Affordable housing opportunity receives extension
Date: 5/7/2012
May 7, 2012By Chris Maza
chrism@thereminder.comEAST LONGMEADOW — The town of East Longmeadow is attempting to help a qualified person or family that normally could not afford the town's housing prices become part of the community.
The East Longmeadow Housing Partnership Committee is currently conducting a lottery for the opportunity to purchase a home in Benton Estates for a fraction of its appraised value as part of a state-wide affordable housing initiative.
"It's a great program because even with the current economy, the price of houses in East Longmeadow is too high for some people looking for a good home," Selectman Paul Federici, who chairs the Housing Partnership Committee, told Reminder Publications. "This program is designed to give an advantage to people and families of lower income who want to move into this community and take advantage of what it has to offer, like our great school system."
Federici explained that the state requires the town to offer a certain amount of low-income housing and the 18-year-old six-room colonial is one of a handful of homes on Benton Drive that were identified as qualifying properties.
The house has three bedrooms and one and a half bathrooms and sits on a 4,666 square-foot lot. It is assessed at $201,000, but through the program is being offered at a cost of $134,871.
The person who currently owns and is looking to sell the house in question epitomizes the goal of the program, Federici said.
"The person who owns the house now is someone who was given an opportunity to move into town while just starting out and now is looking to move into a non-low-income house in town," he said.
There are time limitations, however. According to the guidelines of the state-run program, the town had 90 days to find an acceptable qualified buyer or it would lose it from its roster of affordable housing options.
After failing to find any interest within 90 days, the state gave the town an extension and the committee is again reaching out find qualified interested parties.
If the home is not sold as low-income housing by May 14, it would be sold on the open market with the difference of the sale price and the $134,871 affordable housing asking price going directly to the town.
"If anyone thinks they know someone who would be qualified applicant, please encourage them to apply," Federici said.
In order to qualify for the lottery, applicants must meet certain criteria.
All applicants must currently reside in Massachusetts, must be a first time homebuyer, and must have a mortgage pre-approval letter included in the application.
Their income cannot exceed the following: one person, $45,500; two people, $52,000; three people, $58,500; four people, $65,000; five people, $70,200; and six people $75,400.
Those interested in applying can pick up applications at the Board of Selectmen's office at Town Hall weekdays between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The complete application must be returned to the Board of Selectmen's office no later than May 14 or submitted directly to the Housing Partnership Committee at its May 14 meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. in the Town Hall hearing room.
