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Neighborhood Nonprofit Housing Corporation provides homeownership opportunities for low-income households

Housing Project Highlight

Where: Cache County and Box Elder County, Utah

Problem: Lack of homeownership opportunities for very-low and low-income households

Solution: RCAC supports Neighborhood Nonprofit Housing Corporation in introducing the Mutual Self Help Housing Program

Since 2001, Neighborhood Nonprofit Housing Corporation (NNHC) has assisted 215 families achieve homeownership through the USDA Rural Development Mutual Self-Help Housing Program, and to date, none have gone into foreclosure.

Box Elder and Cache counties are rural communities noted for an agricultural economy, open spaces and a deep sense of place. The population in both counties has increased as manufacturing firms move in to take advantage of Utah’s strong work ethic and innovation.

The rise in population has brought an increase in the need for affordable housing. NNHC creates quality affordable housing opportunities in Box Elder and Cache counties. In 2001, RCAC began working with NNHC to implement the USDA self-help housing program to help meet the increased demand for housing. RCAC affordable housing specialists continue to provide technical assistance and oversight to NNHC.

The self-help housing program is unique in that it provides opportunities for low-income families to participate in homeownership while constructing their homes. Six to eight participating families work together under the supervision of an NNHC construction supervisor to contribute approximately 65 percent of the labor for construction of their homes. This investment in time and labor is the family’s equity contribution, and in essence acts as their down payment.

The value of the Mutual Self-Help Program cannot be understated; families achieve dreams, build lifelong skills and establish strong communities.

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