Se você está pensando em sair da montanha-russa do aluguel e comprar sua própria casa, não há momento melhor do que o National Homeownhip Month.

Quais plantas, flores e árvores realmente se desenvolvem no clima quente da Flórida, em vez de ficarem bonitas por algumas semanas e morrerem crocantes sob o sol do verão?

At Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County, we want to help you navigate through the challenges of becoming a homeowner. Our path may not be easy, but it is designed to help future homeowners develop the skills necessary to succeed as homeowners. From choosing your finishes to financing your home, let us walk you through the journey to become a homeowner! Application approval. Check! You’re on your way to becoming a homeowner! After carefully going through Habitat Orlando & Osceola’s application process, you have met our homeownership requirements [link to Our process page]: you have a need for affordable housing, the means to pay for your future Habitat home, and the willingness to partner with us. Our staff will be in contact with you to go over the next steps, which we’ve outlined below. Head back to “school” with Habitat U Part of your homeownership journey includes attending eight classes that cover different aspects on homeownership. Learn everything from how to maintain your home to how to prepare your finances. We want you to become a homeowner expert! Customize your home It’s finally time to personalize and stylize your home! Start by learning about the different locations and price points of the communities we are building safe and affordable homes in. Once you’ve selected your new neighborhood, our staff will help you choose between a variety of floor plans to match your lifestyle. Finally, customize your home with a selection of exterior colors, cabinetry, countertops, and more. Habitat Orlando & Osceola wants your new place feel like home. Building quality Your lot is secured and walls are going up. You are that much closer to owning a home! Your home is being built using energy-efficient, environmentally friendly construction practices to help better our community and lower your utility bills. Lend us a helping hand Depending on the number of adults in your household, you are asked to contribute 75-150 hours of sweat equity to Habitat Orlando & Osceola. Sweat equity can mean everything from constructing homes to sharing your story with our supporters. By fulfilling your sweat equity, you have a bit more of a stake in the construction process and often can learn home maintenance in practice, especially when volunteering on our build site. We are rooting for you every step of the way! Check out your new house Homeownership is so close you can nearly touch it… literally! Habitat homes take a few months to build start to finish and come equipped with select appliances, including a stove, dishwasher and refrigerator. Welcome home When you buy a home from Habitat Orlando & Osceola, you’re partnering with a builder who is ready to walk you through every step of the home buying process. You attended all the Habitat U classes, customized your home, and fulfilled your sweat equity. You put in the hard work and now it’s time to be rewarded! Our Habitat staff was with you every step of the way and wants to make the final step, closing, as easy and affordable as possible. The home closing process consists of a lot of paperwork that we’ll take care of for you - but the closing process also involves also a lot of celebrating. As we hand you the keys to your safe and comfortable new home, you can finally add “homeowner” to your list of accomplishments. Are you ready to begin your homeownership journey with us? Visit our page on the application process .

Nunca é tarde demais para se tornar proprietário de uma casa, mesmo que você tenha mais de 55 anos e os filhos tenham saído de casa. Na verdade, ser um ninho vazio pode ser o melhor momento para começar a jornada rumo à casa própria. Agora a pergunta é: você deve comprar uma casa antiga ou procurar uma nova construção? Em parceria com a Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County, a escolha é fácil. Casas novas vs. casas de revenda Comprar uma casa antiga pode significar lidar com instalações, fiação e encanamento desatualizados - tudo isso pode significar reparos caros no futuro, ou uma reforma cara que atrasa a sua mudança e drena a sua conta bancária. Uma casa nova oferece a oportunidade de começar do zero em uma casa cheia de novos eletrodomésticos, fiação, encanamento e muito mais. Com a construção nova, você também pode escolher a cor externa e os acabamentos internos da sua casa. Sua nova casa ficará do jeito que você quer desde o dia da mudança. Isso é melhor do que ter que lidar com lonas, bandejas de pintura e escadas bagunçando seu espaço. Viva com facilidade em uma residência acessível Para pessoas com mais de 55 anos, uma residência de um andar é a melhor opção. Você terá acesso fácil e não precisará subir escadas. Convenhamos, a ideia de carregar cestos de roupa suja escada acima e escada abaixo perde a graça com o tempo. A reforma de uma casa antiga para ter uma suíte master e uma lavanderia no andar de baixo pode custar muito dinheiro. Comprar uma casa que atenda às suas necessidades futuras significa que você poderá "envelhecer no lugar" em vez de ter que sair de casa quando seu estilo de vida mudar. As casas da Habitat Orlando & Osceola são projetadas para serem acessíveis à medida que as habilidades de seus proprietários mudam, graças ao Design Universal. Esses recursos incluem uma entrada sem degraus, maçanetas com alavanca em todas as torneiras e maçanetas de portas e prateleiras ajustáveis no armário do quarto principal. Faça parte de uma comunidade Morar em sua própria casa recém-construída significa fazer parte de uma vizinhança. Você terá espaço para fazer jantares em família e um quintal para os pequenos visitantes correrem e brincarem. Sua casa é sua. Você pode fazer jardinagem, sentar-se na varanda da frente ou ouvir suas músicas favoritas sem ter que se preocupar em incomodar os vizinhos por meio de uma parede compartilhada, como faria em um condomínio ou apartamento. Se você vive com uma renda fixa ou se preocupa com o aumento constante dos aluguéis, Habitat Orlando & Osceola pode ajudar. Comprar sua própria casa nova significa não ter mais aumentos de aluguel e ter uma hipoteca de taxa fixa acessível que provavelmente é menor do que o aluguel que você está pagando agora. Com nossos projetos e eletrodomésticos com eficiência energética, suas contas de serviços públicos serão estáveis e gerenciáveis. Faça uma parceria com a Habitat Orlando & Osceola e nós poderemos ajudá-lo na jornada para ter uma casa segura e acessível, onde você poderá aproveitar ao máximo os seus anos dourados. Saiba mais sobre o nosso programa de aquisição de casa própria.

