Dorchester Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian ministry founded in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller. The Fullers had a vision of building simple, decent houses for low-income families in their community using volunteer labor and donations and requiring repayment only of the cost of the land and materials without charging interest.

There are five affiliates located in the greater Charleston area: Habitat for Humanity of Berkeley County, East Cooper Habitat, Charleston Habitat, Sea Island Habitat, and Dorchester Habitat.

Dorchester Habitat was founded in 1993, and since then has completed 74 homes in Dorchester County. It takes roughly 2,000 volunteer hours and nearly $100,000 to complete each home. We are fortunate to keep our construction costs at a minimum by utilizing mostly volunteer labor. The only services that cannot be performed by volunteers are electrical, HVAC, and plumbing.

Our homes are sold to those in need of a decent and affordable place to live. Habitat homeowners have gone through a strenuous pre-qualification process and pay a 30-year, interest-free mortgage back to Dorchester Habitat. Mortgage payments include escrows for homeowners insurance and property taxes. Mortgage payments average $650 per month and future homeowners pay $2,500 in closing costs.