Low income home buyers build their homes with the help from a USDA program

HOLLISTER, Calif. (KION-TV): A mutual affordable housing program for low-income home buyers is paving the way for more houses to be built in Hollister.

Families struggling to find housing in Hollister are putting in work, to build homes of their own.
Carina Salazar is helping build hers and says the Mutual Self-Help Housing program couldn't have arrived at a better time.

“I do feel very grateful and fortunate to have this opportunity given to me,” said Salazar. “That's why I try my hardest to be out here to fulfill this dream.”

The Mutual Self-Help Housing program is an affordable housing construction project backed by federal and local organizations.

Those selected work in groups of two, and all​ homeowners work together on everyone's house.

“This is a mutual self-help housing program,” said Executive Director, Sonny Flores, who works for Community Services Development Corporation. “It consists of 24 houses, CSDC developed the site and then sells the sites to the individual homeowners and they're brought over for training to build their houses.”

Flores said after 18 months of hard work, the first 12 homeowners were able to move into their homes early this month. And for the second half, they're expected to move in the next two months.

Each family is required to work 40 hours a week. Something that Oscar Tostado did with his family.
“Each sacrifice is worth it, you get me?" said Tostado. “We're here and we accomplished our goal.”

Flores said they had 740 applicants to build one of the 24 homes. Similar programs have been used to build over 350 homes in the city of Hollister over the last 20 years.