Habitat for Humanity of Utah County reached a milestone on Saturday as volunteers worked on the first-ever house sponsored entirely with the mortgage payments of existing Habitat homeowners.

"This is kind of a cool house because it is the first house in 17 years that we have been able to make with homeowners' mortgage payments," said Kena Jo Mathews, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Utah County, speaking to volunteers on Saturday.

Habitat hopes to build one home a year from now on using mortgage payments from existing homeowners as financing, Mathews said.

"There are 29 mortgages going into this house," she said, noting one day she hopes Habitat will have enough homeowners to build two homes a year sponsored by existing mortgage payments.

Marilyn Gilbert of Provo worked on Saturday as a volunteer putting up sheet rock. She is one of Utah Valley's first Habitat homeowners, moving into her Habitat home 15 years ago.

"Our Habitat home changed my life and our family's life," she said. "We lived in a 40-year-old mobile home before we moved into our house, and if this can change anyone else's life, I'm all for it."

Living in the trailer home, Gilbert's children never brought friends home and were failing school, she said. All that changed once the family got into their home, and her daughter graduated from high school early and with honors.

With a half-dozen years left to pay on her home, Gilbert's interest-free Habitat mortgage these days is about $350. It is that affordability that has enabled her to be a homeowner and motivates her to volunteer to help other Habitat homes get built, she said.

Candace Snyder of Santaquin is a single mother of three who moved into a Habitat home a little more than two years ago.

"I struggle as a single mother, and I would not be able to have a house any other way," she said. "There is no way."

It's a great feeling paying her mortgage each month knowing that the money is going to help another family in need get a house, she said.

"That what this is about ¬ -- you get help, and it motivates you to want to help others," Snyder said. "You've lived in that situation so you know you need to give back... I just wish more people would come out to volunteer."

Most of the volunteers on Saturday were people who lived in Habitat homes who said they wanted to show their gratitude.

Menou Tchako moved into her Habitat home about a year ago.

"I couldn't ask for more," she said of her home.

Tchako said she comes as often as she can to help build other Habitat homes.

"People helped me, so why not?" she said.

For information on volunteering or donating to Habitat for Humanity of Utah County, visit HabitatUC.org or call 344-8527.