Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County’s Mission We seek to put God's love into action by building homes, communities and hope. Habitat for Humanity selects partner families based on their need for decent housing, ability to repay the mortgage and willingness to partner with Habitat. Selected homeowners are low-income earning 25%-50% of median income. Train the homeowner to be successful homeowners. Habitat requires that prospective homeowners earn a Housing Counseling Certificate, attend training on home maintenance, give 225 hours of “sweat equity” on the job site, and pay of or make current any delinquent debt. Habitat is a hand-up, not a hand-out. Once the house is complete and the prospective homeowner has completed their obligations, Habitat sells them the house at the construction cost, no-interest and no-profit. Since 1986, Habitat for Humanity has had only two defaults out of 90 homeowners. Community Involvement. Volunteers from all walks of life and all levels of skill & experience are involved from the selection of the prospective homeowners to the construction of the house. First Right of Refusal. The homebuyers must then live in the house as their primary residence; and cannot sell, rent, or otherwise transfer it for a period of 10 years or give Habitat the first chance to buy the house back at the original sales price. A silent second mortgage protects the homeowner from predatory lending. Benefits of Habitat for Humanity • Increases the stability for the homeowner and their children. Habitat homeowners and children have gone onto college after eliminating the problem of housing in their lives. • Increases the rate of homeownership in the area of projects. Homeownership helps to stabilize neighborhoods. • National studies about Habitat for Humanity indicate that the children of Habitat homeowners’ school performance increases after moving into their homes.