By Kim Siebert MacPhail
Pulte Developers and the Town of Bedford have collaborated to offer a total of twelve affordable condominiums at the 75 unit, thirty-acre Hartwell Farms townhouse community on Hartwell Road. An informational meeting about the final six condos being offered in Phase Two of the program will take place on September 10th at 7 PM in the Bedford Public Library’s meeting room.
Each of the affordable two-bedroom units is offered for $168,000 to first-time buyers who earn no more 80% of the Boston-area medium income. For one person, the 80% cut-off means that he/she cannot have income of more than $45,500; two people cannot earn more than $52,000; a three-person household cannot earn more than $58,500; and a four person household cannot have an income of more than $65,000.
Four of the six spots are reserved for applicants with a “local preference”, meaning that the applicant household must include one of the following criteria:
- one or more current Bedford residents;
- at least one member who is an employee of the Town of Bedford;
- at least one member who is an employee of a business in the Town of Bedford;
- a student in the Bedford Public Schools.
Separate lotteries will be held for applicants with local preference and for applicants for the two remaining general-pool units.
There is some flexibility with regard to the first-time buyer stipulation, according to the program’s information packet. In addition to the income limitation qualifications, applicants are eligible if they are:
- Displaced homemakers, where the displaced homemaker— while a homemaker—owned a home with his or her partner or resided in a home owned by the partner;
- A single parent where the individual owned a home with his or her partner or resided in a home owned by the partner and is a single parent (is unmarried or legally separated from a spouse and either has one or more children of whom the individual has custody or joint custody, or is pregnant);
- Households where at least one household member is age 55 or over;
- Households that owned a principal residence not permanently affixed to a permanent foundation in accordance with applicable regulations;
- Households that owned a property that was not in compliance with State, local, or model building codes and cannot be brought into compliance for less than the cost of constructing a permanent structure.
According to a spokeswoman at JWO Consultant Services, the concern that administers the lottery, taxes for the affordable units are based on the purchase price, not on the fair market value. JWO encourages people to contact them with questions after reviewing the application materials, saying that many qualified people take themselves unnecessarily out of the running.
Those interested in buying one of the affordable homes must first fill out an application which will be screened for eligibility before being placed into the lottery pool. Completed applications are due no later than November 15thand forms are available at the Bedford Town Hall, the Bedford Library, the Bedford Affordable Housing Office, and the Hartwell Farms sales office at the building site.
The lottery drawings will take place on November 26th at the Bedford Public Library at 7PM. For more information, follow the links on the Town’s website: https://www.bedfordma.gov/index.php/component/content/article/1-latest-news/983-affordable-ownership-opportunity-hartwell-farms-condominiums-
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