Mutual Self Help

NeighborWorks is currently assisting 10 families to construct their own homes in the Castle Pines Addition, south of town on 15th Street and 28th Ave South. All of the families work together under the supervision of a NeighborWorks construction manager in building these homes. No one moves in until all of the houses are completed. The project takes approximately one year to complete. Families qualify for Rural Development loans as low as 1%, depending on income. NeighborWorks is currently accepting applications for the next build of 10 homes scheduled to begin in the Spring of 2010.

How the program works

• Prospective homeowners apply to Neighborworks Great Falls to become a part of the program.
• Mutual Self-Help program staff and the USDA Rural Development staff will review your application to see if you qualify.  When your application is approved, you and nine other families will begin working together as a group.
• Successful applicants are required to attend homebuyer education and receive credit awareness training.  If credit repair is necessary, they will receive that help for free from NWGF.
• NWGF will provide all construction supervision and building-trades training for the families.
• Once selected, families are expected to attend all mandatory family meetings and training session.
• Your household will be expected to work a minimum of 32 hours a week, for as long as 12 months or until all homes are completed, on the construction site. The head of the household must put in at least 17 hours a week while the remaining hours can come from  outside family members, friends of the family, and community members or organizations willing to help the family.
• With the help of the Cascade County Commissioners and individual sellers, NWGF has had good success in locating suitable land in the county.
• Everyone chooses a home design from a selection at NWGF. All designs have been approved for use in the Mutual Self Help program and can be altered to be, or are already, handicapped-adaptable. The adaptations are on a family-by-family basis as dictated by need. There is no cost for altering prospective owner/builder house plans. 
• However, except for handicapped accessibilty and family size, individual family plans cannot be altered without the express permission from Rural Development, who oversees the build and the contractual obligations. Permission is RARELY given for any floor-plan modifications, even if it would result in cheaper costs for the one home. 

If you are interested in the Self-Help Program, please call Brenda Kukay at 761-5861.

Helping families succeed
Our experienced staff of construction and lending professionals will guide you step-by-step through the construction and lending process, working together as a team.  Don’t worry if you have no building experience.  You will learn construction methods, financial preparedness, budgeting, home maintenance and repairs, and many other skills.
All NWGF Mutual Self Help staffers are available to help with individual problems. Please tap this resource as you need help.

When construction is complete on ALL of the houses, each family will move into their new home at the same time.

What are the advantages to the owner/builder?
Qualified buyers earn instant equity by working with a group of other families to help build their own homes.  Their labor is called “sweat equity” and it can make homes affordable.  Hard work is the key to this project, along with a desire to work together to build our community and new homes.  The members of the group commit to building their own homes, and embark on a guided development that turns the dream into reality.

• Your interest rate, based on your income can be as low as 1 percent.
• You will have the investment and tax benefits of home ownership. 
• You will have affordable house payments.
• You will finish the project with significant sweat equity value in a highly energy-efficient new home, which ultimately will save you money on utility costs.
• You will acquire the knowledge and skills you need to become a successful and responsible homeowner.
• You now will live in a neighborhood with other families that you know very well, many who have children in the same age range as yours.

How the program affects the families and the community
Self-help is aimed at families whose low income or subsistence lifestyle would prohibit them from becoming homeowners through more traditional lending.  Rural Development’s extremely low-interest loans, NWGF’s credit repair help and construction supervision and the families’ willingness to invest the sweat equity to make the project work all play a role in the success of self-help.  Throw in the collaboration of other volunteers, local businesses, local government and ongoing support from Montana’s congressional delegation and the program is destined to prosper.

Finally, self-help builds are more than just a new subdivision in a community.  They become neighborhoods along the way.  After working with your neighbors for 12 months to build your homes, you find you are a small, close-knit community.

One self-help family member said, "Our families have already formed a community in the first several weeks of working together.”  A self-help project director said, "This program is giving new hope and creating self-esteem for families who just haven't gotten a break before now."

For more information, please send an e-mail or call NeighborWorks Great Falls at 761-5861.