Habitat for Humanity of North Idaho is the local Habitat Affiliate serving low-income residents of Kootenai County. We build new construction housing using volunteer labor and other community support in order to provide affordable housing opportunities.

As the cost of land and building materials has increased in Kootenai County, it’s been necessary for us to find more ways to keep the final cost per housing unit from rising. We are now building condo-style housing in order to prevent the cost per housing unit from increasing any more than it has to. Condos provide homeownership opportunities but require common areas outside each unit to be shared by all owners in a condo development.

The housing program requires Sweat Equity from every adult in your family, but your kids can help too. Each adult will volunteer at the build sites, take financial education, attend first-time homeowner education classes or webinars, and other volunteer activities totaling 250 hours. You must be able to qualify for a mortgage to buy your home from Habitat, so you must demonstrate reasonable work and credit history.

Partner family qualification is determined by meeting three criteria: need, ability to pay and willingness to partner.

NEED: You must demonstrate your current housing is inadequate, unsafe, unaffordable, or unhealthy. You and your family will be considered if your income is 80% or below the Kootenai County Area Median Income (AMI). Income guidelines are based on the number of people in your household. (See chart above.)

ABILITY TO PAY: You must demonstrate your ability to pay a monthly mortgage payment in addition to current debt. This monthly amount includes your house payment, homeowners insurance, taxes, and homeowner association fee (if applicable). This requires satisfactory credit and a stable income.

WILLINGNESS TO PARTNER: Are you willing to work 250 Sweat Equity hours? Sweat Equity can take many forms for future homeowners partnering with Habitat. It’s an opportunity for families to help build their home alongside volunteers and play an active part in making their dream of owning a home a reality. The homeownership program requires Sweat Equity from every adult in your family, but kids can help, too. Each adult will volunteer at the build sites, take financial education, attend first-time homeowner classes or webinars, and other volunteer activities over an 18-24 month period. This may involve 20-30 hours per month of extra work in addition to your current employment.