Why Homeownership
We are Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County.
We do more than believe in change. We build it.
We know that affordable homeownership can transform a life, shape a community and change the world.
Start with the home. The rest will follow.
As housing availability shrinks and costs rise, families with limited incomes face housing instability and become at risk for falling into a cycle of poverty.
Community
As homeowners move less frequently than renters, they become more deeply ingrained into the fabric of a community. Homeowners not only build strong, stable lives for their own families, but they also strengthen their neighborhood.
Homeownership has strong connections to community:
- Homeowners spend more time and money in maintaining their homes, contributing to the value and image of a community.
- Homeowners are shown to be more involved in their communities, with a higher likelihood of volunteering.
- Homeowners are more likely to be politically active.
Education
Homeownership offers the stability families need to build self-reliance and a foundation for future success. Homeowners are able to escape the anxiety of rent hikes and eviction threats, investing in themselves and their families. Homeownership gives families with limited incomes the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty. Here’s what homeownership can do:
- Children of homeowners have higher educational attainment.
- Young children of homeowners see higher achievement in math and reading, and exhibit fewer behavioral problems. Teenaged children of homeowners are more likely to stay in school.
- Homeowners’ children have higher lifetime annual incomes.
Health
For many homeowners, their Habitat home is a radical change from their previously overcrowded, hazardous, or substandard housing.
Studies have shown the tie between affordable housing and health:
- Families with affordable housing options are at a lower risk of lead poisoning and exposure to mold and other allergens.
- Affordable housing allows income to be used toward healthy food and health care.
- The instability of renting can disrupt health care. Children without stable housing are more likely to use costly emergency services.
Stability
In an unstable housing environment, families with limited incomes are often the most vulnerable to the impulses of the market. These hardworking families face a struggle to meet their housing costs, while dealing with a fear that an eviction, a rent hike or simply an unanticipated expense, will mean displacement.
For these families, a stable, affordable home means:
- The ability to put down roots in a community
- No disruption in schooling
- An investment in themselves – in their savings, in their education, in their retirement, in their passions, in the generations to come.
How we work
We invest in people. We empower people – hardworking people with limited incomes – to invest in themselves and generations to come.
Habitat homeowners purchase their homes through a low-cost mortgage and receive financial counseling and educational training to ensure they are prepared for successful homeownership.
Through a range of innovative, sustainable, solution-oriented programs, we make affordable homeownership a reality for more people.