Affordable Housing: How to Become a ‘Habitat Homeowner’ in Fife Lake

Stability, safety, and a sense of relief.

Habitat for Humanity plans to build a home in Fife Lake this summer for a family in need.

The Home Ownership Program says it’s time to start applying for this special opportunity to become a “Habitat Homeowner” in the Grand Traverse Region.

Homeowner and Volunteer Services Manager Kathleen English says they are looking for people in need of affordable housing.

“We look at what their current housing situation is, are they in an over-crowded situation or paying way to much of their income to rent, in a situation where they need repairs done to their rental home and they are not getting those repairs?” English says.

Two upcoming information sessions on Feb. 2 and 7 will be providing the need-to-know details, like what sort of expectations the homeowners will have.

“If someone is selected to be in our program, they put in sweat equity hours,” English says. “They help build the home with our staff and our volunteers. They go through home buyer education and financial education just so we know that they are going to have the proper foundation.”

The chosen family also gets integrated into the Habitat for Humanity Community.

“They help out at our Restore, at our events, and they help build a relationship with Habitat and community as well so in the end they purchase their own home from Habitat and they are home owners,” English says. “So they have a place where they can raise a family and have a stable sense of being independent and things like that.”

The goal is to help a family establish affordable housing, but the home itself is not free. Qualifying families have to have a stable source of income, have a history of making payments on time, and be financially able to make the affordable monthly payment.

Learn more about the upcoming information sessions from the flyer below. People interested must RSVP.