Habitat home ownership is a hand up, not a handout

We believe in the positive power of affordable home ownership. Owning a home can be an excellent way to put down roots in a community, to have a healthy place to live that you can call your own, and a way to provide your family with strength, self-reliance, and stability.

HFHWRA offers affordable home ownership by partnering with the community to build quality, energy efficient homes using as much donated labor and materials as possible. We then sell the homes to qualified applicants with zero-interest mortgages and affordable monthly payments based on income.

House design: HFHWRA is not a custom home builder. Homes are designed to focus on providing simple, decent housing that “fits” the household size and accessibility needs. The homes are very energy efficient to save you money far into the future. The house design guidelines will be explained in more detail during the full application process.

TO QUALIFY

NEED

for affordable housing

A need for affordable housing means you are unable to obtain adequate housing through conventional means, and your current housing includes issues such as:

rent is too high, or
housing is overcrowded, or
it is inaccessible, or
neighborhood is unsafe, or
there are health & safety issues due to poor maintenance.

WILLINGNESS

to partner with Habitat

Our program is possible thanks to community support, and Habitat home buyers are expected to contribute 250 hours of volunteer labor to support our mission.

This “sweat equity” does more than help to make the home affordable—it creates a positive community and offers the skills & knowledge you'll need to be a successful homeowner.

ABILITY TO PAY

an affordable mortgage

You must have a steady source of income to be able to repay your mortgage loan and your annual property taxes/insurance (see chart below for current income guidelines).

Applicants should also have decent credit and a history of paying bills on time with no outstanding liens or judgments.

Note: You must have lived or worked in Sauk, Columbia, or Iowa counties for a minimum of six (6) months to qualify, and at least one adult applicant must have citizenship or permanent residence to qualify for a home loan.

Download The Application Here

Submit your completed application & documents to our housing office:

Mail HFHWRA PO Box 38, Baraboo WI 53913

In Person 1211 8th Street, Baraboo (next to Sauk Co Housing)

Fax (608) 448-2889

NOTE: Income limits below are related to gross (before tax) income using any source of steady income including wages, SSI, Social Security, child support, etc.