Home at last

MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake family will move into its first home in the coming weeks, thanks to Habitat for Humanity. 

“This family is a family of four,” said Rebecca Mabius, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Moses Lake. “They were able to select the flooring. They're able to select the color of their house, all the cabinets. They came in and they did the tile work themselves which, God bless them, that's a feat in itself.”

Citing safety concerns, the family asked not to be identified and preferred not to speak directly with the Columbia Basin Herald. 

The new home — 1,205 square feet on a corner lot with three bedrooms, two baths and a garage — has been a long time coming. County records show that Habitat purchased the land in 2009, and Mabius said this is the first home Habitat has built since 2018. A family had been selected for a home in 2019, she said, but took themselves off the list before the process was finished. And then came the pandemic. 

“COVID was really difficult on a lot of organizations, individuals, agencies,” Mabius said. “When you're as small as we are, trying to keep up with restrictions and specifications, it's going to be more problematic.” 

The house is mostly finished now; the countertops and appliances aren’t in yet and there are a few places still to be painted. The backyard is a fairly large one — Mabius said there had been tentative efforts at putting a duplex on the lot — but only a small area will be covered with lawn, both to save on water and because the children have allergies to pollen.

“We live in a desert; it takes a lot to keep a yard green,” Mabius said. And they're saying, ‘You know what? We don't really want that. So if we could do native plants and rocks, we'd really like to do that.’” 

Habitat for Humanity was established in the 1970s as a way to increase access to adequate, affordable housing and enable people to own their own homes who might never be able to otherwise, according to its website. The concept was simple: Habitat volunteers would build a home and the family would pay for it with a zero-interest loan, which would then be used to finance another home for another family. Part of the deal was that the family would participate in the construction — investing 400 hours of what Habitat calls “sweat equity” — to give them a stronger feeling of ownership. 

A few things have changed over the years, Mabius said.  

“(400 hours is) a full-time job,” Mabius said. “(Habitat recognizes that) in most families, both parents are working. So they have 150 hours, and 50 has to be specifically within the home: doing tile work, painting, helping with cabinetry, helping with framing, and then a portion of it has to be in the community, volunteering with others, because we are a service organization.” 

And the community returns the favor. Mabius said much of the material and labor for the home was given to them. Students from the Columbia Basin Job Corps Center pitched in with some of the work as well. 

“Our roofing was donated,” she said. “Our framer donated a ton of his time. Our interior and exterior paint got donated. This laundry list of people who are willing to help and support it goes on and on and on.” 

In Washington, the zero-interest loan isn’t feasible anymore, Mabius said, but Habitat works through various lenders, particularly the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Washington Housing Finance Commission. Families that meet the income criteria for a Habitat home frequently, though not always, qualify for loans through those agencies, Mabius said.  

Habitat is careful in screening applicants to make sure the family will be able to continue to pay the mortgage down the road, Mabius said. 

“(We’re) looking at this as the foreseeable future, not just the here and now,” she said. “We know that insurance will increase. We know property tax will likely increase. So just because you can pay whatever the mortgage payment is right now, in 10 years, can you still make those mortgage payments successfully and not be house-poor? That's the biggest part of this is setting individuals up for success.” 

Applying for a Habitat for Humanity home 

The path to homeownership is an important and in-depth process, requiring hard work, time, and dedication. But this helps to ensure the long-term success of Habitat homeowners. The application process can take 6-8 months, and if you are selected for a home, it could take an additional 10-16 months for the home to be built. The application process depends on you, the applicants, time and availability, and the home build timeline depends on available land and funding.  

1. Work with the organization’s mortgage originator to determine the home loan amount you are qualified for and your credit score. 

2. Fill out a Homeowner application and turn in all required documents. 

3. Attend and complete credit counseling and financial literacy courses based on the home loan.     

4. A home visit with an HFHGML Homeowner Selection Committee member. 

Information and forms can be found at habitatgreatermoseslake.org. 

SOURCE: HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF GREATER MOSES LAKE