About Us
McMinnville Habitat for Humanity is an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, an ecumenical housing ministry dedicated to eliminating poverty housing from the face of the earth. Habitat’s goal is big, but we believe that it can be accomplished by attacking the problem one community at a time. Since 1976, Habitat for Humanity has built 200,000 houses in over 100 countries, making our organization the world’s largest homebuilder.
Founded in 1991, McMinnville Area Habitat for Humanity has built 26 homes with families in the greater McMinnville area. Nineteen of these homes have been built in McMinnville, six in Lafayette, and one in Sheridan. This year, we will start our first projects in Amity and Sheridan.
Habitat for Humanity houses are built with volunteer labor and utilize many donated materials. Habitat families contribute a minimum of 500 hours of ‘Sweat Equity’ working alongside volunteers during the construction of their home. After a house is complete, it is sold to the family at cost with an interest free mortgage. Mortgage payments received from homeowners are recycled into a Fund for Humanity to build more homes in the McMinnville area, thus helping to sustain our program into the future!
Mortgage payments received from homeowners are directly recycled to build more homes in the Yamhill County Area.
Partner families are selected based on three major criteria: need; ability to pay; and willingness to partner. Families must commit to contributing the required hours of Sweat Equity, in addition to meeting our credit and income guidelines. Because there are so many low-income families in the McMinnville area who apply for our program and meet our qualifications, we always choose the neediest families first. For more information on how to qualify for a Habitat home, please click on our ‘how to become a homeowner’ link.
Through the construction of safe, decent, affordable homes, Habitat is changing lives, one family at a time. Habitat’s homeownership program helps partner families gain an increased sense of self worth and learn new skills; frees up family income for better health care, nutrition and educational opportunities; helps provide children the stability they need to perform well in school; adds new revenue to the property tax base; and rebuilds neighborhoods struggling with crime and poverty. In addition to this, every year Habitat gives millions of volunteers an opportunity to make a tangible difference in their own community, a feeling, which in and of itself, adds incredible value to the lives of all who participate.
In addition to our construction projects, McMinnville Area Habitat is also making a positive impact on our community through our reusable building materials business, The ReStore. Click on the ReStore link to learn about the project.
Frequently asked questions
Question: If Habitat sells homes at cost, how do you ensure that families don’t sell their homes and make an instant profit?
Answer: It is Habitat for Humanity’s fiduciary responsibility to protect the investment that donors make in our program. In order to do this, we give every family both a first and a second mortgage. The first mortgage, or the sale price of the home, is the only amount on which a family makes a payment. The second mortgage (or silent second) is the difference between the sale price of the home and the market value. The second becomes due is a family tries to sell their house (which rarely happens), thus ensuring that a family can’t buy a house at cost, and sell it at Market value. If a family needs to sell their home with the first ten years, Habitat has the first right of refusal.
Question: What keeps Habitat homes affordable?
Answer: Habitat homes are kept affordable through the donation of volunteer labor, our interest free loans, and our ability to customize the length or our mortgages to the income of our families.
Question: Where does Habitat build?
Answer: McMinnville Area Habitat for Humanity builds in both McMinnville and outlying rural communities, including Lafayette and Sheridan. Because land in our community is becoming both scarce and expensive, Habitat builds primarily in areas where we can purchase affordable land. Because finding available lots is our biggest challenge, donations of land are an incredible value to us.
Question: What kind of houses does Habitat build?
Answer: Habitat for Humanity builds simple, decent homes. Typically homes are three bedrooms with one bathroom, and are around 1100 square feet. Houses do not have extras like fireplaces or wood floors, but families to get $1,000 to personalize their home in some way. Many families choose an extra half bath or a porch.
If you have questions about our program, please feel free to contact us at: info@machabitat.org