The Island Affordable Housing Fund (“The Fund”), is a 501-C-3 non-profit, promotes stable year-round housing on Martha’s Vineyard and creates housing programs to preserve the richness of island community life.
The Fund identifies and supports “Missing Middle” housing opportunities (we define the missing middle as those whose household income is up to 240% of the Area Median Income, earning too much to qualify for most existing subsidy programs).
Like many desirable places to live, Martha’s Vineyard has a severe housing crisis. The Vineyard has plenty of houses (about 20,000) but a significant percentage of them are used as short-term rentals. Repurposing them for year-round occupancy is our goal.
We are currently using three methods● Occupancy Restrictions
Purchasing permanent year-round restrictions to make stable housing for Vineyarders.
● House Moves
Facilitating the saving and relocating of houses which are slated to be demolished—usually to make room for larger seasonal houses—and making them attainable and permanently stable.
● Soft Second Mortgages
Holding and servicing soft second mortgages for downpayment assistance.
GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENTThe board consists of co-chair and treasurer Kimberly Angell and co-chair and clerk John Abrams. At present the Fund runs lean. There is no staff. Kim and John do all governance, management, and fundraising on a volunteer basis. They are also steering committee members of the Coalition to Create the Martha’s Vineyard Housing Bank, a citizens’ group that has been working since 2021 to pass legislation on Beacon Hill to enable a transfer fee (2% on high-end real estate transactions). When finally passed, the transfer fee will provide the steady, significant, long term housing funding that the Vineyard has needed for so long. The Coalition will help to establish a Trust to work in tandem with the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank. The Fund’s work is a bridge to the Housing Bank. You can read more about Kim and John at www.abramsangell.com.
year-round Occupancy restrictions-
Many Vineyarders whose income exceeds eligibility for subsidized housing are unable to afford access to today’s inflated housing market—they are known as “the missing middle”. Among this group of people are pillars of the community and essential workforce members: teachers, public safety officials, nurses, and small business owners.
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Assist these households by purchasing permanent year-round occupancy restrictions.
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Solving the Vineyard’s housing crisis requires the use of a wide variety of approaches—buckshot, not bullets—but an absolute priority should be to repurpose many of our 20,000 existing housing units rather than building new housing on undeveloped property.
Many existing housing units are used as short-term rental investment properties. Each time we purchase a year-round occupancy restriction, it helps to solve two problems at once: providing new stable housing opportunities and diminishing the number of potential short-term rental properties. Occupancy restrictions can also be used to stabilize existing naturally occurring affordable housing which, if left unprotected, might become short-term rental investment property.
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Housing advocates, led by the Coalition to Create the Martha’s Vineyard Housing Bank, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, our state senator Julian Cyr and our state rep Thomas Moakley, continue to press Beacon Hill to pass legislation to permit a 2% transfer fee to fund Vineyard housing efforts.
We need to be prepared to spend the money effectively when passage is finally achieved. Successful new programs like this, and others (like Accessory Dwelling Units, infill development and repurposing on existing developed properties, and moving and reusing houses slated for demolition) will prepare us to hit the ground running when significant new funds become available.
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Restrictions:
Any property receiving these funds must have a permanent year-round occupancy deed restriction (at least 10 months)
Property can only be rented year-round or as approved by the monitoring agency (in most cases this is IAHF).
The program is available to those whose family earnings do not exceed 240% of Area Median Income (which is approximately $300,000, depending on family size).
Amount:
The restriction devalues the property by roughly 10-15% so the grant to purchase the restriction is 10-15% of the purchase price. Decent, livable houses on the Vineyard currently cost approximately $800,00 - $1.3M, so each restriction costs $80,000 - $150,000.
This is by far the least costly way to create new stable year-round housing at a time when building a new unit of housing costs well over $500,000.
Contact usIf you are interested in our programs, or if you wish to provide funding (so we can do even more than we’re able to do now), please contact us.