LEE COUNTY, Fla. - Joseph Cardona has lived in his Habitat home for the past three years. "It's a great deal. The house is very comfortable," Cardona said.

Cardona helped build his own Habitat home, as well as the Habitat house next door. That home is now empty because its in foreclosure.

"It's pretty bad," Trisha Goins, Habitat for Humanity of Lee County said.

Goins says tenants are losing their jobs and not paying their mortgage, so the agency has no other choice but to foreclose on the owners.

"Gosh, It's hard to put into words," Goins said about the painstaking decision.

The price of a Habitat home is in the low one hundred thousands. The monthly mortgage rate is 30% of the owner's yearly income. People can move in after working 500 sweat equity hours. That's where they help build the home or work in the Habitat's Thrift Store, as well as other jobs. In exchange for the hours worked, the owners get a 0% interest mortgage, but Goins say even that has become tough to pay.

"It's very scary to see that families are put in a situation where they can't even pay on a zero interest mortgage," Goins said.

In one month, from June 7th to July 7th, Habitat for Humanity will have foreclosed on four homes, that's as many homes as the agency foreclosed on in all of last year.

Goins says in all, they've made 8 foreclosures in the past six months. "People can no longer afford the affordable housing price," she said.

Habitat for Humanity tries to work with the owner until they can pay their mortgage. But in some cases, the owner continues to fall behind.

"We can't offer free housing to people," Goins said.

Habitat for Humanity usually buys the house back, which is then cleaned up and then sold to other Habitat families.

The families that move into the foreclosed homes, have to qualify and fulfill the same 500 sweat equity hours as other previous owners.

WINK News called the families who were in foreclosure to see what their next move is going to be, but they didn't call us back.