If you’ve ever played The Sims, you know just how exciting it is to have your own home to organize and decorate. Now imagine having that option in real life. Becoming a homeowner is an amazing accomplishment that provides security and indescribable satisfaction. That all sounds fine and dandy, but what about the financial investment necessary for purchasing a house, right? If buying a house were that easy, everyone would be a homeowner. That is an undeniable truth, but thanks to the Habitat for Humanity application for the Homeownership Program, you might become one sooner than later.

What’s a Habitat for Humanity of Broward House Like?

When you apply for Habitat for Humanity house, you can expect it to meet all of the requirements of contemporary and comfortable living. Just because this is a program that is targeted towards helping lower-income families doesn’t mean that the home quality is poor; quite the contrary!

That said, Habitat for Humanity of Broward gathers skilled and experienced contractors and volunteers that take care of the essentials, from landscaping and painting to plumbing and electricity. We leave no stone unturned when it comes to building a high-quality house that perfectly meets the community’s standards and specifications. Furthermore, every building site has an appointed professional construction supervisor and Crew Leaders to oversee the whole process. They ensure that every part of the building goes smoothly.

Every Habitat for Humanity of Broward house goes through detailed inspection before it gets approved. As mentioned, these homes are built with the highest quality in mind and, therefore, they are meant to last and maintain great market value. This is why energy-efficiency is a very important aspect, among other things.

You’re probably wondering how to apply for a Habitat house already, but it’s crucial that you understand that these homes are not given out for free. You get to buy a house but with a very low-interest mortgage; the monthly payments are set at 30% of your household income. Furthermore, you have to qualify for the Homeownership Program so let’s continue with the required criteria in a bit more detail.

What Are the Necessary Program Qualifications?

Essentially, Habitat for Humanity of Broward has a goal to help low-to-moderate income families settle in their own home. If they qualify for the Homeownership Program, they can then buy a house in the Twin Cities. What’s more, the entire journey will let them learn more about the actual responsibilities of being a homeowner as well as mortgage management and home buying options that the Habitat for Humanity application entails.

Are You Eligible to Apply for Habitat Homes?

There are some general criteria that can help one determine whether they qualify for the Habitat for Humanity of Broward’s Homeownership Program in the first place:

• It’s necessary to have lived in the Twin Cities seven-county area for minimally one whole consecutive year. These include Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington.
• Except for the US veterans and military members, one can’t have owned a home (unless it was a manufactured home) for the past three years.

In case you pass the general criteria of eligibility for the Habitat for Humanity application, it’s time to assess the necessary financial criteria:

• Annual gross income plays a major role and it’s subjected to Habitat for Humanity of Broward’s guidelines depending on the number of family members. For instance, a 1-person household should maintain an annual gross income between $36,949 minimum and $54,950 maximum. A 4-person household, on the other hand, should be in the range between $36,949 and $78,500. It’s simple enough to check detailed information about this matter on the Habitat for Humanity of Broward’s Homeownership Program web page.
• The credit score is preferred to be 620 and up, but there are some options for people with no or invisible credit.
• At least $6,300 in savings.
• It’s crucial that the amount of monthly debt one has to pay is not more than 13% of their gross income per month. When student loans are concerned, they’re counted as 0.5% in deferment or forbearance per month. This means that a student loan total of e.g. $20,000 amounts to $100 of monthly debt.
• There should be no outstanding liens or judgement.
• In order to apply for Habitat for Humanity home, one has to be employed at the current job for at least one year or two years in case of self-employment.
• In case of bankruptcy, one is eligible to apply for Habitat homes only if two years minimum have passed since the bankruptcy and with 24 months of re-established credit in place.
• At least three years need to have passed since any type of short sale or foreclosure.
• The amount in outstanding collections has to be lower than $1,000, or $3,000 for medical collections.

It’s not necessary to be a US citizen in order to apply for Habitat for Humanity of Broward’s Homeownership Program; however, legal residency status is required together with meeting the first general criteria referring to living in one of the Twin Cities seven counties for at least one year consecutively.

Furthermore, marital status doesn’t affect one’s eligibility to apply for Habitat homes, and neither does the matter of having children or not.

How to Apply for a Habitat House?

If you find that you meet all of the above requirements, all that’s left to do is work out how to apply for a Habitat house. That said, the application process is rather simple, provided you have all the necessary documentation ready to submit.

Start by filling out the 3-page form available at the Habitat for Humanity of Broward Homeownership Program web page. Once you complete and submit it, you’ll soon get an email notifying you whether or not you’re eligible for the Program. If you are, you’ll be asked to set up your Homeownership Portal account.

This is where the real application process starts as you’ll have to provide all the necessary documentation. These include:

• A colored copy of picture ID for every household member that’s 18+ years old.
• Two years’ worth of tax information for the self-employed or employment verification form that states the hire date, wage, and hours worked weekly.
• Verification of income for the last four months for every household member that’s 18+. Those unemployed should fill out the zero-income verification form. In case that any household member receives assistance (MFIP, SSI, SSDI, RSDI, and Disability), this also has to be documented. All other forms of income (child support, alimony, etc.) require the most recent 6-month history of payments and a notarized letter for this particular type of income verification.
• Release and information forms provided in regards to the Habitat for Humanity of Broward Homeownership Program.

Habitat for Humanity of Broward connects people around the globe in order to bring safer and more secure homes to different communities. We’re happy to say that we successfully operate in more than 70 countries in the world, building homes and improving people’s lives. Actually, since 1976 when we officially began our work, Habitat for Humanity of Broward has managed to assist almost 30 million people when it comes to the betterment of their living conditions. If you’re interested in applying for our homes or wish to join our cause, feel free to visit our website and get in touch.