Hailey Deeds’ daily routine looks a little different from that of most 24-year-olds. After a full day of juggling working from home with caring for her infant daughter, she drives 45 minutes to Nephi to meet her husband, Matt, where they are building their home.
Neither Hailey nor Matt has ever built a house before, but their home is looking fantastic — when we spoke, the concrete driveway was just poured, carpet had been laid and the toilets and other fixtures had all been installed. All that was left were minor details like outlet covers and lightbulbs.
The Deeds family is part of a program called Self-Help Homes, which completes affordable housing projects by facilitating loans and providing training so people can build their own houses. For nearly a year, they have driven back and forth between Nephi and Lehi almost daily to spend 35 hours per week building their home: framing the walls, installing baseboards, painting the interior and completing thousands of other tasks.
Hailey and Matt don’t just work on their own house — they also contribute time to build their neighbors’ homes. Self-Help Homes is a community effort, with each unit in the program assigned to a group of about 8–10 other families and individuals. The groups work together, starting their block from the ground up, and no one moves into their home until each house in the group has been completed.
“It does take a village,” Hailey said. “If anything, that’s what building a house and having a kid has taught me. You can’t do anything without people in your corner.”
Nanilia Lara pulls stone from a crate as she lays out designs as homebuyers take part in Self-Help Homes, which completes affordable housing projects by facilitating loans and providing training so people can build their own houses, in Salem on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
Katie Bunker and her husband, Dallin, are in the same group as the Deeds family, and the Bunkers’ house will be the last to be completed. It’s framed, but they’re waiting on contractors to complete the more technical aspects of the home like plumbing, HVAC and electrical work. Once that is done, the Bunkers and the other families in the program will work to complete everything else.
Lots in the program typically range from .17 to .25 of an acre, and house sizes vary accordingly. Each of the houses in this group have three bedrooms and two bathrooms, plus an unfinished basement — although the families now have the skills and construction experience to finish it themselves.
Their group started construction in December 2023. Since then, the program has consistently dropped off new building materials at the site, and the group’s supervisor has walked everyone through new tasks, providing training and maintaining a building plan. Although these are not custom homes, there are several house plans people can choose from when building through the program, and participants can choose finishes like flooring, countertops, cabinets and paint colors.
As soon as the houses are completed, all seven families in their group will move into their new homes.
Kady Barnes and Bella Rich work to wipe down walls as homebuyers take part in Self-Help Homes, which completes affordable housing projects by facilitating loans and providing training so people can build their own houses, in Salem on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
How Self-Help Homes got its start
Self-Help Homes is one of several similar programs across the country. Although each state is required to have an affordable housing program, not every state has the kind where you receive help to build a house yourself. According to Self-Help Housing Spotlight, these programs are available in 30 states, plus the Marshall Islands. Utah alone has nine different programs, including Self-Help Homes.
Each state in the country receives funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Known as the HOME program, this money is specifically allocated for affordable housing programs. According to HUD Exchange, at least 15% of all HOME funds must be set aside for use in a Community Housing Development Organization, which is a private housing program that serves local community needs.
In 1999, the United States Department of Agriculture-Rural Development was looking to grow its Mutual Self-Help Housing program, which provides grants to nonprofits that carry out self-help construction programs in rural areas. Two community housing organizations had just started in Utah — one in Moab, the other in Vernal — but central Utah had no such organizations.
Brad Bishop, who was working at the Housing Authority of Utah County, was asked to start a similar nonprofit in Utah County. He helped found Self-Help Homes, which began using the unused HOME funds to purchase and develop land for single-family homes in 2000. The Mutual Self-Help Housing program provides funding for technical support and supervision to families building on those lots, and Self-Help Homes helps participants apply for USDA housing loans for their mortgages.
Since its founding, Self-Help Homes has built houses in Washington, Juab and Wasatch counties. Even before the pandemic, Bishop said their demand had been steadily growing, but since 2020, their waitlists have grown increasingly long.
“The demand is higher than we’ve ever seen,” Bishop said. “Those who are coming on to the program have been on the list for a couple of years.”
Nolan Kelsch cuts door casing as he and other homebuyers take part in Self-Help Homes, which completes affordable housing projects by facilitating loans and providing training so people can build their own houses, in Salem on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
How to apply for the program
To be eligible for the program, you must meet certain income requirements and cannot currently own a home. The Deedses are renting a basement from a family member and the Bunkers are renting an apartment, and Deeds said one family in their group currently lives in a trailer.
Wait times can vary based on applicants’ income. By law, participants in a self-help building program must earn less than 80% of their area’s median income. Bishop said at least 40% of those they serve must have an income that is 50% or less of the area’s median, so applicants in that range are generally able to apply to the program consistently and are likely to be accepted sooner.
Building any home is expensive, but Self-Help Homes is able to shave off around 10%-20% of the average home price through participants’ sweat equity and by avoiding builders’ markups.
The benefits of building vs. buying a home
Bunker said one of the biggest draws for this program was the ability to learn the skills needed to build a home. She and her husband have long dreamed of building a house someday, and while they weren’t planning on that being their very first home, they heard about the program and jumped at the opportunity.
The financial aspect was another bonus for the Bunkers, as was the appeal of being a home’s first owners.
“We figured we could look for a house that would probably be much older, not as nice, and we would be in a home sooner, but it wouldn’t be as nice and it wouldn’t be as up to date,” Deeds said. “I feel like we’re getting more bang for our buck doing it this way.”
