Thank you for your interest in becoming a Habitat homeowner in Selma! We believe that everyone should have a safe, affordable place to call home.
By working with us from beginning to end, you will prepare for the various responsibilities of homeownership, including learning about personal finances, mortgages, maintenance and upkeep of homes, and much more.
Habitat’s path to homeownership is an important and in-depth process, requiring hard work, time and dedication. But this helps ensure the long-term success of Habitat homeowners.
First Steps
Habitat homeowners must be active participants in building a better home and future for themselves and their families. Every Habitat home is an investment. For us, it is one answer to the critical need need for affordable housing in our area, and we believe that stronger homes will create stronger communities.
-
Prospective Habitat homeowners must demonstrate a need for safe, affordable housing, be a US citizen or permanent resident, and have lived or worked in Wake or Johnston counties for the past year.
-
Once selected, Habitat homeowners must partner with us throughout the process. This partnership includes performing “sweat equity,” or helping to build their own home or the homes of others in our program. Sweat equity can also include taking homeownership classes or performing volunteer work in a Habitat ReStore.
-
Homeowners must also be able and willing to pay an affordable mortgage. Mortgage payments are cycled back into the community to help build additional Habitat houses. Every year, income ranges are determined to help us select applicants. See the chart below for this year’s income guidelines.
Sweat Equity
What is sweat equity? Sweat equity is the non-monetary investment someone makes in the building process. It’s about doing the work — the hard work — to bring an idea to life. At Habitat for Humanity, sweat equity is a new homeowner investing in their home or in another family's home. It’s not a form of payment, but an opportunity to work alongside volunteers to bring a family’s dream of owning a home to life.
Sweat equity can take many forms for partner families working with Habitat. It can mean construction work on their home or on another family's home, cleaning up the build site, working in a Habitat ReStore, assisting in administrative duties, or countless other ways of helping out.
That co-worker approach informs Habitat’s emphasis on sweat equity: all of us work together so that homeowners can achieve the strength, stability and independence they need to build a better life for themselves and for their families.