Home Ownership Guide
Start Your Journey to Home Ownership!
Affordable homeownership is your path to making owning a home a reality. Affordable homes can be sold as new construction or “resales” by people who own a home and now want to sell it. Affordable housing can be single-family homes, cottages, or condominiums and remain affordable through a deed restriction. Each home is awarded through a lottery selection process. Lotteries can be announced at any time by the Falmouth Housing Trust and are publicized on our website and social media pages.
Review a Sample Lottery Application
Be prepared for a lottery when one is announced! Reviewing a sample Lottery Application in advance will help you to understand the information, detail and documents you will need to submit a complete application. Start the process of gathering up information and supporting documents so that you are organized and ready for the lottery application process for a specific home.
Are You Ready to Buy?
If you are, please fill out the Ready to Buy List Application.
Meet With a Mortgage Lender
Meeting with a mortgage Lender that handles mortgage loans on affordable homes is highly recommended. Many local banks on Cape Cod handle deed restricted mortgage loans and can be a great source of information and assistance to you.
There are program standards for new mortgage loans that you should familiarize yourself with to better understand the mortgage lending process for an affordable home. Some standard requirements for new mortgage loans for affordable homes are:
- Fixed interest rate through the full term of the mortgage
- The loan must be from a lending institution. Loans from private parties are not allowed.
- The interest rate cannot be more than 2 Percentage points above the current Freddie Mac rate
- You must have 3% of the purchase price as a down payment, at least half of which must be from your own funds.
- You will only be permitted to pay up to 38% of your gross monthly income for mortgage principal, interest, property taxes, hazard insurance, private mortgage insurance and homeowner association fees.
- Non-household members are not permitted as co-signors of the mortgage loan.
- FHA and VA loans will not accept the terms of the deed restrictions for an affordable home. This is why working with a local lender familiar with affordable home mortgage loans is important!
Ask for a Pre-Approval Letter from your Lender
Lenders will issue a pre-approval letter after the lender has reviewed your credit score, credit report, income and expenses. The pre-approval must be dated on the lender’s letterhead showing the dollar amount and type of loan and must include an authorized signature. Click here for a list of lenders that are familiar with affordable housing mortgage loans and can assist you with the process.
Take a First-Time Homebuyer Course
A first-time homebuyer course will give you the tools and knowledge to navigate a successful path to homeownership. You will learn about how to make sure you are getting the best mortgage, how to address any credit or financial barriers you might face, and much more. And you will be connected to all the affordable mortgage and homebuyer assistance programs. It’s the best way to get started!
First Time Home Buyer Course Resources for South Shore, Cape Cod, and Islands:
Catholic Social Services
Christian Ferreira
(508) 997-7337 x2106
cferreira@cssdioc.org
(Fall River and New Bedford)
(Online Education available)
(HUD approved)
City of New Bedford, Housing & Neighborhood Development
Kevin Sullivan
(508) 979-1500
kevin.sullivan@newbedford-ma.gov
(New Bedford)
(Online Education available)
Community Development Partnership
Pelinda Deegan
(508) 240-7873 x10
pelinda@capecdc.org
(Eastham)
(Online Education available)
Housing Assistance Corporation
Heidi Archibald
(508) 771-5400
HArchibald@haconcapecod.org
(Hyannis)
(Online Education available)
(HUD approved)
Housing Nantucket
Anne Kuszpa
(508) 228-4422
housingnantucket@gmail.com
(Nantucket)
(Online Education available)
NeighborWorks Housing Solutions
Amanda Glennon
781-422-4200 x377
aglennon@nhsmass.org
(Quincy, Brockton, Kingston, & New Bedford)
(Classes available in Spanish and Portuguese)
(Online Education available)
(HUD approved)
Plymouth Redevelopment Authority
508-747-1620 x 10146
redevelopmentdir@plymouth-ma.gov
(Plymouth)
(Online Education available)
(HUD approved)
Lori Andrews
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. 
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.