City of Somerville Announcing Resale of One (1) Affordable Home Ownership Opportunity at 9 Avon Place

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and the Somerville Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development (OSPCD) are pleased to announce the income-restricted resale of one (1) 3-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom condominium. Located at 9 Avon Place, unit nine will be available to income-eligible households with a combined annual gross income at or below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI).  

9 Avon Pl. Unit 9 is a townhouse located in the East Somerville neighborhood. There is access to free, on-site parking. A laundry room and study are in the basement of the building. Open Houses will be held on Thursday, June 27, from 5 – 7 p.m. AND Saturday, June 29, from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. 

*Households are eligible to apply with the City of Somerville’s Assessing Department for a residential exemption after occupying an Inclusionary ownership unit as of Jan. 1st in a given year and filing taxes there. Call the Assessing Department at 617-625-6600 ext. 3100 to learn more about residential exemptions. 

Maximum Gross Annual Household Income 

Pre-lottery applications are available through 12 p.m., Tuesday, July 9, 2024. They are available electronically on the City of Somerville Inclusionary Housing Program website, and paper copies may be requested at Somerville City Hall (93 Highland Ave), City Hall Annex (50 Evergreen Ave), and any of the Somerville Public Library Branches. 

Complete applications must include: 

1. A valid first-time homebuyer’s training certificate of completion dated within the last 3 years, or verification of current enrollment in a first-time homebuyer’s course scheduled to be completed by July 18, 2024. 
   1. A list of valid courses to meet this requirement may be found by selecting the workshop type “First Time Homebuyer Pre-Purchase Course” at www.chapa.org/housing-courses/homebuyer-workshops  
       
2. A valid mortgage pre-approval letter which: 
   Covers the sales price of the unit, minus a 3% minimum downpayment; 

•  Covers the sales price of the unit, minus a 3% minimum downpayment; 
• Approves you for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage; 
• Includes an interest rate or range of interest rates;
• Is valid through the date of the lottery on June 20, 2024;  
• Is provided by a lender with at least one physical location in Massachusetts. 

A complete application must be delivered to the Housing Division by 12 p.m. on Tuesday, July 9, 2024. Applications may be mailed or dropped off to the Inclusionary Housing Program (Housing Division) located at 50 Evergreen Ave., Somerville, MA 02145 (must be received by this date, not post-marked), emailed to inclusionary@somervillema.gov or faxed to the Inclusionary Housing Program at 617-591-3235. A lottery that includes all complete, eligible applications submitted prior to the deadline will be held virtually at 11 a.m. on Thursday, July 20, 2024, over Zoom. The lottery will be streamed live, recorded, and posted on the City’s YouTube page and Housing Division’s website along with the lottery results. 

This unit will be offered to income eligible, ready buyers through a pre-lottery application, lottery and income certification process. Interested buyers should be prepared to proceed with an income certification and the Housing Division recommends households begin now to collect their past three years of W2s, 1099s and federal tax returns, including all schedules and pages, and the most recent three months of all income and asset statements. The City reserves the right to request more income/asset information during the income certification. 

The affordable units are Deed Restricted and the sale price is set by formula. Buyers of this unit will be subject to equity and resale provisions and annual compliance monitoring, to ensure they are being used as the primary and principal residence of the household.  Units may not be used for Airbnb, Homeaway other short-term rentals and cannot be leased or subleased. 

Persons with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication (i.e., CART, ASL), written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures in order to access the programs, activities, and meetings of the City of Somerville should please contact Adrienne Pomeroy at 617-625-6600 x2509 or ADA@somervillema.gov.