Habitat for Humanity of Gulf County, Inc., a non-profit dedicated to making homeowners of those who might consider such status nothing more than a pipe dream, is ready to move forward on its first home project.

The group is holding a pair of general meetings to lay out parameters for homeowners and accept applications for those eligible to become a Habitat family.

The meetings will be held at 7 p.m. ET on July 12 and July 19 at the Senior Citizens Center, adjacent to the public library in Port St. Joe.

The meetings are free and open to the public.

“We feel real excited about this,” said Bruce Allen, who chairs the committee which will winnow the applicants for consideration and a final decision by the full board of directors of the local Habitat chapter.

“It’s very important that we want to disseminate the information to the community as a whole.”

The first home is slated for construction in Port St. Joe, though a site has yet to be determined, with the intent of the board of directors to build the second home in Wewahitchka.

The general meetings are intended to assemble a pool of applicants while, on a parallel track, another committee examines potential sites.

To be eligible for a Habitat for Humanity home, Allen explained, a family must have a need to have a Habitat for Humanity home built for them.

They also must possess an income adequate to pay for the loan to the homeowners, though their income must be below the median household income for the county.

To make that equation work, the homeowners’ mortgage will reflect the actual cost of construction, plus some ancillary closing and insurance costs, but with no interest on the home loan.

The target cost range for the first home is $70,000, and the home will be roughly 1,000 to 1,100 square feet, Allen said.

“We try to do something that will fit into the neighborhood” in which the home will be built, Allen said.

Finally, the prospective homeowner must agree to put 300 hours of “sweat equity” into their home.

That could take the form of attending seminars where they would learn about finances and home repairs, participating in Habitat for Humanity and other civic organizations as well as participating in the building of their own homes.

For this first home project, Habitat for Humanity of Gulf County is also looking for a family or individual building roots in the community – they must have lived in the county for at least one year, Allen said.

Volunteers will be on hand at both general meetings to assist potential homeowners in the application process.

The applications will be narrowed by Allen’s committee to a select few to be brought before the board of directors for a final selection.

“We hope to have our work done in the next 60 to 90 days,” Allen said. “The board will do the work to decide what family is selected.”

The local chapter’s packet of application to become an affiliate to the international body, including non-profit status paperwork and application for certification, is currently in the Atlanta-based national headquarters of Habitat for Humanity International for approval.

“We are waiting any day for our notification,” Allen said.

Since its founding in 1976, Habitat for Humanity has built and rehabilitated more than 170,000 homes for families in need, according to information from the Atlanta headquarters, providing safe, decent and affordable homes for more than 750,000 people worldwide.

There are 2,100 Habitat chapters in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico as well as countries around the globe.

Through volunteer labor and donations of money and materials, Habitat builds and rehabilitates simple, decent homes with the help of the homeowner, or partner, families.

Homes are sold at no profit, financed with affordable no-interest loans. The homeowners’ monthly mortgage payments are used to build still more Habitat houses.