The nonprofit developer Avesta Housing is purchasing vacant homes in disrepair, renovating them and then selling them at below-market rates as part of a new pilot initiative.
More than 80 people have applied so far to purchase one of the first two completed homes; Avesta celebrated the completion of the two homes at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Gray last week.
Both are one-story single family homes located next to each other on Collyer Brook Road in Gray. And both are being sold $218,000, less than half the median sales price for a home in Cumberland County.
To remodel them, a team from Avesta replaced the roof on one of the homes, repaved a shared driveway, installed new kitchen appliances and countertops and remediated water issues in both basements.
"Maine has some of the oldest housing stock in country," said Nicole DiGeronimo, director of Avesta's homeownership and financial counseling department. "We're also facing a housing crisis. Let's let the other folks play in that arena of brand new single family home developments, and let's focus on the existing housing stock and try to do what we can there."
Households who earn 65% of area median income or less — just more than $60,00 for a three-person family in Cumberland County — are eligible to apply to purchase the homes in Gray.
The Collyer Brook homes had a prior deed restriction that requires the homes the homes to be sold to households who earn 65% of AMI or less, but DiGeronimo said the next homes that Avesta purchases and remodels through the program will likely be catered toward families with slightly higher income.
She said the program is meant to provide an accessible path to homeownership for working families in Maine. The current housing market, she said, lacks options for the middle class.
"We've anecdotally heard the frustration from these folks that there isn't any inventory in their price range, or what few homes are in their price range, they're getting outbid on," she said.
Eligible applicants must also be Maine residents for at least one year and plan to live in the home full-time. They can't rent out the properties or turn them into short-term rentals, DiGeronimo said.
Avesta is accepting applications until August 14. Qualified applicants will be placed in a lottery, and two households will be chosen to purchase the homes.
The non-profit developer is planning to expand the pilot, and DiGeronimo said she's is searching for the next home to purchase and remodel.
