Habitat for Humanity seeks buyer for affordable home in pricey southern Maine town
Rendering / Courtesy, Habitat for Humanity York County
Habitat for Humanity York County is currently seeking applicants to purchase a three-bedroom house in Cape Porpoise, Kennebunkport, where construction is slated to begin this summer.
In Cape Porpoise, Kennebunkport, where the median price home price was $900,000 in 2021, a Kennebunk-based nonprofit is seeking a buyer for an affordable dwelling that will soon break ground.
Habitat for Humanity York County said Thursday that it's targeting a summer construction start for the planned three-bedroom house in Cape Porpoise, where affordable homes are in short supply. Last year's $900,000 median home price was well above the median price of close to $400,000 for Maine's southernmost county.
The house will be the second of two new builds on land donated by an anonymous individual.
Habitat partners with local, low-income families in York County who demonstrate a need for safe, affordable housing, can pay an affordable mortgage, and will lend a hand in building their own home or homes for other Habitat families.
Homes are constructed using volunteer labor, donated materials and fundraising. When completed, the homeowners' mortgage payments are recycled to support the construction of future Habitat for Humanity homes.
Eligibility is open to families living or working in York County with annual incomes between 30% to 60% of the area median income. .
"Habitat's path to homeownership is an important and in-depth process, requiring hard work, time and dedication, but this helps to ensure the long-term success of Habitat homeowners," Habitat for Humanity York County said in Thursday's press lease.
The organization's website lists minimum and maximum household income requirements for eligible homeowners.
Alana Shapiro, program director for Habitat for Humanity York County, told Mainebiz via email on Friday that while Habitat homes are sold for the appraised value, the monthly mortgage payment for the first mortgage will be no more than 29% of of the total household income.
If an application for home ownership meets all the eligibility requirements, then a home visit of the applicant's current living situation will be scheduled, she said.
The news comes as Maine home prices continue to rise, and the latest data from Maine Listings showing January as the second-highest month on record for single-family home sales in the state.
Habitat for Humanity York County is part of Americus, Ga.-based Habitat for Humanity International, which has helped more than 35 million people construct, rehabilitate or preserve homes since the organization was founded in 1976.
Krystal Williams, the Portland founder of business and advisory firm Providentia Group and the nonprofit Alpha Legal Foundation who was recognized as a Mainebiz Woman to Watch in 2021, partly credits her upbringing in a Habitat for Humanity community for leading her to Maine.
"I grew up in a Habitat for Humanity community in North Carolina, and there is a certain amount of scrappiness that is hardwired into who I am," she told Mainebiz last August. "I see that same scrappiness reflected in Maine's culture, particularly the entrepreneurial community."
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