The Board of Trustees of the City of Revere's Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF) held its regular monthly meeting last Wednesday, July 8, in the City Council Chamber. On hand for the session were chair Joseph Gravellese, Treasurer Anayo Osueke, and fellow board members Dean Harris, Matt Wolfer, Laila Pietri, Lori Manzo, and Judy Gosselin.
Osueke presented the treasurer's report. He said the AHTF has a balance in its account of $995,181.47.
The members discussed the rough draft of the application for the buy-down assistance program for first-time home buyers that the AHTF has been working on for the past few months. The program will provide financial assistance that will help persons to buy homes that they otherwise would be unable to afford.
The property will be deed-restricted. If the homeowner sells the home within 10 years, the homeowner will have to resell the property at the then-affordable price level. If the homeowner sells the property between 10 and 20 years afterwards, any profits will be split between the homeowner and the AHTF. After 20 years, the homeowner will be able to sell the property without any restrictions and keep the profits.
The board also discussed the marketing of the program, with Gravallese suggesting that there be a two-month ramp-up to get the word out ahead of the opening of the application process. He also suggested that all of the local banks be notified of the parameters of the program.
Gravallese said that applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis with an anticipated deadline of December 31. In order to be eligible, applicants must either be a resident of Revere for at least two years, or have a child in the local schools, or be a full-time (30 hours or more) employee of a Revere-based employer.
"This is going to take a full-team effort for us to get the word out there," said Gravallese.
Gravallese also noted that the City Council has allocated another $50,000 for this year for the Senior Home Repair program, which proved to be a big success during the past year. Gravallese suggested that the AHTF could add to that sum from its available funds to increase the number of senior citizens who can be served by the program.