Coastal Empire: Habitat for Humanity
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How do I apply for a Habitat Home?

Thank you for your interest in housing opportunities with Coastal Empire Habitat for Humanity, Inc.! We are a non-profit ecumenical housing ministry that builds homes in partnership with individuals and families in need of decent and affordable housing. Our goal is to eliminate poverty housing both locally and globally. This page will provide you with information regarding the application and selection process.

Qualifying for a Habitat Home

In order to qualify for a Habitat home all applicants must meet the basic criteria listed below. All applicants must have a housing need and meet income restrictions, residency requirements and be willing to partner with Habitat for Humanity.

Family selection for home ownership will be based on demonstrated financial need, current residence in inadequate housing, and documented evaluation of the applicant(s)' ability to repay a mortgage to CEHFH. A prerequisite for applying for a CEHFH home will be attendance at the CEHFH Seminar. No home will be assigned without an in-home visit with the borrower and co-borrower which will then be presented to the Family Selection Committee. The Family Selection Committee will make recommendations to the Board of CEHFH. The Board is the only body with authority to approve or terminate agreements for home ownership with CEHFH.

Definition of an Applicant family

Any combination of persons living as a unit. Individuals may apply for CEHFH homes.

Residency Requirements

In order to meet residency requirements applicants must be legal residents of the United States and must have lived or worked in our service area for at least 12 of the past 24 months at the time you submit an application. Our service area covers the Savannah and Chatham County.

Housing Need

The applicants must have need for a CEHFH home based on living in housing which is subject to one or more of the following conditions: (1)substandard (poor repair, lacking or with inoperative major systems), (2) overcrowded for family size, or (3)unsafe conditions (environmental hazards, crime, traffic dangers, etc.) Residence in Section 8 or other public housing communities will also demonstrate need. Priority will be given to families of three or more since it is CEHFH’s mission to move as many people as possible out of poverty housing.

Income Restrictions & Ability to Pay

Homeowners buy their homes with a no-interest, no-profit loan from Habitat. Habitat collects monthly payments from homeowners and uses that money to help build new homes. In order to be eligible to apply for Habitat home, you must be able to pay for the home.

This is determined by application of a consistent underwriting process which considers income to debt ratio for each family. Verification will be required of all income submitted relating to employment, public assistance programs, pensions, social security, disability income, child support, etc. Debt will be assessed based on information declared on the applicant’s Fannie Mae home application and on credit reports applied to a formula standard to the mortgage industry. All recommendations will be documented by underwriting reports presented to the Family Selection Committee.

Financial Eligibility

CEHFH builds homes in partnership with families of very low income and bases its financial evaluations on the total income of the household. Current criteria stipulate that no applicants can be approved for home ownership with incomes which exceed eighty percent (80%) of the median income for the Savannah Metropolitan Statistic Area as defined by the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Income limits are determined by an annual table provided by HUD. Family annual income must be a minimum of $7,500.

Click to view the HUD Median Income Guidelines Form

Evaluation of Finances

Verification will be required for all sources of income as follows:

Willingness to Partner

In order to be eligible to apply for a Habitat home, you must be willing to partner with Habitat to help build your own home and homes for others. These requirements are 350 hours, of which 150 hours, respectively, can be contributed by friends and extended family. Applicants that have a disability that prevents them from working on the construction site will be able to work on other volunteer projects approved by the affiliate.

Coastal Empire Habitat for Humanity does not discriminate against any applicant because of age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, handicap, familial status, or national origin.

Equal Credit Opportunity Act Notice

Coastal Empire Habitat for Humanity is an Equal Housing Opportunity lender. We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the nation. We encourage and support an affirmative advertising and marketing program in which there are no barriers in obtaining housing because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin.

How to Apply for a Habitat House

If you are interested in learning more about Habitat for Humanity and applying for a Habitat home, please contact our office for the date that the application process will be opened. You will initially fill out a pre-application form which has basic questions on household size, housing need, income and current residency status. This information will be used to determine your eligibility for a home. Once you complete this process you will be invited to a seminar to receive all information needed to proceed to the next step of the process.

This is a 30-90 day process which includes a seminar, an application intake, financial review and home visit. Habitat is a long term housing solution; it may take 1 - 2 years to complete a Habitat home.

Download the Pre-Application Form