Construction of Home on Sippewissett Road
Location: 88 Sippewissett Road, Falmouth MA 02540
Applicant: Habitat for Humanity, Inc.
Allocation: $45,000
Year/Article: November 2006, A41
A generous initiative on the part of a private Falmouth citizen made a buildable lot on Sippewissett Road in Falmouth available to Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod, Inc. at a deeply discounted price. Additionally, the owner donated proceeds of the sale to The 300 Committee for conservation purposes. Habitat applied to the Community Preservation Fund for $45,000 in support of the construction of a single-family 1200 square-foot home costing $170,130. Town Meeting appropriated $45,000 to Habitat for Humanity, which further financed the project through an Energy Star grant of $4,500, $10,000 in County HOME funds, $5,000 in miscellaneous grants, $30,000 in donated services and materials, $20,000 from mortgage income from existing Habitat homeowners, and individual, church and business donations totaling $54,380.
Habitat was able to preserve some components of the existing building, including the foundation for a three-bedroom home and the septic system. Habitat requires a contribution of sweat equity from the purchasing family to the construction of the new home – 250 hours for a single-adult family, 500 hours for a two-adult family. The new home was deeded to the new owner on November 2, 2007 for a price ranging from $95,000 to $105,000, affordable to incomes between 40 and 65 percent of the area median income (AMI), with a non-interest mortgage for 20-25 years. The house is deed-restricted to be affordable in perpetuity upon resale to families with the same income profile.