Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development joined its partner Community Home Builders to celebrate National Homeownership Month with a groundbreaking ceremony for families that are building their way to homeownership in Dayton, Oregon, through USDA’s Mutual Self-Help Housing Program.
“Homeownership helps families build wealth, promotes stable communities, and strengthens the economy, but buying a home can seem like an unattainable dream for many hard-working rural Americans,” said USDA Rural Development State Director Vicki Walker. “USDA and its partners are helping to make that dream a reality through a USDA program that allows families to use their own sweat equity as a down payment on a new home.”
With Mutual Self-Help Technical Assistance Grant funds from USDA Rural Development, the nonprofit Community Home Builders is helping families with modest means build their own homes by developing a site, securing the assistance of professional subcontractors, and providing construction coordination and training.
The current group of nine families in Dayton, working side-by-side on nights and weekends, will perform approximately 70 percent of the construction on each other’s homes, buying down the price. They will work on nearly every aspect of the home, from the initial site preparation through framing, painting, flooring, trim work, landscaping, and everything in between. Qualified participants then receive a low-interest mortgage from USDA Rural Development for the remaining cost of the homes.
The site of the new homes in Dayton is located three blocks from the grade school and two blocks from the junior high and high schools. Moreover, Dayton is a growing community in the heart of wine country with increasing tourism and a very active citizenry. As a result, the city is seeing significant new investments in its school system, local restaurants and businesses, and interest from a variety of new agricultural and manufacturing companies. Thus, the families building their homes in Dayton under this program will be well positioned for long-term stability for both themselves and their children.
Through its suite of Single Family Housing Programs, USDA Rural Development helps rural residents in Oregon and across the country achieve the dream of homeownership with more than $137 billion in funding provided nationwide since 2009. In 2015 alone, the Department invested $19.5 billion to help more than 148,500 rural families buy or make repairs and safety upgrades to their homes. USDA created more homeownership opportunities through seven years of the Obama Administration than during any previous seven-year period in the history of the Single Family Housing programs.
If you are interested in buying a home in a rural area, or would like to learn more about USDA’s observance of National Homeownership Month, please visit us online or contact your local USDA Rural Development office.
Since 2009, USDA Rural Development (@usdaRD) has helped 1.1 million rural residents buy homes; invested $11 billion to start or expand 103,000 rural businesses; funded nearly 7,000 community facilities, such as schools, public safety, and healthcare facilities; financed 185,000 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines; and helped bring high-speed Internet access to nearly 6 million rural residents and businesses. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov/results.