Habitat for Humanity of Grand County works in partnership with the Grand County community and families in need to build simple, affordable homes. We serve low-income families in Grand County through our three core programs:
Home Building
The long term goal of our home building program is to collaborate with the Grand County community to build a stock of affordable housing that will remain affordable for the long term.
Achieving this goal is critical to stem the outward flow of young families, the 25 – 40-year old segment of the population that is forced to leave the county in order to find affordable housing for their families.
Our short-term goal is to consistently build at least one house per year for a low-income family, completing each house in one building season. To date we have completed 14 houses, and we have started on Houses #15 & 16 fall of 2024.
We offer a hand-up, not a hand-out, to our families who work side-by-side with our volunteers to build their houses. Each adult member of a Habitat family contributes 200 hours of “sweat equity” to the construction of their house.
Family Support
Our families partner with us to build their house. That relationship does not end with closing. We maintain close contact with our families and offer a number of services to help them transition to the responsibilities of home ownership, including a financial literacy course to help our families master financial management skills. We also work with local service agencies to help our families weather financial crises.
Home Financing and Mortgage Assistance
We work through a U.S. Department of Agriculture rural loan program to get each Habitat family an affordable, low-interest first mortgage based on their income. To ensure that the family’s monthly payments are affordable, we set the amount of this mortgage and the term of the loan so that the principal, taxes and insurance do not exceed 30% of the family’s monthly income.
This first mortgage represents only a fraction of the value of the house. We cover the remaining appraised value of the home with a “silent second” mortgage. This mortgage is forgiven when the family makes the final payment on the first mortgage. We also implement several agreements at closing to ensure that the house remains affordable for the long term.