Absolutely not, although it is a common misconception. We sell our houses to people who cannot otherwise qualify for a mortgage or afford a home. The families in our program pay zero percent interest mortgage with a term anywhere from 25 to 30 years.

We build our houses with the help of individuals, corporations and faith groups who provide us with roughly half the cash required to build each house as well as the volunteer labor for most of the construction. As such, we are able to keep the costs of our homes much lower than comparable houses, thus making them affordable for those families in our program.

The houses we build are nice houses, with attractive designs, good insulation, central heat and air and modern fixtures and appliances. However, but we do not sell them with amenities such as wood floors, dishwashers or garages.

No. While our homeowners essential buy our homes at cost, we record the sale price with the Register of Deeds as the appraised price, which is the total of the primary mortgage and a “silent” second mortgage held by Knoxville Habitat for Humanity. The appraised price represents the fair market value of the home in the neighborhood where it is located.

No. Despite the fact that we work with clients who have low incomes and/or poor credit and who don’t qualify for a traditional mortgage, the foreclosure rate for our families is only 2 percent. The national average is nearly 10 percent.

When Knoxville Habitat for Humanity forecloses on one of our homes, we will usually refurbish the home and sell it to another family in our program.

Yes. We currently have two subdivisions, Easton Meadows and October Woods, both off Rutledge Pike. We will soon be starting a third on Skyline Drive.

All of the mortgages paid to Knoxville Habitat for Humanity go back into building more simple, decent and affordable housing.

No. We have also beginning a program of purchasing foreclosed homes and remodeling them using volunteer labor. While these homes will not be new construction, they may have some existing amenities that aren’t found in our new homes like crown molding and wood floors.