Comprar uma casa é uma grande decisão. Mas como saber quando é a hora certa? Você está pronto para ser proprietário de uma casa? Aqui estão 8 sinais de que você pode estar pronto para se tornar um proprietário.

The home buying process with Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando and Osceola County is an exciting and life-changing process. Part of this exciting journey is having the opportunity to choose a layout that fits your family’s lifestyle. Habitat Orlando & Osceola offers a variety of floorplans to choose from in each of our communities . As you begin to comb through your options, it’s important to think about how your family will use the space. The right floor plan will greatly improve your experience in your new home. We understand this can be a stressful decision process, so follow the tips below to help select the best layout for your family’s new home. Select your number of bedrooms This is an easy place to start. Consider how many family members you expect to live at your new home and if your family plans on growing. We offer three and four bedroom homes. Even if you’re a smaller family, an extra bedroom could act as a guest room or an office space. Think about your bathrooms Our current communities offer 1-2 full bathrooms. Silver Pines Pointe offers two full bathrooms, while most of Juniper Bend's floorplans offer one full bathroom. One bathroom may be more than adequate for smaller families, but two bathrooms can be useful for larger families and families that like to entertain frequently. Pay attention to the location of the bathrooms as well. Some of our homes offer the second bathroom as a master bath while others have both bathrooms in shareable locations. How much space do you need? Our pre-designated floor plans range from 1,244 square feet to 1,548 square feet. The extra square footage is most commonly found in the living space and storage areas. Depending on your family’s size and lifestyle, the extra space could just make life just a little easier. Most new construction homes are designed with open floor plans. An open floor plan may be that extra space for your children to run around, or the ideal set up for an evening with guests. We offer a variety of layout options, so sometimes it just comes down to personal preference! Storage, storage, storage All of our homes offer extra storage space and a designated laundry/utility space. If a single-car garage is high on your list of must-haves, then focus your attention to our Silver Pines Pointe homes . Every family is going to have personal belongings, but some may have more than others. To select the ideal layout for your family, take into consideration how much storage space your family may need Be Mindful of Your Budget As you run down this list of decisions, it’s important to keep in mind that more space comes with a cost. Our Habitat U classes will help you prepare your finances and determine how much you can spend on your home. Some choices may even be made easier as you can narrow your choices to what best fits your budget. Buying a home can be a nervewracking process, from applying to choosing the look of your home. At Habitat Orlando & Osceola, our staff strive to make the journey as smooth as possible by being available for any questions or concerns. Are you ready to apply to become a Habitat homeowner? Visit our online Orientation , which will walk you through the program once more before allowing you to apply.

