New Homeowners in Reedley!

New Homeowners in Reedley!

Posted on October 31, 2022

On September 30th, eleven families in Reedley received the keys to, and officially started moving into the brand-new homes they all built together!   

Among the families was Olga Lopez Chavez, who, along with her husband Alfredo Perez, felt very proud to finally have the keys to their new home. She described the moving-in process as particularly exciting now that her three children each get to have their own room.  

“Estamos muy aliviados de haber terminado finalmente nuestra casa,” dice Olga. “Los niños están muy felices y emocionados de decorar sus propias habitaciones. ¡Entrar a la casa como propietarios significa que todo nuestro trabajo y esfuerzo valió la pena!”   

(“We are so relieved to have finally finished our house,” says Olga. “The children are very happy and excited to decorate their own rooms. Entering the house as homeowners means that all our work and effort paid off.”)  

Via SHE’s Mutual Self-Help Housing program, the participating families worked together to help each other build their houses with skilled onsite supervision and guidance of Self-Help Enterprises’ construction staff. Participants choose from three- and four-bedroom floor plans, which include a dishwasher and range, two-car garages, landscaped front yard, and energy-efficient features. Together, the families poured foundations, framed their homes, installed electrical wiring, and much more. All these efforts contributed to their greater goal of achieving homeownership!  

“Animo a otras familias que están pensando en aplicar al programa a que lo hagan porque los resultados valen la pena,” dice Olga. (“I encourage other families that are thinking about applying to the program to go for it because the results are worth it,” says Olga.)  

The eleven families were the first group to finish building their homes out of the six participating groups in Reedley. Maria Herrera, USDA’s Rural Development State Director for California and past SHE Program Manager of Community Development, celebrated with the families and presented them with certificates to commemorate their outstanding accomplishments.   

Each family contributed a minimum of 40 hours per week to construct their homes. These labor hours, or “sweat equity,” are used as the down payment on their new home, reducing costs for a new home they could otherwise not afford. SHE also assists each applicant with securing the loans needed to build their home.   

Special financing from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the State of California makes these homes affordable. Fresno County assisted 5 out of the 11 families by providing gap financing through their HOME funds.  

Interested in learning more about the Mutual Self-Help Housing program?   

• More information can be found here.
• You can also get in touch with our team at (559) 651-1000 or gateway@selfhelpenterprises.org