Jan Ziettlow retired from teaching and moved to Boulder in the 1990s. For many years, she worked, and lived, at Boulder Hot Springs. But Ziettlow, who had kept most of her possessions in storage, including many family heirlooms, longed to get them out again. In 2009, when the National Affordable Housing Network launched a plan to develop affordable homes in Boulder, Ziettlow decided to purchase one of the five homes that the NAHN was building behind Boulder Elementary School.
Ziettlow met the income threshold at the time, so she applied and was accepted into what is called the “self-help” program — meaning that she, along with friends and family, had to put in at least 1,000 hours assisting with construction. Ziettlow shoveled gravel, put up insulation in the crawl space, helped install the waterproof barrier and painted the exterior siding.
Before she started the process, Ziettlow wasn’t sure if she wanted to buy a house again — having owned one in Iowa where she taught — but in the end, “I’m glad I did,” she said. She paid $94,139 in 2009 and has a 30-year fixed rate mortgage.
