About a dozen USDA leaders from states across the U.S participated in the construction of a house in the foothills of Smithfield this week. The group is here, along with the Logan based Neighborhood Nonprofit Housing Corporation to highlight affordable housing opportunities and help families realize their homeownership dreams.
Joaquin Altoro, administrator for the USDA’s Rural Housing Service said affordable housing, in rural areas especially, is not talked about enough.
“It is important, even imperative, that people understand that even in places like Smithfield, there is an issue with supply, there is an issue with affordability, and we are really concerned about that,” Altoro said.
Under the self-help housing model, Altoro said a group of families build each other's homes together.
“And not one family can move in until all the houses are built. And so we are kind of realizing the sweat equity of all the families and that helps towards the affordability component also.”
A nonprofit organization helps operate these kinds of builds through USDA grant funding. The families who are purchasing the homes use the USDA home ownership loan.
“Which to me, it’s one of the best in the market right now. So if somebody is income qualified in some cases the interest rate can be as low as 1%, no money down. It’s just an impressive product to really help people realize their home ownership dreams,” Altoro said.
Josh Runhaar, executive director for Neighborhood Nonprofit Housing Corporation, said they typically start about 72 homes a year in multiple locations in northern Utah. They help develop neighborhoods with all types of housing including, duplexes, townhomes, and single and multi family homes.
“Just about anything you can imagine, we try to get built through our program,” Runhaar said.
Participants have to put in enough labor (about 65%) to build their own home and the nonprofit organization brings in professional subcontractors to do the electrical, mechanical, and plumbing work.
“Families are up here building nights, weekends, and putting in thousands of hours to build their own home.” Runhaar said.
According to Runhaar, it takes about 11 months to build a home but they are working on getting it down to 9 or 10 months.
In order to qualify for a USDA Rural Development loan, there are adjusted Low or Very-Low adjusted income limits.
“You still have to be able to qualify for a mortgage. If you’ve got bad credit or debt issues we have financial counselors that work with people to try to resolve all those issues so that we can get you qualified for a mortgage,” Runhaar said.
