Home Ownership - A Hand Up, Not A Hand Out

 Habitat houses are purchased by the homeowner families.  Habitat is not a giveaway or welfare program.  The following three factors make the houses affordable for low income people worldwide.

   1. Houses are sold at no profit, with no interest charged on the mortgage.  Monthly payments include mortgage + 1/12th of annual costs for taxes and insurance. 

    2. Homeowners and volunteers build the houses under supervision.

    3. Individuals, corporations, churches, civic groups, and others provide financial support, prayers, in-kind materials and volunteers for the program.

  Homeowner families are chosen according to their need, their ability to repay the no-profit; no interest loan, and their willingness to work in partnership with Habitat.  The willingness to partner with Habitat is a very large part of the equation towards homeownership.  Habitat for Humanity does not discriminate by race, gender, religion, or ethnic group.

  Through volunteer labor and donations of money and materials, Habitat for Humanity builds simple decent houses with the help of the homeowner(partner) families.  Habitat homeowners in El Dorado must work 500 hours of “sweat equity” prior to moving into their new home.  Habitat homes are sold to homeowner families and financed with affordable, no-interest loans.  The homeowner monthly mortgage payments are used to build more Habitat houses.  The average monthly payment including taxes and insurance is $215 for homeowners in El Dorado.

  What does a Habitat house cost?  Throughout the world,  the cost of houses varies from as little as $800 in some developing countries to an average of $46,600 in the United States.  The average cost of a Habitat house in the El Dorado area is $46,000.00; however, prices for the lot and  materials used in construction may cause that amount to increase in the future.

  Habitat houses are affordable for low-income families because there is no profit included in the sale and no interest charged on the mortgage.  An average mortgage is 20 to 23 years.  While the cost of ownership is greatly reduced by the way Habitat builds houses, applicants must be employed and have the financial means to make the required monthly payments.