Requirements

Pearls and Dreams

I thought I'd put a quick post about the requirements we had to fulfill.

*You have to put $50 a month on the FIRST for 10 months for the escrow account.
*500 hours of volunteer work to Habitat for Sweat Equity.
*A 10 month class of Money Management class. Two nights a month. With homework.
*A will is required.
*30 year interest free mortgageYou buy the house from Habitat who finances the house with an interest free mortgage. The purchase price of the house is fair market value for the house. The only difference in the cost of the house is that there is no interest in the loan (which is HUGE).
You must pass a credit check, however, if you are on the borderline, when you take the credit check, then when you take the money management class, they will help you get it straightened out.

There is no grace in their requirements. Minimum of 15 hours of sweat equity a month ... you get one month that you don't meet it ...and the second month you're out of the program. Not 2 months in a row, 2 months in the whole time you're getting your 450 hours. 15 hours doesn't seem like much on paper. But, when you're sick, and it's not easy to find that 15 hours to give. I found out doing the sweat equity just exactly why it is that I'm on disability.

If your escrow payment is not in by midnight on the first, it will be refunded, and you start the 10 month over again. When my mom was in the hospital on November 1st, we remembered the payment at 2 AM on the 2nd of November. We were surprised when the check for May through November's escrow account was refunded to us and we had to begin our 10 month process over again in December. It was 2 AM ..just 2 hours late, and before office hours opened, and with definite reasons to explain. Not good enough.

If you miss more than 2 money management classes you were out. You'd have to start those over again. While I didn't miss any of them (and I was quite sick in some of them.) there was one lady that had surgery and had to start them over 3 times. She, like me, has many health problems and has had to go through the process through the skin of her teeth and prayers of her friends. She'd miss three classes because of medical reasons, and have to start over again. She finally made it through when she took the class with me.


There was nothing easy about getting through the program. When we saw the requirements on paper, it didn't seem that difficult. However, going through it, I understand why the executive director said that no person who gets a Habitat House is given a thing, they've worked for every nail, layer of pain and pc of sheet rock that they will own.