Keokuk, IA – Six new homes are under construction in Mount Pleasant, Danville, and New London through the Self Help Housing Program.
Participating families must meet income guidelines and spend 30 hours/week building their home. Licensed contractors are used, but the families perform as much of the work as possible.
Beth Hartman with the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission says the next phase is to get at least 6 families to apply to live in Keokuk.
She says, "I have had a few, though not as many as I would like. The more applicants the better because we don't have to stop at 6 houses."
Applications are available through the planning commission or at Keokuk City Hall.
Hartman says the size of the home is based on the size of the loan a family receives. She says most of the homes are ranch-style, with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
Interest rates could be as low as 1%.