Are You Eligible for Affordable Housing?
What is “affordable housing”?
Affordable Housing as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) is housing for low-moderate income persons who pay no more than 30% of annual income for gross housing costs. Housing costs include rent, mortgage payments, homeowner’s association fees, utility and heating costs, property and renter’s insurance, taxes, etc.
How do you define low-moderate income?
Individuals or families earning 80% or less than the current Area Median Income (AMI) for our region are considered low-moderate income.
What is Area Median Income (AMI)?
AMI is set annually by HUD based on census data for regions in the United States.
The Falmouth Housing Trust builds homes for “low-moderate income” persons as well as for households earning up to 100% and 120% of AMI.
Applicants may be eligible for housing with income at or below 80%, 100% and 120% AMI (see table below), and less than $75,000 in assets.
Barnstable County 2024 AMI-Max Income
| Household Size | 1 Person | 2 People | 3 People | 4 People | 5 People | 6 People |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80% AMI-Max Income | $64,450 | $73,650 | $82,850 | $92,050 | $99,450 | $106,800 |
| 100% AMI-Max Income | $80,600 | $92,100 | $103,600 | $115,100 | $124,400 | $133,500 |
| 120% AMI-Max Income | $96,720 | $110,520 | $124,320 | $138,120 | $149,280 | $160,200 |
Falmouth Housing Trust Working to Address Falmouth’s Critical Housing Needs
Working to Address Falmouth’s Critical Housing Needs
“Falmouth has both special qualities and unique challenges…the very beauty that makes Falmouth so appealing also masks the degree of economic hardship that exists in the town.”1
The Town of Falmouth Housing Demand Study & Needs Analysis report indicates that our community faces a number of socioeconomic challenges. On Cape Cod, and Falmouth in particular, we have a large and growing senior population, a limited and tenuous seasonal economy, and a high cost of living. And, like many communities, Falmouth has at-risk populations who struggle with the lack of affordable housing, which is a key factor in many of
these local concerns.
Falmouth Housing Trust exists to address critical housing needs in Falmouth by developing practical solutions that benefit the community. The Trust works to create affordable housing for individuals and families who are vital to our community. The Trust also works to rehabilitate housing to counteract community deterioration.
Falmouth’s lack of affordable housing is an obstacle to attracting and retaining a young and talented workforce. Many of our families with children and our young professionals simply can’t afford to live here. Households with children have declined from 24% in 2000 to 15% in 2020. “Population projections predict that Falmouth’s population will decline through 2050, mostly among younger cohorts while still increasing among older adults.”2 And today, Falmouth’s workforce is smaller than the combined total of children and those 65 and older. This is a concern that affects our whole community.
All communities need a diverse, productive workforce to thrive — teachers, waitstaff, healthcare workers, police, and firefighters, for example. By losing this workforce population, our community is losing the diversity, vibrancy, and contributions that this population brings, which affects our local economy and threatens our quality of life.
To retain this population, our low-to-moderate income residents must have housing they can afford. Because Falmouth Housing Trust recognizes their value to the health and composition of our town, creating affordable housing for this population is a priority.
Since 1986, the Trust has met a spectrum of housing needs in Falmouth. Our projects have created 42 affordable home ownership opportunities and 4 rentals for low-to-moderate income individuals and families. The Trust rehabilitated the iconic Odd Fellows Hall at 1 Chancery Lane, and converted it into single occupant, affordable rental housing.
1. Town of Falmouth Housing Demand Study & Needs Analysis, RKG Associates, Inc., Sept. 2014
2. Falmouth Housing Production Plan, 2024
Maro Titus has a deep connection to the Falmouth Community that dates back to her childhood, shaping her passion for the area. Leveraging her successful career in healthcare administration, Maro has transitioned her expertise to Kinlin Grover Compass Real Estate. As a dedicated agent, she strives to understand each client’s unique needs, bringing a wealth of marketing knowledge and enthusiasm to the real estate practice. With a background in executive leadership encompassing strategic planning, government affairs, and business development, Maro’s professional journey is marked by a commitment to excellence.
