FAMILY APPLICATION IS CLOSED

Homeownership Information

Application Process

The Old Colony Habitat Partner Family is selected after all of the qualified applicants are identified. Old Colony Habitat for Humanity offers a hand-up, not a hand-out. Our partnership program includes educational workshops to equip new homeowners with the skills necessary to manage being a homeowner and the financial skills to be successful.

• We do not currently have an application cycle open.
• Please watch our social media and website updates and sign up below for the waiting list to be notified.
• Applications will be available when we are actively marketing a property for sale. The application window will be open for 30 days. Additional information on the Eligibility Questionnaire and Application will be sent once the application timeline is announced.

Join The Waiting List

Eligibility

The Partner Family is selected based on the following guidelines and level of need as determined by our criteria.

In order to qualify for our homeowner program, applicants must:

1. Have a need for safe and decent housing.
2. Have lived or worked in our service area for at least a year.
3. Attend homeownership / financial management seminars at our offices.
4. Meet the current HUD median income guidelines (TBD)
5. Have secure employment, good credit, legal residency, no felony convictions, and no more than one misdemeanor.
6. Be able to pay a down payment.
7. Demonstrate an ability to pay a mortgage on time, in full, each month.
8. Be willing to partner with Old Colony Habitat for Humanity by completing the required sweat equity. Adults in the Partner Family must provide at least 250 hours each, up to a maximum of 500 hours of sweat equity, towards building their home, other Habitat homes, or special projects.
9. Be willing to be a long-term partner with Habitat for Humanity. Being a long-term partner means completing all partner requirements during the construction of the buyer’s home, being a good homeowner and neighbor once the buyer moves into the home and continuing to support the Habitat for Humanity mission long after the buyer’s home is built.
10. Grant permission to Old Colony Habitat for Humanity to use my name and the names of my children and our participation in activities with Old Colony Habitat for Humanity programs for communication and fundraising purposes. In addition, I will grant right, title and interest in any and all photographic images and video or audio recordings made by Old Colony Habitat for Humanity, including, but not limited to, any royalties, proceeds or other benefits derived from such publications, photographs or recordings.

A Habitat partnership may be the solution for your family, if:

1. You are able to make housing, taxes, and insurance payments.
2. Your maximum household income does not exceed 80% of the area median income as published yearly by the U.S. Department of Housing and Development (HUD).
3. You are unable to qualify for conventional mortgage financing for a market rate home.
4. You are a first-time home buyer (some exceptions may apply).
5. You are a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident.
6. Your Household meets the income and asset limits.

Old Colony Habitat for Humanity does not discriminate in the selection of applicants on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age, ancestry, children, familial status, genetic information, marital status, public assistance recipiency, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran/military status, or any other basis prohibited by law.

Old Colony Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization, and we do business in accordance with Federal and Massachusetts Fair Housing and Lending Laws.

For more information about opportunities for homeownership, please contact the family services committee. They can be reached family@oldcolonyhabitat.org

Income Guidelines

Gross household income can be no more than 80% Area Median Income, based on the number of people in the household. Yearly HUD income guidelines will be referenced when they are published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Development (HUD).

The Application Process Timeline

• Applicant fills out the Eligibility Questionnaire.
• If the applicant qualifies for an application, one is sent via Docusign. (Paper applications are also available upon request)
• After receiving an application, Old Colony Habitat for Humanity allows 30 days to submit an application with all of the required documents.
• The qualification process may take 10-12 weeks from the completed application submittal.
• Once applications are reviewed, the Family Selection Committee will contact Potential Partner Families to schedule a home visit to interview the applicants and observe current living conditions. We ask that prospective homeowners make reasonable arrangements for scheduling. The Family Selection Committee will review and verify all the information on the applications.
• All qualified applicants are then entered into a lottery for random selection. All applicants will be notified verbally and in writing of the outcome.
• If families wish to apply for future Habitat homes, they must fill out an updated application.