Habitat for Humanity Foothills is searching for a family to call part of their new duplex in Okotoks home.

The group started fundraising for the duplex project in 2016 and with help from Anthem United, Morrison Homes, and the Town of Okotoks, they purchased the land in D'Arcy Ranch in 2017, and started the build this past spring.

Marilyn Boake, Chair Person of Habitat for Humanity Foothills, says there's a tremendous difference between their program and a traditional bank mortgage.

"Habitat sells homes to families at fair market value but the mortgage is under a no down payment, interest free mortgage, and the mortgage is amortized over as many years as it takes to keep the families mortgage payment 25 per cent of their income."

The first step for families who are interested in applying for the home is taking the eligibility quiz, and if a family passes the initial screening process they then go on to have a phone call with Habitat that further explains their criteria.

Criteria includes having children under the age of 18, being in a housing need where they're currently paying more than 30 per cent of their income out to rent or are living in an overcrowded or unsafe home, someone needs to be working full time with an employment history of two consecutive years, and fall within the income range of $40,000- $75,000 (range is broad due to how many children and parents are in the home).

Part of the requirement for the chosen families is to fulfill 500 volunteer hours with the organization.

Boake says their builds are possible through a pay it forward system.

"Locally, the chapters for Habitat for Humanity raise enough money to acquire land and then we contribute one third of the cost towards building the duplex, the other two thirds of the cost comes from the Habitat Build Fund."

A portion of the mortgage payments from the families goes back into Habitat's Build Fund.

Those who are interested in learning more are invited to an open house on Dec. 2 and Dec. 9 from 1- 5 p.m. at the property on 33 Willow Crescent in D'Arcy Ranch.

For more information on Habitat for Humanity click here.

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