Frequently Asked Questions

Minimum Eligibility Requirements:

• Minimum before tax household income of $46,500 (not including child tax benefits)
• Canadian citizen or have permanent resident status in Canada
• A current resident of Northumberland County
• Must be able to demonstrate that they have been financially stable for the last 3 years
• Applicant and co-applicant(s) cannot afford to purchase a home through the conventional market
• Be willing to contribute 500 volunteer hours on the build site or with other Habitat projects and Habitat led community activities
• Once a family is pre-approved, they are on the waitlist and working on their partnership requirements until an appropriate home is available.
• We currently have 3 families on our wait list and we are accepting expressions of interest for our homeownership program (https://www.habitatnorthumberland.ca/copy-of-expression-of-interest).

• No down payment requirement (families are required to cover closing costs)
• Affordable mortgage payments that will not exceed 30% of the before tax household income
• Limited equity partnership
• Property taxes and condominium fees are paid by the homeowner in accordance with applicable laws

• Habitat projects are traditionally funded through:
  • General fundraising and donations
  • Our revolving fund for humanity is made up of mortgage payments from current Habitat homeowners
  • Government funding
  • Gift In-Kind/Services In-Kind
  • Land donations
  • Sponsorship
• We are doing a capital campaign for this project because it is the largest project we have done to date. The estimated total project cost is $2.5 million and we will be using the above mentioned traditional sources to fund most of that $2.5 million. However, since this is such a big project and we had to purchase the land, we determined we needed a $400,000 capital campaign to make the project timely and financially feasible.
• In addition to this project Habitat Northumberland currently has a property/project pipeline that could lead to the creation of 11 more additional affordable units in Northumberland County.

• Put simply, building net zero homes means that the home produces as much energy as it consumes.
• Net zero homes are built to significantly reduce the amount of energy needed to operate. Net zero homes are up to 80% more efficient than a home built to conventional standards. The remaining energy needed is generated through clean, renewable energy sources.
• For this project, we will be using solar power to generate the energy needed to operate the homes.

Yes! We have started a Peer-to-Peer fundraising Team Build Challenge page with Canada Helps so that you can create a team, add participants and raise funds for our Building Hope with Families campaign where 100% of the funds raised go towards our Baltimore project.

Challenge other teams or participants on your team to support the Build!