The whole process from application to move-in really depends on each situation but on average *may* take about 18 months. There are many factors involved with getting your home that are unique to each individual situation including available land, sweat equity hours and willingness to partner. We are committed to getting you in your home as quickly as possible.

Habitat’s home ownership program is unique in two ways: (1) We sell houses to our partner families at the cost of materials plus real estate without adding in profit; 2) We offer mortgages to buy the house without charging interest. The zero-interest mortgage is significant because a loan from a commercial bank adds interest payments, which can more than doubles the “cost” of the home to the buyer.

Our policy is that families should repay their mortgages as fast as they are able and our average mortgage is 15 years. However, mortgages may be extended to 20 or even 25 years in order to keep payments affordable. There is no penalty to the buyer for paying off the mortgage ahead of schedule – though other restrictions may remain in place for the entire original mortgage period.

Our home lots are offered to families as they become available. We have built homes in all parts of Bloomington, so there is no guarantee where your lot will be. You have the option of refusing the first lot offered to you, but you will be asked to reapply to the program if you turn down a second lot offer.

We work with faith communities, businesses, and other organizations and individuals to sponsor the building of a house. Such sponsors contribute a fee that goes towards buying materials for the home and typically sponsoring organizations also volunteer skilled and unskilled workers to build alongside the homeowners on the house they sponsor. Once an affiliate has built 20 houses, the monthly mortgage payments from those 20 families are sufficient to build an additional house each year. Thus, as mortgage payments are recycled, homeowners also sponsor Habitat houses. Other funding comes from grants and individual donations.

The primary way to earn sweat equity hours is by working on the construction site (at least half of your hours must be completed this way) and additional hours may be earned by working in our office, attending homeownership classes, helping at ReStore and attending special events. New ideas to earn sweat equity are always welcome but must be approved ahead of time by the poverty elimination coordinator. At a minimum, each adult member must complete four hours a month. A friend may donate up to 50 hours towards a family’s sweat equity.

An important part of preparing partner families for the responsibilities and potential pitfalls of homeownership are the classes that we provide. There are at least three series of classes on the topics of Habitat Philosophy and Partnership, Financial Planning, and Home Maintenance and Neighborhood Development. Partner families are expected to attend these classes (counted towards sweat equity hours).

House size depends on the number of family members who will be living there. The following is the maximum square footage for each house size: 900 square feet for a two-bedroom house, 1070 square feet for a three bedroom house, 1230 square feet for a four-bedroom house, and 1400 square feet for a five-bedroom house. The square foot numbers describe living space not including stairwells, crawl space and exterior storage.

The size and floor-plan for each home we build is determined by the number of family members. Habitat provides a standard floor plan for each size house, which might need to be adapted to meet special needs of the lot or particular considerations of the family. All adjustments to floor plans are minimal and there is no guarantee that we can meet all the desires of the family.

Yes, there are some customizable choices for your home. Every homeowner can choose at no cost:

Vinyl siding and exterior door colors.
Roof shingle color.
Countertop colors for kitchen
Phone and cable jack locations
Carpeting and vinyl flooring colors/options
If possible, some minimal changes to the basic floor plan.

In an effort to personalize and beautify the home while still staying true to Habitat’s mission of building simple, decent, affordable housing a family may choose to add custom options in combination up to $2000, which will be added to their mortgage. Examples of these options include: appliances, ceiling fans, landscaping, extra windows, air conditioning, etc.

In a further effort to ensure affordable housing, we have focused on building energy efficient homes. All of our homes are up to Energy-Star standards, and we are making steady progress towards even higher levels of green certification. This commitment helps not only the environment, but it also helps create sustained energy savings for our partner families.

You may contact the office for a comprehensive list of house features.

There is a one-year warranty on all work done by Habitat. This warranty excludes damage resulting from wear and tear. There is also a one-year warranty on all subcontracted work such as plumbing, electrical, and heating and cooling.

We want to build homes for people to live in, not to sell and make a profit. We do have guidelines for selling your home that will be discussed during homeowner meetings.