Family Selection

You must demonstrate that you have a need for adequate housing. Your current housing must be inadequate. Some of the things that are considered inadequate are:

• Structural problems
• Plumbing problems
• Heating problems
• Electrical problems

LAHFH also looks at how affordable your current house is.

You will be buying your home from LAHFH, so you must show your ability to pay the monthly mortgage payment. The mortgage payment includes:

• Mortgage
• Real estate taxes
• Insurance

You must be willing to openly discuss your financial situation with members from the Family Selection Committee. You are required to pay a down payment that will not exceed $750.

In order to qualify, your yearly family income has to fall within these guidelines:

1 person - $12,450 - $20,750
2 person - $14,200 - $23,700
3 person - $16,000 - $26,650
4 person - $17,750 - $29,600
5 person - $19,200 - $32,000
6 person - $20,600 - $34,350
7 person - $22,050 - $36,750
(figures for 2011)

We don’t build a house for you; we build a house with you. As a partner family, you must complete 300 hours of “sweat equity”. Sweat equity includes:

• Your help in building your home
• Serving food to volunteers
• Working at other LAHFH events

You must also:
• Make payments on time
• Be a good neighbor
• Be a responsible homeowner

Once moved in, you will be responsible for the maintenance and repairs of your house. We also hope and believe you will want to continue being a part of the miracle of Habitat for Humanity.

Application meetings are typically held once a year in our service areas of Cass, Crow Wing and Hubbard counties. Applications are available at the meetings and are not generally available at the LAHFH office. Information that must be included with the application includes:

• Income verification
• Tax returns
• A statement on the family’s need for housing
• A credit report

The selection of families will be done in a way that does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, age, handicap, religion, marital status or because all or part of the applicant’s income is derived from public assistance.
If you want to be notified when the next application round begins, please contact us.