Home for the Holidays!
December marks the final home closings of the year for Habitat for Humanity of San Antonio families. Within the last month, 10 families closed on their brand new affordable homes – just in time for Christmas. Habitat partners with hardworking families in need to provide decent and affordable homes with a 20-year, 0% interest mortgage.
Each year, Habitat aims to build about 50-55 new affordable homes for families in San Antonio. Along the way, Habitat partners with families from all backgrounds and walks of life, and prides itself on working with families to provide a hand up, not a handout. Habitat is very much an empowerment program.
Family Selection Process
Families get accepted into the homebuilding program based on their need, ability to pay the monthly mortgage payment of about $550 (including taxes and insurance), and their willingness to partner. Willingness to partner means that they dedicate a minimum of 300 hours to help build their homes and the homes of their neighbors. Families are required to attend 16 homeownership readiness classes. These classes teach skills such as financial literacy, conflict management, and home maintenance.
Habitat’s main goal is to provide stability through homeownership to families who work hard and want to help themselves. For these families, owning an affordable home can help break the cycle of poverty and help many generations to come.
Habitat strives to be a leader in the residential home building industry. With one no-step entry and built according to Universal Design, Habitat provides homes for families to age in place and thrive for many years to come. Using energy-efficient materials and building homes with efficiency in mind is a top priority for Habitat. Habitat pre-builds all walls for its homes so there is little waste during the framing process. Habitat also leads green building initiatives by using eco-conscious materials like smog-eating shingles from Malarkey Roofing Products that can have the same positive impact on San Antonio’s air as two trees.
Meeting Goals in 2019 and Beyond
In 2019 alone, Habitat has helped 53 hardworking families purchase their own affordable homes. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has helped a total of 1,128 homeowners in San Antonio. They plan on helping 50 more families in 2020. Funding is the only thing holding them back! With your help, Habitat can make owning an affordable home a dream come true for hundreds of families.
Without the support of great volunteers and donors, Habitat would not have been able to change the lives of more than 1,128 families. Donating funding to Habitat helps build more homes. Every little bit helps! Habitat makes a commitment to use donations wisely. Due to the success of the Habitat Home Centers, 100% of your monetary donations go directly into the home building program – making sure every dollar counts!