Southeast NH Habitat for Humanity is currently searching for new homeowners for two houses in Farmington.

We are currently in the process of building two houses, sharing a common wall, on six beautiful wooded acres on Reservoir Rd. in Farmington. Each sturdy two-story house will have four bedrooms, one and one-half baths and its own well and septic system. These houses need families to make them homes.

We ask three things:

(1) That you have a need. This means different things to different people, and each situation is assessed separately, but priority is given to those in a difficult housing situation.

(2) That you are able to pay. Despite popular belief, Habitat homes are not given away to the poor. They are built with the families’ help, and require repayment through an interest free mortgage. The families chosen must have enough income to pay their mortgage, insurance, taxes and the rest of their bills. For these homes, depending on the number of people in the family, appropriate income ranges from $38,000 – $45,000. As with any home mortgage application, Habitat checks credit reports, references and more. Meeting the income limits is not a guarantee of selection.

(3) Most importantly, your family must be willing to partner with us. This means everything from committing a minimum of 250 hours of work on building Habitat homes to attending educational classes and more.

If your family meets these minimum requirements, owning one of these homes may be within your reach. Partner homeowners are selected according to criteria that do not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, or ethnic background.

To request an application, call 433-9555 and leave your name, address and telephone number, or go to www.senhhabitat.org where you can download an application under Family Selection. For further information, please email familyselection@senhhabitat.org

2. Water Treatment System Donations Request.  We will need to install iron filters and water softeners at our Farmington duplex (deep well water supply).  This is an unexpected expense.  If you are in this business we ask you to consider donating all or part of these systems.  Contact building@senhhabitat.orf for more details.

One of our FAVORITE times of year is Bike and Build time.  From teaching them about affordable housing, to learning about their backgrounds, to watching them donate their time and energy to the cause of affordable housing – these riders are an inspiration!!  This year, we were blessed by a local supporter who provided an AMAZING feast at their private home.  The the next day, riders worked at our Farmington site.  Their lunch was a delicious box of Moe’s sandwiches (thanks Moe’s!).  It all ended with their traditional Wheel Dip at Great Island Common in Newcastle…that’s where they started their long ride to Vancouver.

Bike and Build is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds and awareness for affordable housing across the country – by biking from shore to shore, stopping to build homes along the way!!   Each rider is required to raise at least $4,000 personally, all of which is donated to affordable housing through grants chosen by the riding teams themselves.  For more information, please visit their website at www.bikeandbuild.org.  There, you can learn about the mission, and even follow the blogs of the riders – our trip riders are NUS2010.

Be sure to read more as well in this great Foster’s article.

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We want to give a HUGE shout out of thanks to REP for their support of Habitat for Humanity.  They gave us a deep discount on a brand new cargo trailer, which helps us spend less money on “stuff” and spend MORE money on building affordable homes!

This proves that giving comes in MANY forms.  In kind gifts are just as important to the affiliate as they help us put more of our hard-earned donations towards our home-building mission.  What can you do to help?

Help support the businesses that support Habitat.  Contact REP for all your trailer, plow and sander needs.  603-431-8445  or go to www.repusa.com

Photos Courtesy of Jennifer Peters

HUGE thanks to Bethany Church for their generosity of time and spirit!!

On Saturday May 29th, the SENH Habitat for Humanity Affiiliate held a plant sale in the ReStore parking lot.  Thanks to our many sponsors/donors, Fund-raising Team volunteers and ReStore volunteers, the day was a great success.  The weather was perfect and customers found plant bargains and 20% discounts on store merchandise.  Thanks to all for a very successful day – we raised over $2,300 for the building of local affordable homes!

Please support the businesses who support Habitat – donors to the Plant Sale include:

• Rolling Green Nursery – Greenland
• Cameron’s Home and Garden Center – Farmington
• Bluebell Greenhouse – Lee
• Stratham Circle Nursery – Stratham
• UNH Thompson School Greenhouse – Durham
• Carpenters Old English Greenhouse – Newmarket
• Orchard Hill Greenhouses – Londonderry
• Rockingham Acres Garden Center – Derry
• Studley’s Flower Garden, Inc. – Rochester
• Lowe’s – Greenland and Rochester
• Wentworth Greenhouses – Rollinsford
• Home Depot – Somersworth

We also had private donors – thank you to Cindy Ward, Bob & Joan Gonser and Cameron Sanders.