How Does Habitat Choose its Partner Families?

Our next Family Selection process is currently not scheduled. To be put on a list to be contacted when family selection begins please email your name, email address, mailing address and phone number to info@tetonhabitat.org with ‘Apply for a Home’ in the subject line. Or stop by the office to fill out an interest form.

The Family Selection Committee evaluates applicant families on three major criteria:

1) Need for Housing: Families must not be able to afford to purchase a home by any other means.  They must  currently live in substandard or temporary housing.  Substandard housing conditions include, but are not limited to:

• inadequate physical housing conditions, including structural, wiring, plumbing, heating, accessibility, and maintenance problems.
• overcrowding- when there are not enough bedrooms for a family based on the age, gender and number of people in a household.
• a poor housing environment, where a family feels unsafe
• rent is unaffordable- a family pays more than 35% of their monthly income on rent

2) Ability to Pay: Eligible families must earn a steady income of no more than 60% of Area Median Income for Teton County according to family size.  Families must be able to make a monthly mortgage payment of roughly $500 and save $1,500 for closing costs, while accounting for any other debts families may have.

3) Willingness to Partner with Habitat: Families must demonstrate an eagerness to partner with Habitat’s homeownership program.  This partnership include

• completing a 500-hour sweat equity requirement, where family members work alongside volunteers on their home, other Habitat Homes or in the ReStore.
• attending homebuyer education classes
• participating in a high publicity program
• showing the ability to maintain the land and home after purchase, be a good neighbor and abide by neighborhood regulations, and
• completing requests in full by given deadlines

To be eligible to purchase a Habitat home, at least one adult member of the family must also be a US citizen or have permanent residency.

The Family Selection Committee evaluates applicants to determine which are the most qualified.  Those who best meet Habitat’s criteria will be interviewed in their current home, and the final round of applicants will be interviewed before the committee makes a recommendation to Habitat’s Board of Directors for family selection.

The price of a Habitat home depends on the cost of construction materials and professional services.  Habitat charges only the cost of building the home. We expect our next five homes to cost between $150,000 to $160,000. Monthly mortgage payments should not be more then $650.  Habitat does not make a profit on the sale of the home and only charges its true cost to partner families.  Families are given a 30-year 0% interest mortgage for their home.

Habitat’s homes are available to all who meet our family selection criteria, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin.