What is Sweat Equity?

Sweat equity is the time participants invest in earning the right to purchase their own homes. Following approval of the selection committee the prospective homeowner must complete the required number of sweat equity hours before being able to purchase their home.

Hours Required

For new construction up to 400 hours may be required. Habitat applicants attend homebuyer classes, work at a jobsite, fundraiser or other events until they reach their goal.

Please Note: applicants are prohibited from soliciting current, unrelated volunteers to donate their hours. If an applicant cannot obtain donated hours, the applicant is responsible for the total sweat equity hours. If you violate this rule you may be removed from the program.

Earning Hours

Jobsite Sweat Equity hours

Homebuyers who partner with HFHECP must invest at least 400 Sweat Equity hours per household before closing and moving into a Habitat for Humanity constructed home.  Of those hours, 200 hours may be donated by friends or family members that are recruited by the partner family and who volunteer with the affiliate at the jobsite. Habitat partner families are required to complete a minimum of 25% or 100 hours of their SE commitment working on a Habitat build site.  

Homebuyer Classes

Applicants are required to attend homebuyer classes and will receive sweat equity hours for every adult from their household attending homebuyer classes. Please do not bring small children to homebuyer classes.

Additional ways to gain Sweat Equity:

• Active Participation (working) at other Habitat for Humanity of East and Central Pasco activities, meetings, groundbreakings, dedications, fundraisers, etc.

Please contact Program Manager, Jere Ferguson for more information about sweat equity jferguson@habitatpasco.org or call 352-437-5383.

Reasons a Sweat Equity policy:

Sweat equity is not a simple programmatic requirement. Rather, sweat equity is an exciting cornerstone to the Habitat ministry, designed to meet important objectives: partnership, pride in homeownership, and development of skills and knowledge. Applicants learn about the construction and maintenance issues they will face after occupancy. We would like applicants to experience the pride of homeownership and accomplishment of their goals. We hope that the hours spent working on sweat equity will be both enjoyable and rewarding and that the partnership we form will continue long after the homebuyer moves in.