Policy update
By Stan Keasling, RCAC chief executive officer
The mark-up of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) budget was completed in both the House and Senate. Read more>>
RCAC Housing & Community Conference brings all the key players together to reclaim partnership
By Joni Foster, RCAC Housing and Community Director
USDA RD, RD State Directors, State Housing Directors, Self Help Grantees, RCAC, the moon, the stars, the sky all converged in Salt Lake City, Utah at RCAC’s Housing & Community Conference. Read more>>
Dear Sher,
During the RCAC Housing & Community Conference I heard a lot of talk about mold showing up in crawlspaces during construction — particularly when unvented conditioned crawlspaces are being used. My organization builds in desert areas and I even heard this can occur in typically dry parts of the West where you might not expect it. Remediation can be costly – how can we avoid this? Read more>>
SHARES Tidbits: what RCAC can do for you
By Nancy Jacobsen, RCAC rural development specialist
The new SHARES program is definitely more streamlined and more user friendly than its predecessor, but you may still have questions or problems with the program. Read more>>
Upcoming Event
RCAC is pleased to offer the Section 502 Direct Loan Packaging certification course in Portland, Oregon Sept. 23-25 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Portland.
Join us in beautiful Portland, Oregon for this exciting training event! We’ve chosen the DoubleTree hotel as it is conveniently located just steps away from the light rail line that serves the Portland airport and downtown Portland.
Participants who attend this three-day training and pass the online exam will be able to package 502 loans under the new US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Packaging program. The course is also excellent for Mutual Self-Help Housing grantees who want to build their skills in packaging loans for participating households.
Mark your calendars and hold the dates – more information and registration instructions will be coming soon! If you would like to receive future updates about this training, please send your contact information to Bruce Newman: bnewman@RCAC.org.
Announcement
Dick Kempke is RCAC‘s new homeownership options manager. Dick comes to us from South County Housing (SCH) where he has spent 17 years in two stints, the first from 1990 – 2003 as the Single Family Program Manager (including self-help housing), and the second from 2010 to 2014 as a project manager, most recently working closely with RCAC’s own Eileen Piekarz and Michael Carroll to complete the 19-unit subdivision, Canterbury Park, in Calif. Wrapped around his time at SCH, Dick has been a general contractor for an additional 20 years; and in his career, Dick has overseen the development, construction, marketing and financing of more than 780 homes, many of them self-help homes. In Dick’s own words, “Working in non-profit affordable housing development is very rewarding to me. It’s work with good hearted people toward goals and products that I value highly.” Welcome Dick!!
RCAC’s Self-Help Builder News is funded by USDA Rural Development
The newsletter is published quarterly for the western region self-help network at no cost to subscribers. We encourage correspondence and contributions.
Stanley Keasling, Chief Executive Officer
Angela Sisco, Executive Editor
asisco@rcac.orgSharon Wills, Managing Editor
swills@rcac.orgEditorial office, West Sacramento, CA (916) 447-2854
