174 Main St

This home was sold to North Haven Sustainable Housing for a reduced price by generous island residents, and then received a full energy-efficiency upgrade, including new windows and doors, additional insulation, and a new heating system. Additionally, this house now has a new kitchen and bathroom, electrical and plumbing upgrades, new appliances, as well as interior and exterior painting, new trim and woodwork in many locations inside and outside, and recently refinished and upgraded floors. See below for more details on the renovation.

sale process

Eligibility Criteria:

Qualified applicants are individuals who have been current residents of North Haven for at least 365 days, agree to the NHSH affordability covenant (see below), and have an annual household income below 161% of the 2020 area median income (AMI) for Knox County (AMI varies by household size, for example, Knox County AMI for a family of four was $70,400 in 2021) as demonstrated by the average of the past three-years of tax returns (see attached table for 2020 area median incomes by family size). Qualified applicants can not own a home or property on North Haven or elsewhere (with limited exceptions available, such as divorces or certain family owned parcels/business properties).

All eligible, qualified buyers will be placed in a NHSH lottery and the purchaser will be selected randomly in a transparent process. A waiting list for the house will be established in the case that the selected buyer can not close due to financing or other reason. The waiting list will also be formed by a random drawing of names. Qualified applicants will include all those who submit the required application materials by the established deadline and meet the NHSH criteria. 

Affordability Covenant: 

 A NHSH affordability covenant is attached to the deed of the property at the time of sale. The affordability covenant is specific language included in the deed to a property that will manage future resales to help ensure that the home remains affordable and available for qualified year-round North Haven residents in the future. The covenant also provides for re-sale on the traditional real-estate market in the event that no qualified buyer can be identified within a specified time-frame.

Sale Price:

NHSH utilized a sale-price model that bases the price on the purchaser's ability to pay. This is similar to the method many housing organizations utilize for rentals and ownership. NHSH is piloting this method in hopes that it will better support a range of island buyers and income levels. NHSH has been able to bring many housing opportunities to the market through generous grants and donations, including charitable gifts to support the subsidies for the costs of purchase and renovation. NHSH will be able to best continue to achieve its mission through responsible financial management, and ensuring that home-ownership subsidy is available on a sliding scale to meet people's individual needs.

With this sale, NHSH utilized a household income-based formula that adjusts the sale price based on what an individual or family can afford. Annual household income (based on recent tax filings) is the primary factor in determining an individual household’s overall ability to pay, and the “area median income” data is the primary factor that is used for this calculation to compare household income to regional averages. Area Median Income (AMI) comes from state and federal data, and NHSH uses Maine Housing Authority's calculations for Knox County AMI to determine where an individual or family falls on the AMI scale.

Additionally, most lending organizations agree that households can support using up to 28-30% of monthly gross income to pay for their mortgage (including principal loan payment, interest, taxes and insurance) and that keeping payments close to this percentage is helpful for a family or individual. NHSH recognizes that the cost of living on an island can be higher due to energy and transportation costs (among other factors). For all of these reasons, NHSH adapted the calculation of the sale price of 174 Main Street to a formula price based on the annual household income of the selected qualified applicant, within minimum and maximum sale price range.

Sale Price Calculation:

The range of the sale price for this house started at $180,000 and the maximum sale price was $245,000. This price was set based on what MaineHousing and area median income calculators indicate as “affordable” and is intentionally priced below the current Knox County median sale price, which has increased substantially in the last several years. An applicant’s income is calculated based on the applicant's 3-year average household income from 2018-2020 as established by Federal Tax Returns. NHSH requires applicants to submit tax returns as a part of the application process. The tables below can be used to estimate the sale price for any interested applicant and to determine the mortgage amount that applicants will need to apply for to receive pre-qualification. See below for details on the application process.

AMI= Area Median Income.

Required Documents to Apply (Application period is closed):

1. Submit a NHSH Homeowner Application online via the NHSH website or download and send to:  North Haven Sustainable Housing, PO Box 373, North Haven, ME 04853 or by email to info@nhshousing.org. For a printed version of this application, you can also contact Sam Hallowell by email shallowell@nhshousing.org or call 207-863-5272.

2. Submit a copy of tax returns from 2018 – 2020. If you have unique circumstances on your tax returns you’d like to explain, please contact NHSH to discuss other options for verifying income to determine eligibility.

3. Submit a mortgage pre-qualification letter from a verified lender (or evidence of financial ability to purchase and close on the sale of this property). Applicants should request a mortgage loan amount based on the sale price calculation that corresponds with the annual household income of the applicant (see table above) and should be able to meet the down-payment requirement from the financial institution.



Selection Process:

Application materials (housing application, tax return, mortgage pre-qualification) were due by the end of the day on March 4th, 2022.  

  • All application materials were reviewed by a committee of NHSH leadership and staff to determine eligibility, and may have also been reviewed by NHSH’s accountant if additional income and tax guidance was required.

  • Application materials and discussions were kept strictly confidential and all personal income and tax documents were destroyed after the review process.

  • Once all applications were reviewed for eligibility, applicants were notified if they were qualified under NHSH guidelines.

  • Since there were multiple qualified applicants, all qualified applicants were entered into a random lottery to select the approved buyer. The lottery selection process was open to all qualified applicants to attend to ensure full transparency. 

For more information or any questions, contact Sam Hallowell at shallowell@nhshousing.org or call 863-5272



Renovation Details:

174 Main St. received a full renovation with a focus on air sealing and energy efficiency to make this home more comfortable and financially sustainable into the future. The entire house was brought back to bare studs to allow for installation 6” of dense pack cellulose insulation, new triple glazed casement windows and new drywall throughout. The attic was insulated with 24” of loose fill cellulose to achieve an above code R-value of 70. The crawlspace foundation walls were insulated with 2” of rigid foam, spray foam was applied to the rim joist and a 10-mil vapor barrier was applied to the crawlspace floor.

The home is serviced by a new 200-amp panel and new wiring throughout the house, including new LED recessed lighting. The kitchen was reconfigured and now is complete with new appliances (refrigerator, dish washer, electric range and hood). There is a second floor laundry room with new washer and dryer and a completely renovated bathroom with new toilet, shower/bathtub, vanity and bathroom vented fan.

The oil fired forced air heating system was replaced with high efficiency heat pumps with one head on the first floor and two upstairs. New electric resistance baseboard heaters were installed in each room to assist the heat pumps on the coldest days. There is a chimney and flue access that could accommodate a back-up heating system.

The maple hardwood floors were refinished downstairs and flooring upstairs was refinished and repainted. The stairway was reconfigured and finished with hardwood stair treads and handrail. The entire exterior was repainted, including a new stair access to the back porch.

Additional Resources: 

Maine Housing First Home Loan Program:

https://www.mainehousing.org/programs-services/homebuyer/homebuyerdetail/first-home-loan-program



Online Mortgage Loan Calculators that might be helpful:

https://www.camdennational.com/calculator/mortgage-loan

https://www.bangor.com/borrowing/mortgages/calculators

https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/mortgages/mortgage-prequalification-calculator