Income Eligibility Guidelines for Ripples Hill are Increased
With the concurrence of the Mount Desert Board of Selectmen, the upper limit of the income eligibility guideline to qualify for the Ripples Hill workforce housing development has been raised from 120% of area median household income to 160% of area median household income for the State of Maine for 2008.
According to IHT Executive Director Chris Spruce, this means the top end of the income group qualified for Ripples is now $88,650 for 2008, instead of the previous limit of $66,500 for a family of four or fewer. The change is effective immediately.
"This change means that we no longer have to turn away otherwise qualified applicants whose household incomes exceeded our initial limit," said Spruce. "The intent is to make sure that a moderate income household with two full-time working adults is not prohibited from pursuing a Ripples house if they so choose." In many cases, Spruce said, the very prospective homeowners Ripples Hill was developed to accommodate (teachers, police officers, firefighters, non-profit institution employees, etc.) exceeded the prior top income limit if two adults in the household worked full time. At the same time, he said, these folks are equally challenged as those at a lower household income level to find quality year-round housing on Mount Desert Island that they can afford.
Spruce noted that the Ripples Hill income eligibility guidelines have no lower limit.
Long-time Summer Resident Steps Up to Assist Working Individuals and Families
The
challenge to create homeownership opportunities for Mount Desert Island’s
year-round working individuals and families is being assisted by a long-time
summer resident who is offering houses in her new subdivision at well below
market value to qualified applicants.
Working
through Island Housing Trust, Mrs. Emily Sabah-Maren is offering the first of
four houses she is planning to build in the Sabah Woods subdivision off Route 3
in the Thomas Bay area of Bar Harbor for sale to applicants pre-qualified by
IHT. IHT also has assisted in developing
the affordability easements and equity-sharing formula that will be used to
keep the property permanently affordable to employees of MDI businesses and
institutions.
“I
am very concerned that many middle income families and individuals on MDI are
finding it difficult if not impossible to find quality housing on the Island,”
said Mrs. Sabah-Maren, whose late husband, Dr. Thomas Maren, was affiliated
with MDI Biological Lab. “It occurred to
me that I could use some of my property to help at least a few of these
employees find a good quality, reasonably-priced house. That’s why I created Sabah Woods.”
Mrs.
Sabah-Maren has created a four-lot subdivision on an approximately 8-acre piece
of the property she owns between Route 3 and Bay View Drive. The four lots range in size from 1.3 acre to
1.53 acre and are located toward the middle and rear of the development. Approximately 3 acres of open space separate
the lots from Route 3.
It
is Mrs. Sabah-Maren’s intent to offer at least some, if not all, of the houses
she is designing and placing on the lots for sale to applicants pre-qualified
by Island Housing Trust, according to IHT Executive Director Christopher Spruce. The first such house was recently completed
and is ready for occupancy. The brand
new Jonesport Cape on a 1.3 acre lot is being offered for sale for $195,000 to a
working individual or family with annual household income of up to
approximately $100,000. There is no
minimum household income limit as along as the applicant meets other
qualification criteria.
Qualified
purchasers must have at least one household member employed on MDI and agree to
live in the house as their primary residence, Spruce said. In return for the below market rate purchase
price offered by Mrs. Maren and her willingness to absorb much of the
infrastructure costs of the development, the purchaser must also agree to
affordability easements that are intended to keep the property affordable to
future applicants with similar household incomes adjusted for changes in wages
over time, he added. The easements are
designed to allow the homeowner to get a limited return on investment in the
property as well as on the value of improvements over the period of ownership,
he said.
“It
is a truly community-minded approach that Mrs. Sabah-Maren is taking at Sabah
Woods,” said IHT President Ted Koffman. “Island
Housing Trust has long-advocated for partnerships with the private sector as
one approach to addressing the employee housing challenge on MDI. Sabah Woods is the first of what we hope are
many such partnerships.”
Those
wishing more information about the Sabah Woods house or how to apply for
pre-qualification should contact Spruce at 288-4496 or via email at islandhousingtrust@roadrunner.com
Housing Opportunity Through Maine Coast Heritage Trust
IHT is working with Maine Coast Heritage Trust to find a qualified working individual or family to purchase a 4-bedroom house near Northeast Creek in Bar Harbor. The house and acre-plus lot on it sits on were acquired as part of a land acquisition project by MCHT that targeted preservation of the access to Northeast Creek provided by the property. The remainder of the property that was not marked for preservation by MCHT is being offered for sale to year-round employees on the island through Island Housing Trust and local realtors. If you are interested in learning more about this homeownership opportunity, contact Chris Spruce at 288-4496.
IHT Accepts Donation of Somesville Property
