BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – The Governor signed on Wednesday, An Act Relative to the Dukes County Land Bank, sponsored by State Representative Timothy R. Madden (D – Nantucket). Now, Chapter 78 of the Acts of 2009, it will amend the existing law affecting the payment of a transfer fee by first-time homebuyers.  Previously, the first-time homebuyers purchasing real estate pay a transfer fee on the amount of the transaction over $100,000.00, a number set in 1986, called the “m” exemption.  The transfer fee for all other buyers does not include the $100,000.00 exemption.

“I am happy to see this bill enacted and signed at this early point in the session as it had been filed previously, but without getting to the enactment stage,” said Representative Madden (D – Nantucket).  “This legislation places the transfer fee exemption at a much more appropriate level for the first-time homebuyers on the island, resulting in significant savings for them.  This combined with the drop in housing prices will help families purchasing their first home on Martha’s Vineyard.”

Due to the significant rise in housing and property values on Martha’s Vineyard over the last couple decades, this amendment seeks to raise the transfer fee exemption from $100,000.00 to $300,000.00.  Furthermore, the proposed amendment would require the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank Commission to examine the Island’s housing market each year and determine the appropriate value of the exemption.  This periodic reassessment of the real estate climate on the island will enable the Land Bank to offer competitive exemptions to those first-time homebuyers seeking to purchase on the Island. 

The Land Bank utilizes these fees to purchase permanent open-space on the Island for the benefit of the general public.  This legislation had been unanimously passed at each of the six town meetings, as well as a favorable report from the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank Commission.