes are meant to prepare those families to build, own and maintain a home, and a contractor willing to explain the work can be part of that. The hours add up: a couple needs 400, about ten full 40-hour weeks.
Contractors who want to get involved can contact Habitat Chattanooga about volunteering, sponsorships or trade work. Families interested in the program can find the questionnaire and information sessions at habichatt.org/own through Oct. 31.