Elijah Rich works in a home as new buyers take part in Self-Help Homes, which completes affordable housing projects by facilitating loans and providing training so people can build their own houses, in Salem on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
The Deeds family turned to Self-Help Homes after growing frustrated with the current housing market. They have family who built their home through a similar program in Cache Valley years ago, so they researched other opportunities in the state and found Self-Help Homes. They applied to each of the program’s wait lists in April 2023. All had around a two-year wait except for the newest program, in Nephi.
Hailey and Matt had never previously considered moving to Nephi, a rural town with a population of around 7,000 and nearly an hour’s drive from her office, but it had the shortest wait of any other program — they were accepted after four months on the list.
“When we got into the Nephi program, we felt like we couldn’t pass up that opportunity,” Hailey said. “It’s really hard to get into a house, especially in your 20s. Everything costs an arm and a leg.”
The Bunkers signed up for Self-Help Homes’ programs in Salem and Heber in 2021, but the waitlists were moving very slowly, in part due to delays related to the pandemic. In November 2023, they received an email from the program saying that someone had dropped out of the Nephi program, and the spot was theirs if they wanted it.
Moises Lara applies stone to a front column as he and his father, Jose Luis Lara, and other homebuyers take part in Self-Help Homes, which completes affordable housing projects by facilitating loans and providing training so people can build their own houses, in Salem on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
The challenges of building your own home
The Deedses and Bunkers have both faced a number of obstacles since beginning construction on their homes, but they both said the most difficult part was figuring out how to balance the 35 hours of required weekly building time with the rest of their lives.
Matt is a student at BYU. During the winter, he had to juggle classes with building; now, he works a part-time job on the night shift so he can spend the majority of the day working on the house. Between their jobs, schooling, caring for their daughter and building their home, Hailey and Matt have little time for much else.
Katie Bunker is also the main breadwinner in her family, while her husband, Dallin, drives down to Nephi about four days a week to build their home. She tries to join him on Saturdays while a family member watches their son. While she’s grateful for the support they receive from family members, she says it’s hard when days go by without seeing her husband. Even the time they do have together is spent making plans for building.
“It’s been sad that I haven’t been able to spend as much time just hanging out with my husband,” she said.
Bunker added that another frustrating aspect of the building process is the need to wait on contractors, as there are parts of building that must be completed by licensed professionals such as plumbers and electricians.
Aubrey Ledingham caulks some trim inside a home as homebuyers take part in Self-Help Homes, which completes affordable housing projects by facilitating loans and providing training so people can build their own houses, in Salem on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
“We would possibly be in our homes by now if it weren’t for having to wait on contractors,” she said. “The group itself and all of the families that are in our group are working hard. Once we’re done waiting on contractors, we should be able to move in relatively quickly after that.”
Deeds said there are pros and cons to buying or building a house. The work and the impending move to a remote community are daunting, but she just wanted to get her family into a house, and this was the best opportunity to do so.
“Moving into a rural area was not my first choice, but at the end of the day, it’s a good community,” she said. “I feel excited for my family to enjoy that kind of lifestyle.”
Besides, Deeds said she doesn’t think Nephi will stay rural for very long. It’s been growing rapidly in the past few years, with a slew of new developments and restaurants — including a Costa Vida and a Taco Bell, true signs of urbanization — and Deeds said she expects Nephi to become the next Payson within five years.
Scott Tuttle talks with Isaac Petrucka and Aubrey and Glen Ledingham as home buyers take part in Self-Help Homes, which completes affordable housing projects by facilitating loans and providing training so people can build their own houses, in Salem on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
‘It takes a village’
Although building a home without experience has come with its challenges, the Deedses and Bunkers both agree that the work has been worth it, particularly because of the community aspect of the program. Brad Bishop called it a “barn-raising,” the way rural communities worked together in the old days to come together to build each others’ homes.
Bishop added that the program brings out the best in participants as they learn to work together and develop new skills.
“It’s just a wonderful opportunity,” he said. “It’s a great way to get into an affordable home with affordable payments, but more than anything, it’s such a confidence builder for families — if you can build your own house, you can do anything.”
The Deeds and Bunker families and those in their group have relied on their friends, family and one another as they’ve built their homes. Some weeks, a family hasn’t been able to complete their required work hours, so another family will donate extra hours to help them. Friends and family have made the trek down to Nephi to donate their own time to construction.
“The phrase ‘It takes a village’ is so true — it feels like our neighbors have just become a part of our village,” Hailey said. “And we’re creating an actual village together.”
Bunker said the experience has been great overall, but she’s especially grateful to get to know the people she’s going to raise her kids next to — some have even helped her with child care so she’s been able to work on the house.
“I feel very fortunate because I believe our group has a really great work ethic, and everyone just wants to help everyone out,” she said.
Deeds said her family already knows their neighbors better than most people do, and they haven’t even moved in yet.
“We’ve developed lifelong friendships with people in the program — they’re some of our best friends now,” she said.
When the group moves in, their houses will already be homes, with a built-in community and physical evidence of the work they put in. When they walk through their front doors, they’ll see not just the finished product of their efforts, but all it took to get there — framing the house with neighbors, painting the walls with friends.
The Deedses, the Bunkers and the others in their program are exhausted from the demanding work and the struggle of balancing construction with their regular lives, but they’re grateful for the program, for their community and for everything they’ve learned.
“I’m really grateful for the experiences that we’re having and for the things that we’re learning,” Katie Deeds said. “It’s been hard, but it’s been very, very worth it.”
Scott Tuttle of Self-Help Homes talks with homebuyers as they take part in a Self-Help Homes project, which completes affordable housing projects by facilitating loans and providing training so people can build their own houses, in Salem on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News