Homebuyer Program

Strong And Stable Homes Build Strong And Stable Communities.

To apply for a home, you must attend an informational meeting. Upcoming application meeting dates are posted on our home buyer page. If you do not see an informational meeting listed, it means that we do not have one scheduled at this time. We typically have one meeting per year in each of our areas–Cherokee, Lanier Area (Forsyth, & Dawson Counties). You should attend the meeting in the area in which you would like to live.

Habitat for Humanity-North Central Georgia is looking for qualified homebuyers for its affordable homeownership program. The program provides a hand up to those looking to partner with us to build a simple, decent affordable home.

The first step in our process is for you to learn the basics about our program in order to determine if you might qualify. Review all of the general requirements INCLUDING the income required for the last 24 months. Click on the Qualifications tab below for details and the income chart showing the minimum and maximum household income based on the size of your family (we include income of all adults who reside in the home).

If you meet these basic requirements, please request a phone interview. During this phone interview, we will ask a series of questions to determine your basic eligibility for our program. If we determine you meet the basic requirements, we will schedule a face-to-face informational meeting.

To request a phone interview, please send an email to familyservices@habitat-ncg.org.
Be sure to include your name, email address and a phone number.

Habitat for Humanity-North Central Georgia does not provide immediate housing assistance. Habitat homeowners wait between 6 months and 2 years in queue before purchasing and moving into their homes. If you need immediate help with your housing situation, please visit the Other Local Agencies page or you can call 211 from any phone to reach United Way.

Please Note: We will only accept candidates who have lived or worked in our service area for at least one year. The counties in our service area are Cherokee, Dawson, Forsyth and North Fulton. We no longer build in North Fulton; all new homes will be constructed in either Cherokee or Forsyth County. Please review the information below to learn about our basic program requirements, including the income required to own a home.

Qualifications

To be eligible to apply for homeownership with Habitat-NCG:

You must be a US citizen or a permanent legal resident.
You must have lived OR worked in Cherokee County, Forsyth County, North Fulton area, or Dawson County for at least one year.
You have a steady, verifiable source of income for the last 24 months at the income level required on the chart below based on your family size.
Your household income before taxes must be within the following limits:

Number of People Living in the Home	Income Before Taxes Not Less Than	Income Before Taxes Not More Than
1	$28,600	$50,050
2	$32,680	$57,190
3	$36,760	$64,330
4	$40,840	$71,740
5	$44,120	$77,210
6	$47,400	$82,950
7	$50,680	$88,690
8	$53,920	$94,360

Minimum & maximum income limits are established by HUD Home Program.

Criteria

Homeowners are selected based on three criteria:

Need for housing

Your present housing is not adequate (unsafe, not maintained, overcrowded, and/or unaffordable.)
You are unable to obtain affordable housing through other conventional means.

Willingness to Partner

You agree to complete 200 hours of sweat equity. Sweat equity hours are earned by helping to build your and other families’ homes alongside volunteers.
You agree to complete six homeowner education classes.

Ability to Pay

You have a steady, verifiable source of income.
You have good credit (based on your credit report, NOT your credit score).

Application Process

The first step in our process is to review the requirements of our program listed above. Review all of the general requirements INCLUDING the income required for the last 24 months (based on the size of your family). Please note that good credit and repayment history is a very important requirement too.

One recent change to our program requirements: We will only accept candidates who have lived or worked in our service area for at least one year. The counties in our service area are Cherokee, Dawson, Forsyth, and North Fulton.

Once you have reviewed all of the requirements above, if you believe you might qualify, you must participate in a preliminary phone interview.

During this phone interview, we will ask a series of questions to review your basic eligibility for our program. If we determine you meet the basic requirements, we will schedule an informational meeting with a member of our Family Services staff in our office for a date in the near future. The informational meeting will give you a complete explanation of our program and provide you with answers to your questions. At the conclusion of the informational meeting, we will provide you with an application to complete and return with all of the documents we require.

The entire process takes about one year before an approved applicant will have a home built and ready for move-in.

Our Program has approved a sufficient number of future homeowners for the next several months. It is important we not over commit our ability to the community. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

For further questions, email familyservices@habitat-ncg.org.