Getting the Documents You Need to Apply for Habitat Homeownership

Have you completed the Program Eligibility Questionnaire and received an email notifying you that you're eligible for the Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity Homeownership or Financial Coaching Programs? If so, you will need to submit a program application. In order to do that, you'll need to collect and submit the required materials through the Habitat portal. To make your application process a little easier, we've listed all the necessary materials and some helpful tips on where to find them.

Documents You Need to Apply:

A Social Security Number

We need all adults’ social security numbers to verify identity. If you need a copy of your social security card, you can apply for a copy or call 1-800-772-1213.

Recent Pay Stubs

To verify how much income the adults in your household earn, you'll need to provide your eight most recent pay stubs, regardless of pay schedule, for each job in your household. Print, copy, or save pay statements for your past eight payments. For example, if you're paid weekly, you'll need pay stubs from the past eight weeks. If you're paid monthly, you'll need paystubs from the past eight months.

If you or your adult household members have more than one job, you'll need to provide the eight most recent pay stubs from each job. This includes full-time, part-time, seasonal, and temporary work.

If you're not sure what a pay stub should look like, here's an example.

Employment Verification Letter from Your Employer(s)

To verify your regular hours, pay, and when you started each job, you will need to ask your employer to write or fill out an employment verification. Ask your Human Resources department or your supervisor to provide a letter that includes the following:

• The date you were hired
• The number of regular hours you work per week
• Your hourly wage

If you have more than one job, you'll need a letter from each employer. Here's an example.

Some employers like to fill in a form, so you can print or send this form to them or use an outside source to verify employment, like The Work Number. Your employer can provide you with the company code for future verification. You can write the company code, your start date, and company name on this form.

Benefit Income Verification Letters

If anyone in your household receives income from a government program such as Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP), Supplemental Security Income (SSI); Social Security; Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI); or Retirement, Survivors, Disability Insurance (RSDI), you need to provide the most recent benefit verification letters.

If you don't have the verification documents in your files at home, they are available online or by mail. You may need to create an account to get the documents online. If you need help opening an account, this resource will walk you through it. All the instructions are in English. To open an online account, you must be at least 18 years old and have a valid email address, Social Security number, and U.S. mailing address.

If you need further assistance, call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213.

Verification of Other Income

When we say "other income," we're talking about alimony, child support, or regular income received from parents or relatives. If you receive any of these, please provide these two items:

• Most recent six-month history of payments
• A notarized letter (or similar agreement) to verify how much you receive and how often you receive payments if the agreement is informal OR the court order if payment was decided in court (you may be able to find the court order online here)

Proof of payments may be shown on six months of bank statements of deposits or by providing the statements from your online state-run child support account.

Verification of No Income

If you or an adult in your household currently have no income, please fill out and sign the Zero Income Verification.

Tax Information

Individuals who are self-employed must provide pages one and two of their 1040 tax form, Schedule C, and Schedule 1 from the past two years. If you didn't save a copy of your tax forms, you can easily find them online, or you can seek help by calling 1-800-908-9946 and following the voice prompts.

You can also pick up a tax form transcript in person. Call 651-312-8082 for the nearest location.

Here are examples of the tax forms you should submit: 1040 form, Schedule C, and Schedule 1.

Application: Household Members

On the application you will provide the name, birthdate, gender, and relationship to you for anyone who will live with you. This includes both children and adults.

Color Photo ID of Adults

Adult in the household need to provide a color photo ID. This can be your MN Driver’s License, MN ID Card, passport, or U.S. Permanent Resident Card. If you don’t have a scanner at home, you can take a photo of your ID with your phone, email it to yourself and upload it into your application. You can also "scan" your ID with a mobile app like Adobe Scan and upload it to your application or email it to yourself.

If you don’t have a Minnesota photo ID, contact your local Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

Program Release of Information & Data Privacy 

This form is specific to Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity's program. All household members 18 years or older will need to sign this form as part of the application process. 

Application Signature Page

Any household members 18 years or older must sign this document, too.

Combined Privacy Act Notice

All household members 18 years or older need to sign this document.

Credit Authorization Form

Any applicants (household members whose income and credit are considered to buy a home together) will need to sign this form or bring/submit a recent credit report.

Unofficial High School or College Transcripts

If anyone in your family is 18 years or older, earning an income, and going to school full-time, you need to submit a copy of their unofficial school transcripts in the program application. These documents can be obtained online, from the school’s Registrar’s office, or from the Student Services office.

Application Fee

Along with the program application and supporting documents, we also collect an application fee. The application fee is $75 for two applicants or $45 for a single applicant. You can pay with money order, cash, or card. We do not accept checks.

This application fee is non-refundable. When you apply online, you'll be redirected to the payment page as soon as you submit your application.

Hopefully this list has helped you get ready to submit your program application! Most of this information is available online and can be collected digitally or printed at the library. If you gather one item each day, you’ll be ready to submit your complete application in under two weeks.

If you still have questions on the application process or would like to submit your application with a Twin Cities Habitat staff member, you can email us at apply@tchabitat.org or call us at 612-540-5660.