Coffee cup in hand, Ashley Andreas watched with glee as a crane delivered two halves of a modular home to Nutt Lane in White River Junction. By summertime, the humble wooden shell will be a three-bedroom home for a mother and her three daughters.
The project is Andreas’ first as executive director of Upper Valley Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit that has built affordable homes in Vermont and New Hampshire for nearly 40 years.
Andreas, who started last October, took the helm at a time when inflation and an unstable economy have made building homes even more expensive. But she is unwavering in her mission. Andreas aims to make Upper Valley Habitat a better-known entity — and hopes volunteers and donations will follow.
“Having us be one of the most visible nonprofits in the Upper Valley feels important to me,” she said. “We do have such an amazing, supportive community here, and I think that a lot of folks just don’t know about us.”
Andreas’ chapter is part of Habitat for Humanity International, a global nonprofit that operates in every state and more than 60 countries. Founded in 1976, Habitat rose to prominence in the 1980s, thanks to its most famous volunteer: former president Jimmy Carter, whose annual Carter Work Project renovated or repaired nearly 4,500 homes over 30-plus years.
Vermont has seven Habitat affiliates that build about a dozen homes per year. Upper Valley Habitat contributes one home to that total. The organization also partners with COVER Home Repair, a local nonprofit that builds wheelchair ramps, replaces roofs and weatherizes homes for low-income Vermonters at no cost.
Habitat homes, however, don’t come for free. The nonprofit purchases the building materials and uses volunteer labor to buy down the home’s cost, but the owner still pays a mortgage. Most end up financing between $100,000 and $150,000, Andreas said.
To be eligible for a home, applicants must meet certain income requirements and prequalify for a mortgage, which can be a barrier for some. Even so, the interest in Habitat homes greatly outpaces the nonprofit’s capacity to build them. Twenty people applied for the Nutt Lane project, according to Andreas.
As director, she is interested in finding creative ways to leverage Habitat’s limited funds, which primarily come from grants and donations. For the Nutt Lane project, for instance, Habitat got a zero-interest construction loan from the Vermont Community Loan Fund by partnering with the Hartford Area Career & Technical Center. Students from the school’s Building Trades program prepared the foundation and will help install drywall, cabinets and trim.
“Programs like that are really pivotal in being able to bring the cost of construction down to a mortgage that the family can afford,” Andreas said.
Nest caught up with Andreas to talk about how Habitat keeps homes affordable and her goals for the organization.
People who qualify for Habitat homes are essentially getting a subsidized mortgage. What do they have to give in return?
Partner families have to contribute a certain number of sweat-equity hours, which is time that they are on-site helping to build the house. Or it could be stuffing envelopes and sending mailings or doing office work. We try to make it accessible to someone’s skills and abilities, but most families really enjoy being on-site and learning some construction skills and getting to be part of that process. They’re also agreeing to perpetual affordability. We have a promise that you can’t just turn around and sell the home for whatever you want or to the highest bidder.
Does that requirement come with a catch?
I see two sides of it. The owners have a home that they can afford to live in, but they may also struggle to buy their next home when they sell this one at an affordable price. Hopefully they’ve been able to save money over the years and can pass that on to another family. It creates a guarantee that there’s a starter home available in the community for less than $400,000. It’s nearly impossible to find a basic home in the Upper Valley for less. Doing these perpetual affordability covenants is really important because we’re passing on that gift, that step up, to future generations.
Has the increased cost of building materials made it more difficult for Habitat to build affordable homes?
Yes! It’s like sticker shock to look at an estimate for a home. We’re having to work harder than ever to get creative to get costs down without sacrificing quality or energy efficiency. Vermont does have an energy code, and it’s pretty rigorous. But we have successfully done our last three builds, Nutt Lane included, as all electric.
What’s special about the latest home on Nutt Lane?
It’s a single-family home, three bedrooms and one and a half baths, which I’m excited about. I’m always complaining that there’s not enough three-bedroom homes in the Upper Valley for families. I’m excited about the prospect of getting young families downtown and in these centers where they can walk to shops and shows at Northern Stage and be part of a community.
The Nutt Lane home is modular. Are those easier to build?
The jury is still out. On Nutt Lane, the modular doesn’t have drywall or flooring or doors, but it does have electrical and plumbing, so we’re getting the biggest lift of the build complete in a really short amount of time — and we can work through the winter. The downside is that we have to pay that modular builder; part of our affordability power is that we don’t have the labor cost. So, it’s definitely a trade-off. The Rutland affiliate is opening a workshop to build wall panels for its home projects, and other affiliates have discussed wanting to have a centralized shop to ship wall and roof panels across the state. Or maybe we could have a partnership with a modular company where we would standardize designs to bring the cost down. These are all approaches that we’re looking at.
What are you looking forward to this year?
We own a couple of properties where the land lends itself to be a larger, planned development. I’m really excited to start investigating which one of those projects should be next and what the designs will look like. Also, I’m excited about getting a renovation project going, something that would be easy for volunteers to do in six months to a year while we queue up a larger project. I’m also going to be working with the board on a three- to five-year strategic plan. Starting to look that far out and move some pieces into place feels like a really important next step.
What’s something you want people to know about Upper Valley Habitat?
When you come to volunteer for us, you’re helping a family who needs it to get into a home. But we’re also providing an opportunity for people who are interested in learning new skills to come learn at no cost. If you’re interested in weatherization because you have an old, leaky home but can’t afford to pay someone to insulate it, come volunteer and learn about different types of insulation. If you’re interested in design but don’t want to start a new career, come work with our building committee. We’re building homes affordably, yes, but also we’re building a community that builds homes together. In my opinion, it’s radical; it’s mutual aid; it’s sustainability. It really is a living mission.
This interview was edited for clarity and length.
The original print version of this article was headlined “Under Construction | Upper Valley Habitat for Humanity strives to meet the demand for affordable homes”
This article appears in Nest — Winter 2026.
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