Our Programs
We are proud to offer a wide range of free programs and services to help you set and achieve your financial and housing goals.
Improve your finances
Prepare for homeownership
Qualify for a mortgage
Repair or stay in your home
Decrease your insurance costs
Our programs and services are open to the public. You don’t have to be a Habitat homeowner to participate!
We pioneer housing solutions
Our Homeownership Program sells homes with stable mortgages to local families,
while our Home Preservation Program works to keep homeowners in their homes.
Habitat Homeownership
We sell homes with stable mortgages to local families. Applicants must show a housing need, the ability to pay, and a willingness to partner with us. Homes are built with energy-efficient and aging-in-place features. Our Innovation line looks for alternatives to single-family homes, such as accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and multi-family housing.
Home Preservation
Already a homeowner? We work to keep homeowners (both Habitat and non- Habitat) in their homes. We partner with local governments to provide roof replacements at no cost to qualified homeowners as well as critical repairs to help residents recover from disasters. Homeowners can qualify for free wind mitigation and 4-point inspections, which help reduce insurance premiums by an average of $903 annually per household.
We empower through knowledge
We are proud to offer a wide range of free educational classes and one-on-one counseling to help you set and achieve your financial and housing goals.
Classes and Workshops
Our free open-to-the-public Habitat U classes, offered in-person and virtually, cover topics including:
- Budgeting, Credit, and Savings
- Foreclosure Prevention
- Estate Planning
- Home Maintenance
- Disaster Preparedness and Home Insurance
- Community Engagement
- Youth Summit (for teenagers)
Also, our free 8-hour Certified First-time Homebuyer Workshop, offered monthly in both English and Spanish, can help you become homebuyer ready and qualify for certain down payment assistance.
Counseling
Our certified counselors can help you take control of your finances, qualify to buy a home, prevent foreclosure, or maintain your existing home.
Housing Counseling: We provide free one-on-one housing counseling and guidance to help you achieve your housing goals, whether it’s to become a homeowner (through Habitat or open market) or to prevent foreclosure or maintain your existing home. We are a HUD-certified Local Housing Counseling Agency.
Orange County Financial Empowerment Center: Free one-on-one financial counseling to help anyone who lives or works in Orange County with a variety of financial needs, including balancing a checking account, building and improving credit scores, and starting a savings plan.
We transform communities
By advocating for bold policies, fostering innovative partnerships, and engaging in community-driven solutions, we’re looking upstream to address root causes of the housing crisis.
The Cornerstone Housing Initiative
Our Policy Innovation and Learning team is working to frame the solution sets needed to address the housing crisis. It introduces a systems thinking approach to policy development. Through research and community engagement, the initiative fosters collective action among stakeholders.