Housing Headlines

BARNSTABLE --- The Town of Falmouth stands to lose an affordable homeownership unit after Barnstable Superior Court Judge Kenneth Fishman denied its motion to stop the auction of an affordable home that is going through foreclosure. The property has a deed restriction that is supposed to ensure that the property remain affordable when it is refinanced with a new loan, the judge ruled that the default involved the modification of the original loan. “While there has been a modification of the original mortgage, which enabled the owner to remain in the property for an additional 16 months before a subsequent default, said modification did not supersede or replace the original mortgage or promissory note,” Fishman wrote.

UXBRIDGE --- In light of a possible $600,000 in additional costs, the nonprofit team developing the historic wooden 145-year-old Blanchard School into 25 affordable apartments has asked the town for a waiver of $33,000 or 50 percent of the cost of connecting the project to the town's sewer system. (Note: MHP is the long-term lender for this project).

WBUR's Simon Rios posts a a clear-eyed, talk-to-all-sides postmortem on why Governor Charlie Baker's Housing Choice simple-majority measure stalled in the Legislature & what supporters hope to do to revive it.

QUINCY --- Residents in a small residential neighborhood northeast of Quincy Center are expressing their displeasure with two housing proposals - a 51-unit plan by developer Stephen Niosi and a 46-unit condominium proposal by George Lane on Spear St. near the McGrath Highway. “If someone wanted to build a 12-unit townhouse complex, that would be out of character,” resident Darren Murphy said. “This is from outer space.”

BREWSTER --- Looking to put more teeth in an accessory dwellings bylaw that has generated just six units in 11 years, the Brewster Planning Board is seeking input from the public on draft amendments that would make the law easier to use and produce more units.

WORCESTER --- By a 2-1 vote, a committee studying the impact of assessing multifamily properties as commercial properties has ordered the city manager to initiate a process that would begin transfer residential properties with five units or more of housing, or nine or more units, to the commercial tax rate. The committee's recommendation must still be approved by the entire city council.