BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The Habitat for Humanity of Bowling Green/Warren County is building 44 new energy-efficient homes as part of its housing project in the Durbin Estates community.

The Roberts family is one of the new homeowners, and Roy Roberts feels excited and blessed for the opportunity.

“God was just on our side, and we just prayed about it," said Roberts. "I got to give it all to him.”

Roberts currently lives in a two-bedroom home with his wife and four kids. Although he is excited about the opportunity, it comes with some work to be done.

The house that the Roberts family will be moving into. (Spectrum News 1/Evan Brooks)

As part of the deal, he must put in 350 hours of "sweat equity" into homes for his soon-to-be neighbors.

“I’m going to help build those houses over there, putting in some hours. It's kind of like a down payment," said Roberts. "Instead of money, you are giving your time to help build homes to help someone else out.”

Volunteers also help work on the homes, and Executive Director Rodney Goodman said he is making sure each family has what they need to succeed. 

“They are going to help around Durbin. They are also going to take financial literacy and homeownership training," said Goodman. "We just want to make sure they have all they need to have a good start.”

Goodman said the new energy homes help cut down on utility costs, allowing the families to spend on other things. A typical application takes about a year to 18 months to get approved and set up. 

There are currently 86 houses built with more on the way.