Soon after Dani Nisbet bought her two-bedroom ranch in South Portland in 2017 she started wondering what could be built on the rest of her .65-acre, mostly wooded lot. She knew housing was scarce across southern Maine. An artist, interior designer and hairdresser, she had heard heartbreaking stories from clients, family members and friends about their fruitless
The students in Nicole DiGeronimo’s first-time homebuyer classes are increasingly older with a little more money saved up. They still can’t buy a home in Maine. “These are people that probably never anticipated it would be so difficult to purchase a home,” DiGeronimo, who directs Avesta Housing’s homeownership center, said. These homebuying hopefuls, often aged
Three years ago, Maine lawmakers passed a landmark bill designed to increase home construction and ease the state’s worsening housing crisis. Now, almost one year after implementation, some worry the law hasn’t lived up to its potential. “I don’t think we’ve seen nearly that much uptake since LD 2003 passed,” said Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford.
When Russell’s seasonable job ended six years ago, he was unable to afford the rent on his apartment and began living in his truck. Then a deer jumped through one of the truck’s windows and totaled it — in the middle of winter. “I had no job, no truck, and no place to live,” says
When Arlene needed an affordable place to live, she knew exactly where she wanted to go – Meadowview, an Avesta Housing community for older adults in Gray, Maine. It was, after all, where her mother lived as one of Avesta’s first residents in the 1970s. “Mama loved it here, and I love it here,” said
Middle-income housing is the focus of Domus, a development company launched by Portland developer Jack Soley in partnership with nonprofit affordable housing provider Avesta Housing and Tim Hebert, CEO of Hebert Construction in Lewiston. Construction is strong for affordable and market-rate housing, driven by government subsidies on the one hand and strong rates of return
A new program offered by Avesta Housing’s HomeOwnership Center received a $50,000 donation from Bangor Savings Bank, designated to help people with moderate incomes purchase their first homes and achieve housing stability. Avesta’s program, A Path Forward: Homeownership for ME, aims to create a pathway to homeownership for Maine residents who have been priced out
The three-bedroom, one-bath condominium on Collyer Brook Road in Gray is a bit of a fixer-upper. The driveway is crumbling, with large chunks of pavement missing entirely. The front steps are rotted, the privacy fence in the backyard is toppled and until a few weeks ago, there was mold and water damage in the basement.
Tackling the affordable housing shortage requires a myriad of creative solutions. Building new affordable homes is essential, but multi-family developments can take years to complete. Meanwhile, thousands of houses in Maine sit vacant due to abandonment, foreclosure, or other reasons. A new program administered by the Avesta Housing Homeownership + Financial Counseling department is an
U.S. Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) with Avesta Housing senior leadership staff at Porter Station in Portland, Maine, on Nov. 1. L-R: President & CEO Rebecca Hatfield, Resident Services Manager Nick Kjeldgaard, Sen. Angus King, Director of Real Estate Development Patrick Hess, HomeOwnership Center Director Nicole DiGeronimo, Senior Vice President of Finance & Administration Eric Boucher
Avesta Housing improves lives and strengthens communities by promoting and providing quality affordable homes for people in need.
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