A mother and son are the newest Summit County Habitat for Humanity homeowners. They moved into their new home last month in time for the start of school.
Summit and Wasatch County Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Shellie Barrus said this home marks the first time Summit and Wasatch County Habitat has added energy-saving systems like additional insulation, energy-efficient ventilation, and a solar-ready roof and garage.
"On the exterior of the home, we did a two-inch foam insulation board underneath the siding that went on, so that was a new process for us," Barrus said. "And we also did insulation under the slab and in the foundation."
Barrus said the Silver Creek project would ultimately contain 26 Habitat for Humanity homes. Home recipients must take a personal finance course, qualify for a mortgage, and devote at least 200 hours of sweat equity to the building process.
"We go through a basic kind of mortgage underwriting to make sure that they are within the income guidelines in our requirements and then also per the deed restriction in that project," Barrus said. "So, we go through typical lender-mortgage underwriting to make sure they can afford the home looking at credit and debt loads and all of those things."
Barrus said Habitat calculates 30 to 80 % of AMI (average median income) when qualifying people for a home. She said few affordable housing programs provide mortgage opportunities for families earning less than 50% of AMI. Under Habitat's guidelines, mortgage payments can't exceed 30% of income.
"For this homeowner, we're the mortgage lender, and we collect those payments, and we service that mortgage throughout her term," Barrus said.
The Village Development Group donated the land to Habitat several years ago. Barrus said donations and partnering with suppliers and contractors helped to make the first two homes possible. She expects that to continue for the next couple dozen townhomes planned for the neighborhood.
Barrus hopes to work with Wasatch cities and the county to build more dense projects like the one at Silver Creek.
Habitat is building 14 townhomes this year, a four-plex and a ten-plex on two separate lots. Barrus encourages those interested in applying for a Habitat home to take a financial education class. A women's course starts on September 28 and runs on Wednesday evenings for five weeks.
Click here for more information about habitat projects.
