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Select Board approves $175,000 Affordable Housing Fund grant to preserve 439 Pinerest as affordable home
Summary
The Select Board, acting as trustees of the Affordable Housing Fund, approved a $175,000 grant to the Falmouth Housing Trust to buy and resell a move‑in‑ready three‑bedroom house at 439 Pinerest Beach Drive for $399,000 to an income‑qualified buyer, with a deed restriction in perpetuity.
The Select Board voted Oct. 27 to grant $175,000 from the Falmouth Affordable Housing Fund to the Falmouth Housing Trust to buy and resell a market‑rate single-family house at 439 Pinerest Beach Drive as a permanently deed‑restricted affordable home.
Laura Moahan, executive director of the Falmouth Housing Trust, presented the property details: a 1984 three‑bedroom ranch with roughly 1,040 square feet on about a half acre, recent upgrades (new roof, windows, deck, appliances and some HVAC), and a market purchase price of $600,000. The Trust proposes to resell the home for $399,000 to a household earning up to 120% of area median income, with a deed restriction in perpetuity and first‑time‑buyer eligibility. The Trust estimates total project budget and closing costs and said the nonprofit would contribute donor funds toward the gap.
Board members and the Affordable Housing Fund working group discussed guideline levels (the fund’s written guideline amount had been set at $150,000 for similar projects). The working group recommended an exception — noting the property is move‑in ready, requires no new construction or site clearing, and can house a family quickly — and urged approval of $175,000 to close the purchase/resale gap. The board approved the request by unanimous vote and authorized the town manager to execute necessary documentation.
The approved structure will allow the Trust to market the property locally via its ready-to-buy list (the project is not being placed on MLS) and select a qualified buyer consistent with the deed restriction and program rules. Board members raised questions about applying local preference and accessory-dwelling-unit potential; staff replied that local preference on a single unit is legally constrained and ADU addition would require separate financing and further consideration.
The action is intended to expedite one affordable sale into the local housing stock while preserving the unit under a perpetual deed restriction.
