Fact: Habitat homes are never given away. The families pay for the homes through a mortgage held by the Habitat affiliate. The purchase price is what it cost the Habitat affiliate to build the home, and the mortgage carries no interest. The average price for a Habitat home in the Seneca County, (NY) is $165,000. The no-profit sale and no-interest mortgage help make Habitat homes affordable. Mortgage payments made by Habitat homeowners are used over and over for the construction of additional homes. That has been a major factor in Habitat’s continuing growth.

Fact: Each affiliate is responsible for its own fundraising efforts.

Fact: Some Habitat homeowners do have problems and find that they are unable to keep up on their mortgage payments. In Seneca County, we have foreclosed on five homes. These properties were then renovated and resold at no loss to Habitat for Humanity of Seneca County, Inc.

Fact:The Habitat selection criteria and process guarantees that’s not the case. To qualify for a Habitat home, a family’s income should be less than 80 percent of the median income for their community, a figure which would keep them from qualifying for a conventional mortgage.

Fact:The former president is Habitat’s “Most Famous Volunteer,” not its founder. Habitat was founded in 1976 by Millard Fuller near Carter’s home of Plains, Georgia, but Carter was busy elsewhere that year — running for and being elected president.

Fact: Habitat for Humanity is a tax exempt organization, but it sells the houses it builds to homeowners so they immediately go on the tax rolls. Since the homes were either vacant lots or homes in need of significant renovation before the Habitat project took place, the result is an increase in the local tax base which benefits all property tax payers in the community.

Often Habitat projects spur other homeowners in the area to improve their properties as well, which benefits the entire community.