Marie Bigelow retired in 2014 from Corporate Banking in Boston after 28 years, mostly with BankBoston, Citizens, and Santander Bank. Her banking experience is primarily as a Senior Credit professional with experience in diversified lending arenas including Non-Profit, Large Corporate, Middle Market, Asset Based, Leveraged Finance and Commercial Real Estate Lending. She brings strong financial analysis, real estate finance, and loan structuring experience to her new role at FHT.
David Sutkowy has lived in Falmouth since 2020. 
Director, Addie Drolette, is a Falmouth native and makes her home in East Falmouth. Most of Addie’s professional career has been spent serving the mortgage financing needs of the community of Falmouth. She is presently a Senior Residential Loan Officer with Martha’s Vineyard Bank. 
Savannah Fabbio lives in East Falmouth with her husband Jay and is a Mortgage Loan Officer for Shamrock Home Loans in Osterville. Prior to this she was an Assistant Vice President and Branch Manager for The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod and Assistant Manager at Citizens Bank.
Dave Garrison and his wife, Lori, moved to Falmouth in 2014 after full and interesting careers in Washington DC. Dave was raised in the Boston suburbs. He has been coming to the Cape every summer since 1944. 
After completing a 35 year career in marketing and communications, most recently as Senior Vice-President of Marketing for Dunkin’ U.S. – with previous marketing leadership roles at The Gillette Company and Ocean Spray Cranberries – Tom Manchester currently sits on the board and is an investor in a start-up business, The Mobile Locker Company and is also an instructor for Sports Marketing at Stonehill College. 
Ed Monteiro was President of the Board of Directors of Falmouth Housing Trust in the ‘90’s, and we are thrilled that he is back. 
Sudie Gifford comes to our board with an extremely varied background in arts, education, finance, public relations, and charity work.
Susan Roman is the Owner of 
Troy Clarkson is an author and speaker with more than a quarter-century of experience in positions of leadership in government and public service. He has been actively involved in his beloved Falmouth since his teen years, when he wrote and published ‘The Cove Chronicle,’ a newspaper that he sold door-to-door for a quarter and that documented the lives of his friends and neighbors.
Kevin McCarthy joined the board of directors of the Falmouth Housing Trust in 2012. Kevin’s entire career has been spent pursuing various “oceans” related endeavors, first as a professional diver, followed by various senior level management positions at a number of oceanographic manufacturing companies, including Klein Associates and Teledyne Benthos. He holds a B.S. from Northeastern University and an M.B.A. from Suffolk University. In 2000, he joined Hydroid LLC, a startup subsea robotics company that was founded to commercialize the REMUS autonomous underwater vehicle technologies developed at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. In 2008, the company was acquired by the Norwegian company, Kongsberg Maritime. Kevin retired from his position of Vice President of Marketing in 2010 to devote more time to his passion for wildlife photography. Some of his work can be viewed at: www.McCarthyNatureImages.com.
Information coming soon.
Information coming soon.
Joanne O’Sullivan is a real estate attorney who has been practicing law in Falmouth since 1995. She is a self described “wash-ashore” living on Cape Cod for close to 20 years. Joanne grew up in South Boston, and graduated from the University of Chicago and Boston College Law School. Attorney O’Sullivan has been a sole practitioner for the past six years. She is married and her children are enrolled in the Falmouth Public Schools. Ms. O’Sullivan joined the FHT Board of Directors in 2009 and became Vice President in 2011.
Kenneth Buckland and his family; wife Nicolette and two boys, moved to Falmouth during Hurricane Gloria in 1985. They moved to town so that Ken could take the position as the Town Planner.
Joan Bates has lived in Falmouth with her husband, Robert, since 2002. Prior to that, the couple lived in Newton. Joan’s 25-year professional career was in special education and nonprofit management.
Beth Ciarletta grew up in rural New Jersey then moved to Raleigh, NC for eighteen years where she met her husband Michael, co-founded a business, married and began their family. She relocated to Falmouth in 2012 with her husband to raise their children in a smaller community-based town, and to be closer to family. Her husband’s family lives in Norwood, MA and vacationed in Falmouth and on Cape Cod for many years.
Carey Murphy lives in Waquoit with his wife of 31 years, Martha. Their three adult sons are all employed in the ski business, a sport that Carey loves to spend his winter months enjoying. They recently sold their retail business, Kensington’s at Mashpee Commons, after owning and operating it for 29 years.