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The Year-Rounder

 
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
 

Island Housing Trust has accepted a 2.38-acre parcel from the Beatty Family as the site of a future workforce housing residence.  (See the latest edition of the Year-Rounder (Vol. 3, No. 2) for more information.)


 The Year-Rounder Newsletter

An electronic version  of the IHT newsletter, The Year-Rounder, is now available on our website.  Please click on the Year-Rounder tab on this page to download the newsletter.

Applications Available!

If you are interested in applying to qualify for a house in the Ripples Hill subdivision, please contact Chris Spruce c/o Island Housing Trust, P.O. Box 851, Mount Desert, ME 04660 or at islandhousingtrust@roadrunner.com, or by calling 207-288-4496.  Applications are still being accepted.

APPROVED SUBDIVISION

Ripples Hill is an officially approved subdivision within the Town of Mount Desert.   We are currently raising funds to support the project's infrastructure (roads, sewer, water, electric etc.) costs.  If you would like to learn how you can help, please contact us. (See contact information above.)

Are You Planning to Build Workforce Housing?

Island Housing Trust is interested in working with any private developer on Mount Desert Island, Maine who is planning to construct year-round housing for MDI working individuals and families.  We can help you develop the "housing easements" (deed restrictions and covenants) that may be needed to ensure the housing you designate for year-round residency remains that way.  We can also help you recruit and qualify potential homeowners for the workforce houses you wish to build, as well as provide follow-up services for enforcement of the easements. For further information, contact Chris Spruce at IHT, 207-288-4496 or at islandhousingtrust@roadrunner.com