Williamstown Housing Trust Awards First Mortgage Assistance Grant
 Affordable Housing Trust Chairman Tom Sheldon gave a few details about the application. |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Affordable Housing Trust has awarded the first grant under its newly minted Mortgage Assistance Program.
On Wednesday, the trust's board voted unanimously to grant $15,000 to help a family of longtime residents and first-time homebuyers purchase a residence in town.
"The proposed use is for the purposes of downpayment and closing costs and set up of escrows and prepaid items the applicant will have to pay the seller of the house," trust Chairman Tom Sheldon told his colleagues. "The individual has lived in town for approximately 10 years and also was here as a child. So there are real connections to the community."
The applicant, whose name is unknown to the trust, is obtaining his or her mortgage through MountainOne. One of the restrictions of the grant program is that recipients borrow from a financial institution with offices in Williamstown.
Although the trustees have been looking forward to their first application, whatever the circumstances of the applicant, this particular grantee was especially attractive.
"I'm told by [loan officer] Mary O'Connell that the applicant is extraordinarily excited about the possibility of receiving the grant," Sheldon said. "It's clear from MountainOne that the loan the family will be receiving would not be possible without the grant.
"I understand the appraisal for the house came in above the purchase price, which is a good thing. And the home inspection went quite well."
The trust created the grant program this year to benefit first-time homebuyers, individuals who were forced to relocate after losing a job and former residents of the Spruces Mobile Home Park. Applicants must be at or below 100 percent of the Area Median Income and qualify for a mortgage.
Grants of up to $15,000 are available.
"I'm pleased that as a first [application], we're getting one that so well fits the goals we're trying to achieve," Trustee Stan Parese said. "I'm particularly excited and pleased at the notion that the bank is able to confirm for us that this transaction would not be happening but for this grant.
"To use the football metaphor, this is what will get it over the goal line. That's what we were hoping for, to have this impact."
In other business on Wednesday, the trustees discussed the development of a request for proposals to purchase a residential lot in town.
The board has contemplated a partnership with the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity as a way to make the most of the trust's funds (derived from Community Preservation Act tax payments).
"The possibility to partner with Habitat puts us in the position to end up with a housing unit at a cost to the Trust that is very low," Parese said. "Depending on what kind of response we get [to the RFP], what makes this a very attractive opportunity to explore is the ability to leverage the good work of Habitat in converting unimproved land we might acquire into a home."
Using ballpark figures, Sheldon explained how the town could partner with the non-profit.
"I do think that $250,000 to $300,000 would be a conservative estimate of what a new affordable housing unit would be," he said. "If we're able to acquire a piece of land for, say, $100,000, and Habitat was able to develop it in the way they do, it would put us in an advantageous situation.
"Now that we're starting to launch the Mortgage Assistance Program, I'd like to see us take the next step of getting the RFP ready to launch."
The trustees each are reviewing a draft of the specifications for an RFP and will discuss it at its next meeting on Jan. 14.
Tags: affordable housing, affordable housing trust, mortgage,
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