 Want a Safe, Decent Affordable Home?
Grand Island Area Habitat for Humanity is a Christian organization that
improves housing situations in partnership with low-income families. New homes are built and minor, exterior home repairs completed with volunteer labor. Families Habitat helps repay Habitat in the form of no-interest, no profit loans that are recycled to help more families. They also contribute volunteer hours alongside people from the community.
Listed below are the basic guidelines followed by the Family Selection
Committee in finding qualifying families.
The Application Process - For New Homes and A Brush With Kindness
Grand Island Area Habitat for Humanity opens and advertises application
periods, rather than taking applications on a continual basis. When an application period is not open, a list of people who want to be notified when
an application period opens is maintained.
During application periods, applications are available in the Habitat
office or other designated locations. Once  the
application periods close, the selection process begins. It involves
review of completed applications, credit and reference checks, interviews
and home visits.
Because Habitat has limited resources, not every qualifying applicant can be helped. Qualifying applicants that are not selected are encouraged
to reapply at a later date.
The Family Selection Committee selects low-income Partner Families based on three
basic things – need for improved housing, ability to pay a no interest
loan and willingness to partner. The selection of families is done by the Family Selection Committee using
these criteria in a way that does not discriminate on the basis of race,
sex, color, age, handicap, religion, marital status, sexual orientation,
or because of all or part of the applicant’s income is derived from
public assistance programs.
Need
You might qualify for a Habitat home if…
- Your current housing is sub-standard or too small for your basic family
needs. Sub-standard housing may include problems with the water, electrical,
heating or sewage systems; or does not meet maintenance standards. Also
taken into consideration are the number, ages and sex of children compared
to the number of bedrooms in your home.
- You would have to go to sub-standard or inadequate housing if you lost
your current housing assistance. Would sub-standard housing be one of your options if you lost HUD or other
assistance, or if you could no longer live with a friend or relative? There is an independent living requirement to demonstrate ability to pay -- ask for current guidelines.
You might qualify for A Brush With Kindness (minor, exterior home repair) if...
- You are a current homeowner who meets low-income guidelines (see below) and is in need of assistance completing minor exterior repairs on your home. Some examples of projects would be window caulking, landscape clean-up or leveling (for drainage issues), sidewalk repair, ramp installation, etc. The needed repairs must be of value to the property and not a cosmetic fix for an underlying problem.
- You are willing to contribute sweat equity hours, with the number of hours depending on the size and scope of the work done on your home.
-You can repay a no-profit, no-interest loan for the cost of the repairs completed on your home.
Income Guidelines
Because Habitat is an organization that works exclusively with low-income families, all applicants must have an annual household income between 30% and 60% of the area's median income. Your total family income must be within the HUD figures below.
Family Size Income
Household Size (income must be between these figures)
One person $11,600/ $23,160
Two people $13,250/ $26,520
Three people $14,900/ $29,820
Four people $16,550/ $33,120
Five people $17,850/ $35,760
Six people $19,200/ $38,400
Seven people $20,500/ $41,040
Eight people $21,850/ $43,740
2009 Hall Co. figures
Ability to Pay
To qualify for a Habitat home or repair loan, you must show you could pay
the monthly loan payment. Home loans include the
house payment, real estate taxes and insurance (currently around
$450 a month for a 3 bedroom home).
The percentage of your monthly income that you now spend on housing
is considered to determine need. All applicants are required to openly
and fully discuss their financial situation with the Selection Committee.
A credit report will be obtained. You are encouraged to apply even
if you have had a history of late payments, but are working to get
on track. Bankruptcy won’t necessarily disqualify you, however,
if you have been taken to court for non-payment of bills and still
have not paid them, you will be disqualified.
Willingness to Partner
To qualify you must be…
Willing to contribute 500 hours of “sweat equity” in you are partnering on a new home. If you are part of the A Brush with Kindness program, hours will be determined based on the project and loan amount. Sweat
equity is the volunteer contribution that a partner family makes
on their own and other Habitat homes/projects.
As soon as a family is selected to partner on a home build, the Family Support Committee
will maintain an on-going relationship with them. This includes homeowners education, financial
counseling, plus household maintenance and lawn care education.
Homes and yards must be kept in good condition to keep the value
of the home and for the good of Habitat’s ministry. Volunteers
are available to work with families to teach how repairs may best
be handled and give home-ownership advice. Habitat for Humanity not
only wants to help families into safe decent homes of their own,
but also help them to be good homeowners and good neighbors.
Commitment to the Area
Because Habitat wants to ensure the families we serve are commited to the area, we require applicants to have lived in the service area for at least one year before applying.
Call 308-385-5510 or e-mail gihfh@yahoo.com for more information on how and when to apply.
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