FAYETTEVILLE -- Nancy Gallardo met some of her neighbors Wednesday, and her house isn't even built yet.
Gallardo, along with her two sons, Gabriel, 12, and Mateo, 7, and her 2-year-old daughter, Sofia, will live in a house built through their own sweat equity with Habitat for Humanity. The home will be part of the Willow Bend neighborhood under construction east of South College Avenue between 9th and 11th streets.
Gallardo's home will be one of three Habitat for Humanity will help build in the 81-home, mixed-income neighborhood. Habitat uses a model that involves prospective homeowners putting in more than 300 hours of work, known as sweat equity. The homeowner buys the home with a zero-interest loan under an affordable mortgage.
Willow Bend also has its own method of getting families into homes. The neighborhood, developed by nonprofit Partners for Better Housing, uses a shared equity program to make a third of the homes affordable to lower-income families. The homes are sold at market rate. However, the Pay It Forward shared equity program enables lower-income families to receive down-payment assistance that functions as an interest-free loan and lowers monthly payments.
The two organizations have a shared goal to make home ownership possible for a diversity of incomes. A meeting of the minds came about because Habitat had families and Willow Bend had land, said Brandon Swoboda, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Washington County.
"They wanted to create a mixed-income community; we had the families for them to be able to help them to do that, and they had the affordable land for us," he said. "It was a great marriage."
Habitat for Humanity bought the land where Gallardo will build her home in February for $210,000, according to Washington County property records. Gallardo will take ownership once the house is built.
So far, 10 homes are finished at Willow Bend. The goal is to build 27 homes per year until the neighborhood is complete.
The shared goal between the two organizations is made all the more important considering the housing crunch the region is facing, said Monique Pierre, chief executive officer of Partners for Better Housing.
Benton and Washington counties saw record numbers of homes sold during the second half of last year and at the highest average prices ever, according to the most recent Skyline Report. Over the past five years, the average price of a home sold in Benton County went up nearly 56% and increased 54% in Washington County.
Front porches, not garages, line the streets at Willow Bend. The project is trying to set a standard in the region to create better communities, Pierre said.
"We're doing that by being realistic about what's on the horizon, and being intentional about how we create sustainable communities," she said.
As Gallardo stood outside mingling, Michal Richter and Carlos Mendez walked up from two houses down to say hello. They exchanged phone numbers, and the pair invited Gallardo into the neighborhood's Slack channel, a group messaging app.
Gallardo said life isn't easy, especially as a single mother. She was glad to know she'll be bringing her children into a neighborhood with a strong sense of community.
Gallardo applied with Habitat for Humanity in the fall. At the time, she and her children were sharing a single bedroom at Gallardo's mother's house. The family has since moved into a two-bedroom apartment, but Gallardo said she was eager to experience the stability home ownership will bring to her and her children.
Gallardo said she plans to go to school to study health care administration. She works at the business office at Highlands Oncology.
"This has just opened up more doors for more possibilities," Gallardo said. "Now, I won't have to worry so much about expensive rent rates or expensive mortgage rates."
On the web
For more information about Habitat for Humanity, go to:
https://www.habitatwashingtoncoar.org/
For more information about Partners for Better Housing and Willow Bend, go to:
https://www.partnersforbetterhousing.org/
https://www.willowbendar.com/
Nancy Gallardo holds her youngest child, Sofia, 2, Wednesday April 6, 2022 after a groundbreaking ceremony for her house. Habitat for Humanity of Washington County plans to build three homes this year at Willow Bend, a subdivision that uses a shared equity program enabling lower-income residents to own homes. Gallardo will share the home with her three children. Visit nwaonline.com/220407Daily/ for daily galleries. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. Wampler)