Prices will differ slightly depending on location and the costs of land, labor and materials. Habitat houses are affordable for low-income families because there is no profit included in the sale price, and no interest charged on the mortgage. The average length of a Habitat mortgage in the United States is 20 years. Families apply to local Habitat affiliates. A Family Selection Committee chooses homeowners based on their level of need, their willingness to become partners in the program and their ability to repay the loan.
Every affiliate follows a nondiscriminatory policy of family selection.
Neither race nor religion is a factor in choosing the families that receive Habitat houses. There are now over 1,000 active affiliates located in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Habitat is a grass-roots movement. Concerned citizens from all walks of life come together as volunteers to form a HFHI affiliate in their community. Fund-raising, house construction, family selection and other key decisions are carried out by the local affiliates.