Owning a home is a dream for many people.
Now, a new program offered through Eastern Eight Community Development Corporation will make it a little easier for families to own their own home.
The Building Dreams Self-Help housing program allows qualified applicants to lower the cost of their home by providing their own “sweat equity” during the building process. Homes constructed through the program will be located in Patriot Place off of Big Springs Road in west Carter County.
The program is very community based, program director Chad Riner said.
For the first phase of the program, four homes will be constructed with the future owners working to help build the homes. Construction will begin on the four homes at once and families will take final ownership of their homes when all four are complete.
“It will be like an old-time barn raising,” Riner said. “People will not just be building their own homes. They will be helping to build their neighbor’s homes, too. It will really strengthen the community because everyone will know everybody else and everyone will be invested in the project.”
Homeowners will be led by a construction coordinator who will help assign projects and lead them in the work, Riner said. Specialized projects, such as electrical, plumbing, HVAC and roofing, will be completed by professionals.
Homes will be 3-bedroom, 2-bath ranch-style with around 1,200 square feet. Participants who qualify will get a 33-year rural development mortgage with an interest rate that could be as low as 1 percent. The maximum interest rate through the program is 3.125 percent.
“That is another huge cost savings for the home buyer,” Riner said.
Eastern Eight currently has one person qualified for the program, with another applicant finishing the process. Two more qualified applicants are needed for the first phase of the self-help program to begin.
The goal is to have preliminary work begin on the first phase by July with an official groundbreaking to be held after that.
After the first four homes are complete, phase two, which will include five homes, will begin.
For more information, or to apply for the program, call 232-5097 or visit www.e8cdc.org.