Q: I have been laid off / furloughed but am receiving unemployment. Can I include unemployment as income for my homeownership program application?
A: No, we do not count unemployment as income for the Habitat program. We consider all sources of permanent, long term income. Since unemployment is temporary, you cannot include it in your income. However, applicants can qualify with verifiable working and/or non-working income.
Q: I still have my job but I am not currently working any hours or being paid because of closures due
to COVID-19. Can I report that as income I receive?
A: Not at this time. All reported income listed on your application must be income that you and all members of your household are CURRENTLY receiving. If you are not being paid right now, you cannot include that in your income. We will require all income to be documented by at least the two most recent months of check stubs and a verification of employment form to be completed by your employer during a later step in the application process.
Q: Can I apply now even though I am not back to work yet, and then just wait to submit
documentation later once I am working again?
A: You are welcome to apply to our program at any time we are open for application. However, you can only include income that you are CURRENTLY receiving when self-reporting your income. If you are not working hours right now and not being paid, you cannot include that in your household income. For example: If you are currently only receiving unemployment and no other forms of income, then you will report your income as $0. If your income is too low, your application will be denied. Once you are back to work, income from that job could be included on any new application submitted at that time.
Q: I got behind on some of my credit card payments / loan payments / rent / etc. during the
shutdown. Will I qualify?
A: We are not able to tell you if you qualify or not without seeing your full application. But it is important for you to know that recent late payments / past due balances / non-medical collections etc. could keep you from being approved for our program. However, you are the only one who can decide when it is the right time for you to apply; make sure you know your full financial picture to help you make that decision.
We recommend you pull your own free credit report from Equifax at www.annualcreditreport.com. Even if you have pulled it recently, all three credit bureaus are allowing free WEEKLY reports on that website only through April 2021 (normally you only get 1 free per YEAR). This will be the most accurate report to what we will see vs. other sources such as Credit Karma/Credit Sesame, etc.
Q: I do not want to purchase a Habitat home. I got behind on my rent/mortgage payments/utilities,
and I am looking for assistance to get caught up on my payments. Will Habitat pay those for me?
A: Unfortunately, Habitat is a homeownership program and we are not able to assist with past due payments. For information about other community resources that might be able to assist you with your situation, refer to our community resource link: https://www.habitatwake.org/community-resources