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  Newsletter

June 2008

You are invited to the Annual Meeting
of the
Cranberry Isles Realty Trust

Wednesday, July 9, 2008, 4:30 – 6 pm
Great Cranberry Community Building

Doug Boynton
Monhegan Island Sustainable Community Association
What can we learn from how Monhegan
is creating housing opportunities?

PRESIDENT'S LETTER

Dear Cranberry Isles residents and friends,

The Cranberry Isles Realty Trust has as its primary responsibility providing affordable housing opportunities for the community. These opportunities can come in many forms and make up the bundle of goods and services that comprises our communities' housing needs. Land, infrastructure improvements, building materials, technical knowledge, financial capital, borrowing capacity, community support networks, and supportive municipal policies are the major elements of this bundle. As we develop CIRT's 5-Year Plan we are investigating each of these elements both individually and collectively. On the islands every housing situation is unique, and we must be creative and adaptable in deciding which affordable housing opportunities to provide.

To date CIRT has offered rental housing exclusively, which has been a tremendous asset to the community. Now we are exploring additional, diverse housing options to meet the needs of the islands. Your support is essential to move CIRT into a position where we can truly be a proactive agent providing housing for a growing population. We want to work collaboratively with you and the community. If you can provide or contribute to any element of the bundle of goods and services mentioned above we want to hear from you. Be it experience with the real estate market, a parcel of land, or a monetary contribution, we need resources to expand the housing opportunities we offer.

We are working on a plan. We need your support to make it happen. While we welcome all kinds of contributions, this is our annual fundraising solicitation in support of our operations. Please make a financial donation at this time.

Many thanks and best regards,

Eric Dyer, President
Cranberry Isles Realty Trust

CLOSER TO HAVING THEIR OWN HOUSE

A Message from the Krasnows:

Well, we're still here! Another year has gone by and we're that much closer to having our own house. We've done a lot of tree clearing and purchased more dirt fill than we'd care to mention. Gary Gould dug our well, and surprisingly didn't get stuck. Our electricity has been installed on the property, and we are almost ready to start building. Thank you to Roy Hadlock and Steve Palmer for helping us with their machinery; we couldn't have done it without you.

Now that we have reached this milestone, CIRT has offered to assist us with our goal of building our house. This, in turn, will allow another family to occupy the CIRT rental house here on Islesford.

Thanks again to CIRT and members of our community for all their help and support! More to come ...

SITE PLAN FOR THE KRASNOW PROPERTY

Celebrating summer around the Maypole on Islesford, July 2007

CIRT PLANS "INTERMEDIATE PROGRAM"

One of the three elements of CIRT's 5-Year Plan, in addition to the three rental houses and a planned land bank program, is an innovative "intermediary program." CIRT envisions helping qualified buyers pay less than market price for an island home, in exchange for longterm covenants that limit the price at which the house can be resold. Such a deal could work a few ways. In most cases, both the buyer and seller would be known and ready to make a transaction.

The first possibility is when a seller is willing to sell at less than the home's appraised value, and the difference between the appraised value and the selling price could be considered a tax deductible contribution by the seller for tax purposes. In this case CIRT would purchase the house, making it a sale to a charitable organization, and put a permanent affordability restriction on the deed. CIRT would then resell the house right away to a buyer who has qualified by meeting certain moderate income limits. CIRT would contribute an additional increment of the sale price, allowing the price paid by the final buyer to be significantly lower than the original asking price, possibly as much as $100,000 less, for example.

The second option is when a seller is not interested in lowering their price in exchange for a charitable contribution, but CIRT wants to help a qualified buyer meet a negotiated selling price by offering a second mortgage, not due until the house is resold. A third type of transaction could involve offering a second mortgage to someone who wants to construct a new home. In none of these deals would the restrictions on the home's resale be onerous, but would allow CIRT to recoup its investment, and the repayment could be used to subsidize future home purchases.

Every option involves a significant subsidy covered by CIRT. The organization would have to raise funds from the community and through grants to cover part of the home's purchase price or construction cost.

A goal of this program is to keep the islands' year round homes owned and lived in by year round residents, who are a part of our community's vitality twelve months of the year. CIRT hopes that this is a way of helping keep alive, with a little boost, the tradition of island residents selling homes or a lot at a reasonable price to people who want to live year round on Islesford or Cranberry.

If you think that buying or selling an island through this arrangement might be of interest to you, don't hesitate to talk to a CIRT board member about it.

HOUSE FOR RENT ON GREAT CRANBERRY

3 BR house is available for $450/month to qualified tenants. For more info, contact Barbara Stainton: 244-7316 (days), 244-4067 (eves)

Looking North from the Great Cranberry Dock by Edith Wright

With the addition of this new note card, three island views by local artists are available for sale in island gift shops and at summer fairs. Please support CIRT by buying and sending these cards.

The work of the Cranberry Isles Realty Trust is important to me.  Please accept my donation of $_______ to help provide year-round housing on the Cranberry Isles.

Name ______________________________________________

Address ___________________________________________

Telephone _________________________________________

E-Mail ____________________________________________

Contributions are tax-deductible.  Please mail this form and your check to:
Cranberry Isles Realty Trust, PO Box 129, Cranberry Isles, ME 04625

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