Grant Awarded Under the Single Family Housing Self-Help Technical Assistance Program
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) State Director Bob Morgan announced that the Department has partnered with Threshold Housing Development Inc. to invest $470,000 to help meet the demands of the growing housing needs in rural Pennsylvania.
“Rural America is a place everyone can call home,” Morgan said. “Expanding opportunities for homeownership strengthens rural communities and helps families and individuals build wealth and achieve financial stability. Well-built, energy efficient, affordable housing is essential to the vitality of communities in rural America.”
This Rural Development investment will be used for the completion of seven new homes and nine acquisition rehabs.
The technical assistance grant will work in conjunction with USDA’s 502 Self-Help Program, which assists low and very low-income families to obtain affordable housing through new construction or acquisition rehab.
Families choosing new construction will receive on-site technical support from Threshold Housing Development, Inc., and work together mutually with other families in the program, providing 65% of the construction labor to build their homes. By participating in the construction process, these families will realize significant cost savings, enabling them to own a brand-new home with an affordable mortgage payment.
With Threshold’s guidance, families opting for acquisition rehab will purchase and rehab their own homes. They’ll learn to evaluate the scope of rehab work that potential houses require, as well as receive training, monitoring, and assistance during the rehab process of the home they choose.
Background:
The Mutual Self-Help Housing Program provides grants to qualified organizations to help them carry out local self-help housing construction projects.
Through this program, USDA has worked with nearly 230 organizations to provide a unique opportunity for families and individuals to lower the overall purchase price of a new home by investing “sweat equity” into the construction.
Since its inception in 1966, the program has helped nearly 56,000 families build their own affordable and safe homes. Through this program, the Biden-Harris Administration has partnered with community organizations to help 261 families and individuals in socially vulnerable communities build their own homes.