Become a Homeowner

How to Receive an Application

Home after completion
You can download the USDA pre-qualification application on our Info & Downloads page.

Please call us or stop in to discuss options and to get more information or ask questions. We know this can be a confusing and intimidating process, but we are here to help you through the entire process.

How Much Money is needed to afford a Habitat Home?

One of the most frequently asked questions of our affiliate by interested applicants is how much money the applicant should make to afford a Habitat home. The Family Selection committee looks at two factors:

  1. Our committee makes sure that no more than 25% of the applicant’s gross household income goes toward their Habitat mortgage, which includes interest free principal, property taxes and homeowner insurance. The homeowner would be responsible for their electric, gas heat, phone, and water and sewer.
  2. The purpose of Habitat for Humanity is to provide affordable housing to qualified working families, and does not like to use the term “low income housing”. The program is a hand up and not a hand out. Our committee looks at the income requirement of 40% to 60% of the county median income and checks all their financial information to see if the applicant can afford living in a Habitat home.

Applicants are qualified via USDA guidelines.

Criteria for Homeownership: How We Select Homeowners

  1. Ability to Pay – The 2016 Median Income for Salem County, NJ, is $78,300 (as of 2022). Therefore, the following are the income guidelines for Family Selection: at 40 percent the minimum income is $31,321 at 60 percent the maximum income is $46,980.
  2. Need – A home visitation is conducted to determine current home condition and amount of rent paid each month.
  3. Willingness to Partner – Each adult in the family commits to completing 225 sweat equity hours while the house is being constructed. Fifty of these hours can be donated for each adult in the family. Settlement cannot be held until sweat equity hours are completed.
  4.  Partner family receives a zero percent interest mortgage for 20 years or 30 year zero equivalent mortgage from the USDA.

Do I have to be a Salem County resident?

Salem County Habitat has a two year residency policy for anyone who applies for one of our homes. This policy is based on the fact that we only build homes in Salem County and most of our fund raising efforts are donated by county residents who want to improve their specific community. Anyone living outside Salem County interested in applying for a Habitat home is referred to either 1-800 HABITAT or www.habitat.org for their nearest Habitat for Humanity affiliate.

For Further Information

For further questions not addressed above, please contact the Salem County Habitat office at (856) 299-7995.
⇒ Download USDA Loan Information / Applications.