Policy Update
By Stan Keasling, RCAC chief executive officer
50 Years/50,000 Homes
What a great year for Self-Help Housing! I hope you all have had great celebrations during homeownership month. We have enjoyed working with all of you to build the Mutual Self-Help Housing Program’s national image. I was fortunate to attend the celebration sponsored by Self-Help Enterprises. Congressman David Valadao and Rural Housing Service Administrator, Tony Hernandez, also attended. Read more >>
The economic benefits of self-help housing that we don’t think about
By Nancy Larsen, Whatcom Skagit Housing executive director
To prepare for a seminar at the Housing Washington convention in Spokane in 2010, I calculated the dollars Whatcom Skagit Housing spent through the Mutual Self-Help Housing Program in Whatcom and Skagit counties where we operate. What I soon learned was that the amount was overwhelming … Read more >>>
Dear Sher,
My Group Agreement just doesn’t work anymore! We wrote it many years ago and have been living with it but want to make changes based on the things we’ve learned. Can we just change it or what’s the process? Read Sher’s solution >>>
New grantees SHARES access
By Nancy Jacobsen, RCAC rural development specialist
For any new SHARES Users looking for access to SHARES: First, the new users must apply for eAuthentication access, then they’ll receive an email to have their ID checked by Rural Development or another designated federal staff person. Read more >>>
News you can use!
Guidance issued on Determining Student Loan Payments for Total Debt Ratio
While USDA – Rural Development acknowledges the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan on student loans now, they are not going to use those payments and have reissued guidance consistent with the previous method of 1 percent or the actual payment, whichever is greater. Access notice here >>>
Upcoming events
National Self-Help Housing Conference
The T&MA contractors are presenting the national USDA Mutual Self-Help Housing Conference July 21 – 23, 2015 in San Antonio, Texas, to commemorate 50 years of self-help housing and building 50,000 homes. For registration information go here >>>
We look forward to seeing you in San Antonio!
Section 502 packaging training for nonprofit housing developers
Housing Assistance Council (HAC) presents the Section 502 Certification Packaging Training for Nonprofit Housing Developers Tuesday, July 7 – Thursday, July 9 in Denver, CO.
This three-day advanced course covers USDA Rural Development’s Section 502 Direct Loan Program and provides invaluable insight into how this homeownership financing resource can be used. Learn how to assist potential borrowers and work in partnership with Rural Development staff and other nonprofit organizations and regional intermediaries to deliver successful Section 502 loan packages.
Interested in additional HAC training opportunities? Visit HAC’s website to learn more and register!
New RCAC website coming soon
We are very excited to announce that our new RCAC.org website will launch soon!
The new site is a responsive design, which will work well on all of your devices. Navigation is easier so that you can get to the information you want quickly and easily. See below for a screen shot of our homepage.
Look for our announcement when the new site is live and ready for your visit.
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
