Sustainable Homeownership

Habitat for Humanity of Hillsborough County is committed to building homes that provide the opportunity for sustainable homeownership.  Habitat Hillsborough’s approach to sustainability combines education, “sweat equity”, quality construction and an affordable mortgage.

Habitat homeowner applicants learn the skills of homeownership through a series of educational classes on topics including finance, budgeting, home maintenance and Florida friendly landscaping.  Applicants build on this knowledge by contributing more than 300 hours of “sweat equity”, working in partnership with volunteers and subcontractors.  This “on the worksite” training, combined with hours of classroom learning, provides a solid foundation for homeownership success.

The Habitat Hillsborough homebuilding teams build solid foundations too… and solid walls and roofs.  In fact, home designs exceed building codes to ensure long term sustainability.  The building design approach includes three key elements:

Wind Mitigation – to ensure affordable insurance rates

Home designs incorporate hip roofs, secondary water resistant membranes, steel reinforced concrete walls and hurricane shutters.  These design features ensure that homeowners qualify for long-term, affordable insurance rates.

Energy Efficiency & Water Conservation – to ensure low utility costs

Homes are certified Energy Star and Florida Water Star and include enhanced insulation, high efficiency windows, and low-flow plumbing fixtures.  Homes are designed to yield significant utility savings.

Durable Products – to ensure low operational costs

Building products include dimensional roof shingles, wood frame cabinets and ceramic tile flooring.  These durable products provide long life-cycles and ensure reduced long term maintenance and replacement costs.

Habitat Hillsborough’s quality homebuyer education, “sweat equity” participation, and sustainable home construction methods are a recipe for success when combined with one more key ingredient – an affordable mortgage.  Habitat underwriting ensures that homebuyers will pay less than 30% of their income for their mortgage – including taxes and home insurance.  This affordability is typically achieved with a 0% interest, 30-year mortgage.

With your help, Habitat Hillsborough can build sustainable homes and a sustainable future for many households in our community who lack decent, affordable housing.  Please join with us by donating, volunteering or shopping at one of our ReStores.  Let’s Build!