The Emery County Business Chamber (ECBC) traveled to Price for its July Lunch and Learn. In past years, the Southeastern Regional Development Agency (SERDA) has been working with individuals whose dream is to own a home, but who may not be in the best financial position to do so.
Chris Allred, who is the Housing Program Manager for SERDA, discussed the process in which an individual has to go through to get approved for the Self-Help USDA home loan. Allred advised there are income requirements and limits that are ever-changing and the easiest way for an individual to find out more information is to head down to the SERDA office.
Allred discussed that the application process can take upwards to a year. The application is still a USDA loan, but it’s a bit more lenient, the interest rates are lower and there is a ton of equity built into the home through what’s called “sweat equity”. Due to participants being required to put in 65% of the work in building the home, this cuts down cost on labor, which in turn builds “sweat equity” into the home.
During the application process, an applicant can determine how big of a house they will need, though they will still need to qualify. Allred advised that they do not typically start a new project until they have four to six approved applicants. Allred said that this allows each applicant to volunteer their time equally amongst all of the houses. He stated that all of the homes must be completed within a certain amount of time and they must all be completed simultaneously.
Allred stated that no home can be moved into until all of the homes have been completed. There is a general contractor who comes to the homes to help guide and teach participants in the use of tools and how to build their homes.
There has been some recent discussion in bringing a program like this to Emery County, which is what warranted the ECBC’s visit to Price.