Want to get out of the house but don’t want to spend any money? Here in Orlando, there are plenty of ways to have a good time without spending a dime. At the time of this article’s publication, many of these locations require guests to wear masks and socially distance from others. Please check with each venue for any further instructions. Enjoy this list of nine free things to do in and around Orlando! Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando One of the most iconic spots in Orlando, Lake Eola Park features the renowned Lake Eola fountain, as well as its famous resident swans. There is plenty of open space to relax and picnic. You can set the kids loose in the playground, or walk along the lakeside trail, taking in the spectacular views of our “city beautiful”. There are also free concerts and movie nights throughout the year. Learn more about this park . Kraft Azalea Garden in Winter Park Kraft Azalea Garden is a lush and secluded hidden gem. This quiet lakeside park is home to a great egret rookery, and these large birds can be seen year-round. It also features the largest, northernmost banyan tree. This towering tree, native to India and Sri Lanka, thrives in the Central Florida heat and humidity. Sunsets are particularly spectacular here, and the lake allows boating, kayaking, and paddle boarding. Read more about this Winter Park garden . The Glass House in Lake Nona No stone throwing, please. Visit Tom Fuin’s “Glass House” in Laurette Park Village in Lake Nona. This unique art installation is a part of Fruin’s ICON series and uses reclaimed materials with American folk-art influences. The Glass House is just one of many large sculptures located through the Lake Nona area. Day or night, this colorful structure makes for a perfect photo op. Check out this link for more information on The Glass House . Disney Springs No list of stuff to do in Orlando would be complete without mentioning the Mouse! With free, covered parking and rows and rows of shops, Disney Springs is a great place to spend the day, even if you’re just window shopping. Check out the amazing sculptures in The Lego Store, search for hidden Mickey’s, or cool off at the Splash Pad. When your feet get tired, hop on the free boat ride for a relaxing cruise around the lagoon past Port Orleans, Riverside, and back again. Learn more about Disney Springs . Universal City Walk Not wanting to be left out, Universal Orlando has some free attractions, too. Parking at City Walk is free after 6 p.m., and there are plenty of shops to browse in this bright and vibrant venue. There are free water taxis to take you from one side of the park to the other. For a unique musical experience, hop on the water taxi over to Portofino Bay to catch the nightly Musica Della Notte opera, every night at sunset. Visit this website to read more about CityWalk . Old Town in Kissimmee The car buffs in the family will be eager to head to Kissimmee for a pair of weekly car shows. Strut your stuff at the Friday Muscle Car Show to see a slew of show-quality machines dating from new classics all the way back to the mid 60’s. On Saturday, old school classics and antique cars from the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s take the spotlight. Each night is capped with an 8:30 p.m. cruise, as all these gorgeous show cars line up to parade around the streets of Old Town. For more information, visit My Old Town USA . Artists and art lovers are in luck! Orlando has museums galore, many with free admission or that are free on select days. Donations are always appreciated. Zora Neale Hurston Museum in Eatonville Located in Eatonville, the oldest incorporated African-American municipality in the U.S., this museum features the history of famed local author Zora Neale Hurston herself, as well as many works of art by artists of African descent. Visit this website before you visit . Cornell Fine Arts Museum in Winter Park Located on the Rollins College campus in Winter Park, this museum features permanent and rotating exhibits, meaning you’ll get the chance to see something new every time you visit. There are more than 5,000 art pieces and artifacts on display here, from the ancient to the contemporary. There are also hands-on activities for kids. Learn more about the Cornell Fine Arts Museum . Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Arts in Winter Park Free on Fridays and select holidays, the Morse Museum is home to the world’s most comprehensive collection of works of art created by Louis Comfort Tiffany, including his iconic leaded glass lamps and windows, as well as pottery and jewelry. The museum also houses a large collection of 20th century American paintings, furnishings, and architectural objects. At the time of this article’s publication, the Morse requested that all visits, including free visits, first be booked online. To learn more, please visit https://www.morsemuseum.org/plan-your-visit . BONUS ENTRY: Orange County Regional History Center Located just off Orange Avenue in downtown, the History Center features four floors of exhibits that take you on a journey through 12,000 years of Central Florida history. Free admission is offered to: children under 4, Orange County employees, and all Florida teachers/educators (kindergarten through university). Regular admission is between $6 - $8. Orange County Library card holders receive $2 off admission, and AAA members get a 15% discount. Visit their website here .

Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County está oferecendo agora outra experiência virtual para os interessados em seu programa de casa própria: um webinar voltado para compradores de casas pela primeira vez que desejam saber mais sobre a jornada de Habitat para a casa própria. Liz Alicea-Madera, diretora de serviços de programas da Habitat Orlando e Osceola, descreve o processo de inscrição do programa, os critérios e muito mais neste vídeo.

Trabalhar em casa é "o novo normal" para muitas pessoas. Quer você já trabalhe em casa há algum tempo ou ainda esteja se adaptando a essa mudança repentina, aqui está uma lista de dicas úteis para aproveitar ao máximo sua vida de trabalho remoto.