The question of affordable housing for workng class Vineyarders has been a heated topic of discord for many months. The solution for how to maintain a balanced population on this fragile Island will not come easily. It is more complicated than it appears, and could establish a precidence for other towns and cities to manipulate a seller (or buyer) fee to self-serve their purposes, I.E. town sewer upgrades, etc.
It was believed the House would not render a decision before its current session came to a close; however, they somehow squeezed it in and voted 91 to 64 against legislation that would have created a fund to subsidize affordable housing on Martha’s Vineyard.
As a real estate broker, EXCLUSIVE Buyer advocate and owner of a property valued above the $750,000 baseline, I've been subjectively opposed to this legislation and am pleased that it's been rejected. In my opinion, it doesn't matter who is charged with paying the fee, be it the 2% Land Bank BUYER fee, or the 1% SELLER fee for sales above $750,000 --- the BUYER is the one who will ultimately pay. Of course I have other reasons for my opposition, but ....
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