There are three basic requirements for the homeownership program: need, ability to pay, and willingness to partner.
 
Need: The applicant must be living in substandard housing. We determine the home's substandard status by looking at if it is overcrowded, in poor repair, in a bad neighborhood, unsafe or unsanitary, or overpriced. If the applicant is living with friends or relatives, or if he/she is homeless, we would also take that into consideration. The applicant must be a resident of Greater Lansing for at least one year.

Ability to Pay:   Habitat homeowners must be low income but still able to afford a Habitat mortgage payment. We use a scale of 30-60% of the median income for Ingham County based on family size. For example, in 2010, a family of four is required to make $19,750-$39,540 per year in verifiable sustainable income. In addition, we do a credit check to make sure the applicant is responsible with his/her credit—we don't expect it to be perfect, but we do want to see that payments are made on time and bills aren't in collections. Applicants must have improved credit for two years after the discharge of bankruptcy or the end of redemption after foreclosure.

Willingness to Partner:   The applicant must be willing to partner with us in our mission. All homeowners are required to do "Sweat Equity"—that's work on their own home and other Habitat homes and projects. A single-adult family must do 300 hours of Sweat Equity; a two-adult family must do 500 hours.

2010 Income Guidelines

Family Size	30% Median	60% Median
One	$13,850	$27,720
Two	$15,800	$31,680
Three	$17,800	$35,640
Four	$19,750	$39,540
Five	$21,350	$42,720
Six	$22,950	$45,900
Seven	$24,500	$49,080
Eight	$26,100	$52,200