Buy A Home With Habitat
Habitat partners with families and individuals to help build a place they can call home. Potential homeowners work alongside volunteers to help build their own homes, which they then purchase with an affordable mortgage. Through financial coaching, homebuyer training, and partnership hours, your family can pursue purchasing a home of your own. Habitat works with third-party lenders to offer low interest rates and down-payments on our mortgage packages. Review the selection criteria below to determine if Habitat homeownership is the right path for you.
We are always accepting applications for current or future homes we are building.
CRITERIA FOR SELECTION
RESIDENCY
You must be a legal permanent resident or citizen of the United States and have lived or worked in Berkshire County for at least the past year.
NEED
You must not have owned a home in past 3 years and currently be living in substandard, subsidized, or unaffordable housing.
ABILITY TO PAY
Must have proof of steady income and satisfactory credit history; have no accounts in collection, no charge-offs or unsatisfied public records; and no bankruptcies in the last four years. Income eligibility is based on area median income for the Pittsfield metro area. Applicants should fall between 40% to 70% of the median income for their household size.
WILLINGNESS TO PARTNER
All home buyers must complete between 325 and 500 hours of “partnership hours” and home buyer education depending on whether you are a single or dual head of household.
Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. Section 504 prohibits discrimination based on disability in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. If you or anyone has suffered against housing discrimination click here to file a complaint.