Habitat For Humanity Buys Lot For Home in Prairie Grove

PRAIRIE GROVE — Habitat for Humanity of Washington County recently purchased a lot in Battlefield Estates in Prairie Grove and at some point in the future, a partner family will own its first home.

Patrick Moore of Prairie Grove has spearheaded the drive to build a habitat home in Prairie Grove and is excited that the project is one step closer to reality.

“I hope others will be involved now that the land is purchased,” Moore said.

He said the organization paid $6,500 for the lot, which is about one-fourth acre in size. It will be used to build a 1,200 square foot house with three bedrooms and two baths. The land is located at 1381 Arkansas Lane.

Jason Kindall, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Washington County, said the group now has two lots available, another one in Fayetteville, and the next thing to decide will be which lot will be used first for a new home. He said a partner family will have to be selected but eligible families must meet certain criteria to qualify for a Habitat home.

The initial criteria for a family is to be a legal resident of the United States, lived or worked in Washington County for one year, currently employed with six months on the job and to have a family income that meets at least 30 percent or not more than 60 percent of the 2013 guidelines for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The family must meet other guidelines.

They must volunteer sweat equity hours, attend informational homeowner classes, demonstrate a need for adequate housing, be able to pay for the home, agree to home visits and complete all required forms.

Kindall said partner families must donate 300 hours of sweat equity for a single parent family or 400 hours for a two parent family. The sweat equity involves working on other Habitat homes, volunteering at the ReStore in Fayetteville and other Habitat events or helping with other opportunities as they arise.

“It’s important to note that Habitat Homes are not free, rather they are built at a discounted shared cost through fundraising and charitable contributions, material and skilled trade donations and supervised volunteer labor,” Kindall wrote in an email about the program.

Completed homes are sold to partner families through Habitat’s in-house, not for profit mortgage program. Habitat for Humanity carries the loan at no interest.