GREENFIELD – When Christa Pylant is able to move into her new Smith Street home later this week, it will be like a dream come true.
Pylant has been living for the past 17 years in Amherst with her 16-year-old daughter, Ilani, shuffling through housemates at a property she managed. It was becoming difficult, as some housemates were unpredictable and the rising cost of living in Amherst made it tough for Pylant to afford the bills.
“I think I was feeling pretty hopeless and frustrated with the housing costs and the changing housemates,” Pylant said. “I didn’t see how we were getting out of that.”
Pylant, a paraprofessional at Amherst Regional High School, had become hopeless about what would happen with her family’s housing future.
“I’m 47 and thought, I will never own a home,” she said.
But last year, this all changed for Pylant, when she was chosen by Habitat for Humanity for a new home at 33 Smith St. in Greenfield. Pylant is set to move into her new home this Thursday, after nearly a year of construction.
“This has given me meaning, a goal,” Pylant said.
The house is the first one being built by the Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity in Greenfield in five years, and the fifth in the city since the group formed in 1989, according to Amy Landry, director of resource development for Pioneer Valley Habitat.
The group covers Franklin and Hampshire counties, and has built a total of 42 homes in the areas during its 29-year history, including Pylant’s.
According to Pylant, the roughly 1,000 square-foot, two-bedroom, one bath home is a zero net energy construction.
The home was constructed almost exclusively at the hands of volunteers, some of which work full time before bringing their skills to the construction on Saturdays, according to Pylant.
“The volunteers are incredible,” Pylant said.
Other volunteers included the Franklin County Technical High School, who “applied their in-school learning to real-world homebuilding,” said Landry. The students used their skills learned in disciplines including electrical, HVAC, landscaping and plumbing.
Most of the materials were donated, Pylant said, including solar panels put on the roof from PV Squared.
The home appliance manufacturer Whirlpool helped furnish the inside by donating several kitchen appliances. Sponsors included Greenfield Cooperative Bank, Franklin First Federal Credit Union and Coca-Cola of Northampton.
And Pylant was there, too, putting hammers to nails and paint brushes to walls. She said she learned “everything that goes into putting a home together,” including painting, floor installation and her favorite – framing.
“I love the sound of hammers and the smell of sawed wood,” she said.
She was taught these many skills by the volunteers, particularly from crew leaders who she said were patient with her as she learned, and never became frustrated no matter the question. She said the program requires Habitat for Humanity homeowners to put in 250 hours of “sweat equity,” which includes at least 100 hours of work into their own home’s construction.
The home will be valued at $121,000, Pylant said, with a loan through the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Loan Program, which aims to give low- and moderate-income families a chance at home ownership.
Pylant said with the program, her interest rate won’t exceed 3.5 percent and the mortgage payments cannot exceed 30 percent of her income.
Also, closing costs are covered by Habitat for Humanity, she said.
In order to qualify for the program, Pylant said she started by checking the website and then attending an orientation meeting. Qualifications include salary ranges based on household size, such as one-person households being allowed to make between $29,000 and $33,900.
Once she found out she qualified for the program, she went through an application process before entering a lottery for the home and she eventually won.
Pylant urged anyone who is interested to find out more and apply.
“If you have good credit, you have a good shot,” she said. “If you get into the lottery, you have a really good chance.”
More information can be found at pvhabitat.org.
You can reach Dan Desrochers at:
ddesrochers@recorder.com
413-772-0261, ext. 257