Another family in new home, thanks to Self-Help Housing

GREEN FOREST -- Cody Boren and his fiance Stephanie Rivera will be spending their first days as husband and wife settling into a new home that both helped to build.

They are part of a Mutual Self-Help Housing team constructing a home for themselves and homes for three other families in Carroll County.

Another team of four is doing the same in Boone County.

Cody, who has lived in Green Forest the past eight years with his parents, Steve and Kathy Boren, said he learned about the Self-Help program from a friend, Allen Phillips, who built his own Self-Help home.

Cody's home features a brick exterior. It is located on Debbie Lynn Street in Green Forest, in a neighborhood with restrictive covenants that require brick.

The extra cost for the brick was tied into his construction loan, Cody said, and his down payment was secured with "sweat equity."

He and Stephanie, plus family and friends, all helped with the construction of the home, he said, and with the other three Self-Help homes in Carroll County.

Although his home is "move-in" ready, Cody said he must wait until all four homes are completed, which is expected to be sometime in early December.

"We'll be married on Dec. 12, and we'll be settled in by Christmas," said Cody.

"This was the first house completed, because I'm the hardest worker in the group," he laughed.

The program assists people like Cody in several ways; with land acquisition, financing and construction. It is administered through the Northwest Regional Housing Authority, which receives grant money from USDA Rural Development.

All participants help one another build homes under the guidance of a construction coordinator.

Much of the work is done on weekends because many of the participants hold down full-time jobs.

Subcontractors are responsible for such things as electrical and plumbing, but the homeowners are hands-on during the construction process.

They choose their building site, floor plan, siding material, carpeting, wall color, fixtures and other items to make the home unique to them.

Cody said he and Stephanie "pretty much" agreed on everything, from paint colors to flooring materials.

Asked if he would recommend the Self-Help program to others, Cody said, "Absolutely! I do recommend it and I'm glad I did. It was successful, as I had hoped!"

According to Ken McDowell, executive director of the Northwest Regional Housing Authority, the intent of the program is to "help build communities by creating home ownership," saying they are "building for the future."

Since the program's inception here in August, 2004, a total of 50 homes have been built. Nine are located in Carroll County, one in Newton, one in Marion, and 39 in Boone County.

The next round of Carroll County homes are scheduled to begin construction next summer.

Anyone interested in becoming a home owner using sweat equity as a down payment should contact the housing authority at (870) 741-5522 or Email selfhelphousing@windstream.net.