Where: Clifton, Mesa County, Colorado
Issue: Low-income families lack affordable housing options
Outcome: Rural Community Assistance Corporation’s (RCAC) Loan Fund provided Housing Resources of Western Colorado (HRWC) a $1.2 million loan to develop 36 single-family lots that will be constructed through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Mutual Self-Help Housing Program
For many low-income, working families, the dream of homeownership is out of reach. To help these families access safe, decent housing, RCAC provides technical assistance and financing to local nonprofit organizations to implement the self-help housing program.
Assistance includes financial and construction management training, loan financing packaging, outreach and marketing and homeownership training for participants. HRWC has a long history as a self-help grantee and has constructed 162 homes under U.S. Department of Agriculture Section
523 grants. RCAC staff has worked with HRWC during the past five years to stabilize programs after a period of staff turnover.
In 2016, RCAC’s Loan Fund provided HRWC with a $1.2 million loan to develop 36 single family lots in Clifton, Colorado. An additional four lots will be sold as deed restricted in accordance with a county requirement. HRWC owns the property, which was purchased in 2007 before the Great Recession.
Clifton is a small town of just more than 20,000 residents located near Grand Junction with a $39,418 median household income, far below the state’s $59,448 MHI, and even further below Grand Junction’s $65,200. The top employers are in the food service, accommodation, retail and wholesale industries.
Homes will be constructed in groups of about 10 at a time. As with all self-help housing projects, participants are required to provide at least 65 percent of the labor to build their home and their neighbors’ homes. They work 35 hours per week, in addition to their day jobs, for almost a year. This “sweat equity” is contributed in lieu of a down payment. This, along with a Section 502 loan, creates an affordable mortgage.
RCAC’s housing staff has provided 502 packaging training, assistance with compliance and contracting requirements, internal processes and marketing and outreach.
HRWC has 12 Section 502 eligible applications and are preparing to close the loans. The development infrastructure is complete and final map approvals are underway. Construction on the first group of homes is set to begin in the spring of 2018.
