Habitat for Humanity Housing Finance key principles -- Habitat for Humanity Int'l 1

Habitat for Humanity Housing Finance key principles

Key principles

Housing microfinance is not limited to microcredit. Savings, insurance, remittance services, etc. may also be part of a comprehensive solution for the poor.
Housing microfinance is not always appropriate. Areas of crisis, war, and disaster may need more direct, immediate, and subsidized housing/shelter assistance. Housing microfinance aims to develop longer term solutions or solutions between relief shelter and developed mortgage markets of the West.
Housing microfinance products must cover the costs of service delivery if they are to reach large scale outreach. Though Habitat for Humanity, an organization subsidized by donors can help in the development of innovation, pilots, advocacy, linkages to available public or private direct subsidies, and awareness raising, it is best for the financial service itself to cover full costs of the service.
Habitat should seek to build permanent systems of housing finance solutions for the poor. So end of program evaluations are less relevant than evaluations of the investment as an ongoing concern.

Simple, decent, affordable housing