Barrington residents in need opt to make homes affordable

Some Spencer Trust recipients deed-restrict their homes in exchange for renovations

Posted 11/21/17

Bill Bentley is helping people, and he is helping the town.

The administrator the Spencer Trust has, for the last seven months, been helping people locate the services and finances to improve …

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Barrington residents in need opt to make homes affordable

Some Spencer Trust recipients deed-restrict their homes in exchange for renovations

Posted

Bill Bentley is helping people, and he is helping the town.

The administrator the Spencer Trust has, for the last seven months, been helping people locate the services and finances to improve their lives. For some people, it's a no-interest loan for home improvements. For others, it's a grant to build a new walkway in their yard.

Mr. Bentley has also accessed some of the $400,000 allocated from the Spencer Trust account to the town's housing board. The money is dedicated to creating more affordable houses in Barrington through a renovation program — the town will help improve a resident's home in exchange for the resident deed-restricting the property "affordable."

Mr. Bentley said a number of residents have benefitted from the program, and have been eager to deed-restrict their homes as affordable.

"They like the idea — they almost feel like they're contributing to the town, because 'I'm making my house affordable so someone else can live in town,'" said Mr. Bentley. "It's very interesting to see that loyalty to the town."

For more than 10 years, the town has been working to increase its stock of affordable housing. The Sweetbriar housing development on Washington Road offers rental properties that are "affordable," and "Palmer Pointe" on Sowams Road will bring more affordable rental units to Barrington.

The housing board has also developed a plan to transition individual homes to deed-restricted affordable housing. That plan received a boost when Mr. Bentley and Barrington Town Planner Phil Hervey began offering the trade to people applying for Spencer Trust assistance.

"The nice part is we get immediate affordable units," said Mr. Bentley. "So as soon as he (the homeowner) signs the deed restriction, it's redesignated as affordable, which is nice too because it doesn't increase the (overall) housing stock."

Barrington Town Manager Jim Cunha said working through the Spencer Trust applicants has allowed the town to deed-restrict more local homes as affordable.

"It's doing good for the people and it's helping the town with the affordable housing issues," he said.

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