How Habitat Works

A lot of people wonder how Habitat for Humanity can make dreams come true for so many people.

We use volunteer labor and donated materials and funds to build new homes or rehabilitate existing homes for families who otherwise could not afford to buy one of their own. The home owners pay back the cost of building the house to HFH on terms they can afford. HFH uses the house payments to build more homes for more families. Currently, the average cost for a Habitat home in Council Bluffs is around $100,000.

Habitat homeowners have the unique opportunity to buy a simple, decent home at low cost with affordable terms of repayment. Besides repaying what it cost to build the house, homeowner families also put "sweat equity" into their homes. Yes, Habitat homeowners help build or renovate their own house and the houses of other Habitat families.

We believe that Habitat homeowners are not the only ones who benefit from our program. In our attempt to improve affordable housing in Council Bluffs, we are cleaning up neighborhoods and instilling a sense of community in our volunteers and homeowners. Residents from many different backgrounds are developing friendships and partnerships because of their involvement with Habitat.

Habitat continues to work in Council Bluffs because of generous donations of time, money and materials from individuals, service organizations and churches, as well as businesses and private and government grants.

We can't thank the Council Bluffs community enough for making this program so successful!