It’s that time of year again for people struggling to find affordable home ownership in Nevada County to attend an application meeting with Habitat for Humanity. There are two coming up, one on Wednesday and the second one on Saturday, at Grass Valley United Methodist Church. The executive director of the local chapter, Lorraine Larson, says the meetings are always well-attended…

Larson says basic qualifications include a strong, demonstrated need, as well as a strong committment to putting in so-called “sweat equity” hours of up to 500 hours, which normally breaks down to six to 12 hours a week, usually with Habitat’s volunteer builders on Wednesdays and Saturdays…

Working at Habitat’s ReStore and at fundraising events could also considered. And a third basic requirement is ability to pay. Larson says Habitat normally targets people with 30 to 60-percent of the state’s median income. Larson says Habitat is wrapping up a 16-home project in Grass Valley. She says they’ll next be targeting two pieces of property, inside the city limits. One parcel could accomodate three to hour homes and the other 14 homes. The Wednesday meeting starts at 7pm, the Saturday meeting at 1pm.