Tulsa Habitat for Humanity does not give away free homes. We work with partners and qualified homeowners to build quality, affordable housing.

 

About Habitat Homeownership

Tulsa Habitat for Humanity helps low-income individuals and families realize their dream of homeownership. We are committed to providing affordable housing options to local families and provide the following financial benefits to those buying a Habitat home:

  • Affordable mortgage that will be up to 30 years in length.

  • Affordable payments

Need for Housing

Habitat for Humanity envisions a world where everyone has a safe, affordable place to live. In order to achieve this goal, Habitat is committed to serving families that have a need for housing. We partner with families whose housing needs are expressed in a variety of ways. Here are some examples of need for housing:

  • You are living in temporary housing or are currently unhoused.

  • You are paying more than 30% of your monthly income towards rent and utilities.

  • There is crime in your neighborhood that makes you feel unsafe.

  • There are structural problems where you are living (example: roof or walls are deteriorating).

  • There are problems with your utilities (example: heating or cooling not adequate).

  • There are pests in the house (example: mice or roaches).

  • The space is overcrowded (example: there are many people living in one room).

  • If you currently own a home, you are not eligible to buy a Habitat home. However, you do not need to be a first-time homebuyer to qualify for a Habitat home.

Willingness to Partner

At Habitat for Humanity, partnership is very important to us. Habitat builds homes in partnership with our community and homebuyers. Families that are selected for our Homeownership Program must complete sweat equity hours before they can move into their home.

Ability to Pay- Income Requirements

Tulsa Habitat for Humanity seeks to help low income families become homeowners by purchasing an affordable home. In order to assure the loan will not be a financial burden and can be paid off in 30 years or less, there are income requirements. We look at a family’s gross monthly income, considering everyone over the age of 18 in the household. We count income from job wages, child support, alimony, food stamps, Social Security Survival benefits, SSDI, SSI, and TANF.

Each home is priced individually and has specific income qualifications.  Families whose monthly income is not within the income qualification range will not qualify. 

Credit Check

Habitat will conduct a credit check. We are not looking at your credit score, but checking for debts, collections, open judgments, or recent bankruptcies/foreclosures. This step is taken because we don’t want to put families that are already in debt further into debt with a home mortgage. Families who have had bankruptcies or foreclosures must have been discharged for 2 years before applying.

Begin the Process

While you wait for the next application session to begin, we encourage you to complete the following steps to ensure that you are adequately prepared for the application process.

STEP 1: Pull your free annual Credit Report. Because you are applying to purchase a home through our program we are required to evaluate your ability to pay by reviewing your credit report. We will also request credit reference letters from the places that you pay monthly bills to. Having a good payment history and adequate credit is essential to being a good homeowner. Visit freecreditreport.com or creditkarma.com to request your free credit report from Experian Credit Bureau. You can review your credit report to identify any negative debt (judgments or collections). If any is found you can make arrangements to pay-off or remove the debt to put you in a better position to qualify for our program.

STEP 2: Ensure you have a steady work history for at least two years. As stated above, the ability to pay the loan is one of our criteria for approval. Therefore, you must have consistent income in order to be considered for the program as well as steady work history. If you receive government assistance or social security, we will need copies of the award letters.

STEP 3: Gather identification information for household members. We will require a copy of social security cards for all family members listed on the application. If you do not have social security cards, now would be a good time to order new ones. Also, all applicants (people to be listed on the house loan) and spouses, will need to provide a copy of their birth certificate, permanent residence card or U.S. passport. If you do not have these documents handy please take this time to collect those documents.