The split-level home on Fairbanks Drive looks like any other in the new housing development on the edge of upper North Mankato.

The landscaping will stay undone until spring. It has the smell of a new home. There are a few pieces of furniture in the living room and bedrooms; a Christmas tree sits in the corner.

But for the home’s owner, Caitlin Bassett, it’s not just a nice new place to live. It’s a new start for her and her kids, Destin, 6, and Daneya, 4.

The family has been busy settling in and hanging Christmas lights and decorations in preparation for a very special Christmas.

Daneya runs joyfully around the house, while Destin shows off his very own bedroom. “I like it. It’s mine.”

Still, he’s not sure he’s entirely ready for sleeping all alone in the lower-level room. “I’m going to sleep with Mom. It might be scary down here,” he confides.

The home was built by volunteers from Habitat for Humanity and sold this month to Bassett.

The house is a big move up for the family, which was living in a local mobile home park, “in a trailer that was in pretty bad shape,” Bassett said.

She has a friend who applied to qualify for a Habitat house and thought she’d try, too. “I really didn’t think I’d get one. I was amazed when it came through.”

The Habitat group does a credit check, looks into the applicant’s history, how long they’ve held down the same job, and what kind of living conditions they are in before approving candidates for a house.

Bassett has worked at the Harry Meyering Center in Mankato for five years.

Having some financial and personal stability in life is important for people getting Habitat homes because they take responsibility for paying the mortgage.

Julie Schmillen, executive director of the local Habitat chapter, said it can build a new home, including lot cost, for about $95,000, thanks to reduced-cost and donated materials and volunteer labor. The homes are usually valued at $145,000 to $165,000. People taking ownership have relatively low monthly mortgage costs — about $400 a month in this area.

Bassett, like others getting a home, also must invest sweat equity in the project. They are required to put in 300 to 500 hours of labor during construction (single moms like Bassett get the fewer number of hours).

Working on the home not only gave Bassett a greater sense of ownership but gave her a practical benefit.