Where: Vado, New Mexico

Issue: Colonia residents lack access to decent, affordable housing. Tierra del Sol (TDS) located suitable land to develop housing and needed financing to purchase it

Outcome: RCAC’s Loan Fund provided a $300,100 loan to finance land for the development of 48 lots for a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Mutual Self-Help Housing neighborhood

Too many low-income families lack access to decent, affordable housing, and for most home ownership is out of reach. Tierra Del Sol is a nonprofit organization with a long history of developing affordable housing in New Mexico and Texas, including self-help housing projects.

The organization plans to develop 48 affordable homes in Vado, New Mexico for families who will build homes through the USDA Self-Help Housing program. Vado is a small rural community south of Las Cruces and designated a colonia, with a population of more than 3,000. The community is primarily Latino, with a $24,176 median household income.

RCAC’s Loan Fund provided a $300,100 loan to purchase a 12.02 acre site to develop 48 self-help lots. With RCAC’s timely provision of the loan TDS secured the land and was able to leverage financing for the needed site improvements with a combination of $450,000 HUD SHOP funding, $500,000 below market rate loan from the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority (MFA) and a $130,967 loan from Century Bank of Las Cruces.

Self-help housing participants will spend 35 hours per week for more than a year building their own and their neighbors’ homes. This sweat equity will enable the participants to obtain an affordable mortgage through the USDA 502 direct loan program.