The Applicant Selection Process

Application

• Applications are taken once a year at an informational meeting.
• The applicant family must fill out and submit an application by the specified deadline date.
• The Family Selection Committee will review the application to verify that prospective families meet the selection criteria. (Most criteria are set by Habitat for Humanity International.) A team of two persons from the Family Selection Committee will visit the applicant at home to interview the family and verify details on the application.
• Once all eligible applicants have been visited, the Committee ranks the applicants and makes a recommendation to the Board.
• The Board makes the final decision and notifies the applicants by mail and personal visits.

Criteria for Eligibility

Applicants are judged on housing need, ability to pay for Habitat housing and willingness to partner with Habitat.

The selection of families who will purchase homes from Midland County Habitat for Humanity will be done by the Family Selection committee in a way that does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, color, age, handicap, religion, marital status or because all or part of applicant’s income is derived from public assistance programs.

Applicants must meet specific criteria in order to be eligible for a Habitat home:

• Must be a resident of Midland County.
• The applicant family must fill out and submit an application by the specified deadline date.
• Applicant cannot be eligible for a conventional housing loan.
• If the applicant is undergoing divorce, the divorce must be final at the time of application.
• Applicant must have a family income of 30 – 50% of the Midland County median income (see chart below).
• Applicant family must be willing to work 500 hours (400 hours for single parent families) on Habitat projects (this is called sweat equity). One hundred hours must be completed prior to beginning construction on their home.
• The applicant must show the ability to live on a budget and keep a house in good condition,

Income Limits as of 2008

Family Size	30%	50%
2	$15,510	$25,800
3	$17,430	$29,050
4	$19,380	$32,300
5	$20,940	$34,900
6	$22,470	$37,450
7	$24,030	$40,050
8	$25,590	$42,650