Habitat for Humanity Breaks Ground on Affordable Townhouses in Kalispell

After securing multiple residential properties throughout the Flathead Valley in a partnership with the Northwest Montana Community Land Trust, Habitat for Humanity crews broke ground on two townhouses in Kalispell while eight additional single-family homes in Columbia Falls are slated for construction in the next year.

Located at 706 Ninth Ave. W. in Kalispell, construction crews have begun excavation work for the two-bedroom, one-and-a-half bathroom townhomes with adjoining garages and applications are currently being accepted through Aug. 31.

To the north, Habitat for Humanity of Flathead Valley has two separate affordable housing projects in Columbia Falls, including a single-family home located at 209 Third Ave. E. across from the pickleball courts planned to begin this fall. In the same neighborhood, crews plan to break ground next year on seven single-family homes and a playground on Railroad Street East at the current youth sports field.

“I’m optimistic because we really compromised with the mayor who wanted to preserve the appearance of the neighborhood – that’s why those will be single-family homes with yards and half the property is being preserved with a park and playground,” Habitat for Humanity of Flathead Valley Executive Director MaryBeth Morand said.  

All three projects are located on Northwest Montana Community Land Trust property that the nonprofit has acquired in recent years. The land trust will own and lease the property under the homes built by Habitat Flathead’s staff and volunteers. By subtracting the cost of the land from the purchase price of the home and providing their own sweat equity with Habitat’s volunteers, the homebuyers can purchase the home with only a small mortgage, well below market prices.

The partnership is a new venture for the land trust, which has historically purchased existing houses. With the collaboration, Habitat will give the land trust an opportunity to utilize its construction and labor resources.

Habitat provides labor through volunteers, including two from AmeriCorp, who travel to each project site. But Morand said the organization is always looking for more help – especially from locals – and she’s hoping to recruit more women.

Traditionally, Habitat’s applicant pool has typically inlcuded larger families with children, but Morand said the demographic in recent years has shifted to younger individuals and smaller families.

“Sixty percent of homeowners are single female heads of household with one to four kids,” Morand said.

But Morand said Habitat also aims to help individuals who might not have children as housing unaffordability continues to impact all demographics.

“There is a need in the workforce for housing and a lot of the workforce may be people who don’t have kids or who only have one kid,” Morand said. “These two-bedroom homes can work well.”

To qualify for a Habitat Flathead home, the household income must fall within 30% to 80% of Flathead County’s revised 2024 Area Median Income. The guidelines for this income range changed as of July 12, and the range for a one- to four-person household is $31,200 to $70,700 per year and $35,010 to $93,350 per year for a five- to eight-person household.

Habitat applicants must currently be facing insecure, unsafe or costly living conditions and they must also be able to afford a monthly mortgage for 30 years and pay $3,500 for closing costs. Homeowners must also contribute “sweat equity” of 275 hours toward building their own home or someone else’s prior to moving into their house.

As part of the Habitat model, families and individuals who qualify for the program must not exceed a mortgage that’s 30% of their gross income. The system is also set up with three separate mortgages, with the first mortgage at a 2% interest rate. If the homeowner makes consistent payments, the second mortgage is forgiven while the third mortgage is the value of the land.

For example, if a home value is $300,000, the homeowner pays $150,000 with a 2% mortgage rate. The “silent second mortgage” is $100,000, which is forgiven if the homeowner keeps up with payments. And at the end of 30 years, the homeowner then pays $50,000 to acquire the land.

Meanwhile, with the community land trust model, new homeowners can purchase the home below market rate and, when they sell, they are able to make a profit restricted to just 25% of the increase in the market value of the home during the period of ownership. This allows the next homebuyer to also purchase the home below market rate. The land that the house sits on is leased to the homebuyer for $25 per month.

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