Dear Habitat Supporter,
It is my honor to share with you all that Habitat for Humanity International has selected Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties to expand our service area into Hernando County.
Since 1985, Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties has partnered with low to moderate-income families to provide a hand up towards affordable homeownership. For the past five years, the organization has been recognized as one of the top three producing affiliates based on its new home construction completions out of the affiliate network of 1,100. We have experienced record-breaking and sustainable growth in the last decade, with 81 families served this year. This summer, we will dedicate their 900th home build in the Pinellas and West Pasco region. More than 600 of those homes have been built in partnership with local deserving families and individuals in the last ten years.
Given our organizational growth, coupled with the investment in our professional, dedicated staff, we feel we have a great opportunity to better serve the families and individuals of Hernando County. Our organization is positioned to bring affordable homeownership resources to fill the gap in service that the Hernando community is currently experiencing, with no active Habitat for Humanity presence currently available.
Habitat for Humanity builds and sells homes at zero-percent interest to households not qualifying for a traditional mortgage. The program prepares homeowner partners to be successful homeowners through a robust education curriculum of 36 classes, from budgeting to home maintenance. Homeowners purchase their home from Habitat and earn a 0% interest mortgage, never paying over 30% of their household income for housing expenses. Removing interest from the mortgage keeps monthly payments affordable and means that each homeowner is building equity in their home from their first payment. This allows homeowners to save for the future while having the stability of an affordable monthly payment. It also increases the community’s supply of affordable housing units and ensures homeowners are never cost-burdened.
Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties is currently under contract for 5 acres, which will provide affordable homeownership opportunities to 24 families in Spring Hill. Our plans for the development of 24 single-family homes will be released soon.
The affiliate will release a new name and brand in the coming weeks.
While our Board of Directors continues to lead our strategic vision, I am so proud of our staff’s work to strengthen our community on a daily basis. We will continue to serve more families seeking a safe, affordable place to call their own.
The Habitat mission is advanced with the support of donors, volunteers, and community partners. We are grateful for your ongoing support of our mission to make affordable homeownership accessible to families in need.
Sincerely,
Mike Sutton
