Upper Cumberland Habitat for Humanity broke ground on a new Hayes Street home in Smithville to provide a permanent residence for partner Angie Taylor and her daughter.
Executive Director of Upper Cumberland Habitat for Humanity Jeremy Byrd said the organization selected Taylor following an application process that included interviews and a final vote by the board of directors. Byrd said the construction schedule aims for a completion date in late spring or early summer of 2024.
“We use housing as a means to accomplish our goal and what our real goal is to see families flourish and thrive,” Byrd said. “We want to see our neighbors growing and excelling and being blessed, and housing is the way that we personally do that through our work.”
Byrd said the project is moving forward on one of six available lots the organization has subdivided for future builds in Smithville. Byrd said the director of construction is currently coordinating foundation work and block delivery to prepare for framing and roofing.
“It will ensure that the home is actually theirs, they will be the owner of that home at the end of the day because they have worked on it, they have worked for it and they have purchased it,” Byrd said.
Byrd said the partner family must complete between 200 and 400 hours of sweat equity through construction work and volunteering at the Cookeville ReStore. Byrd said this labor serves as a replacement for a traditional down payment, which often acts as an insurmountable obstacle for first-time homebuyers.
“The competition is extremely high on those quality starter homes and then the catalog of those available to purchase is just very limited also,” Byrd said. “So that makes it difficult for families living in DeKalb County, White County, Putnam County, Overton County, the counties that Upper Cumberland Habitat serves, to be able to purchase a home, especially if maybe they’re a first-time homebuyer.”
Byrd said the number of homes in Tennessee selling for $300,000 or less has dropped from 80 percent in the early 2000s to less than 13 percent in 2024. Byrd said funding for the Smithville build came from local donors and community events like the Fiddler 5K and an upcoming chili cook-off.
“Being able to partner with a family so that they can purchase their home, they can lock in a monthly mortgage and then they can begin to attack other concerns in their life and not just be in survival mode, but really be able to thrive,” Byrd said.
The organization expects to begin another construction project in Smithville within the next 18 months.
