Lindsay first came to Nantucket as a child, spending summers with her family in ‘Sconset. She worked as a waitress and a gardener during college, and after graduating decided to move here year-round. Sean came to the Island to work as a chef. The two of them worked together at Sfoglia Restaurant, and they soon became a couple. For years, they enjoyed a lifestyle where they could work hard during the summer and travel in the winter. They each started a landscaping company, which ultimately merged together into Mohr Gardening.

By 2007, Sean and Lindsay were living together in a rental cottage they had found online. They focused on building their business, and homeownership wasn’t on their radar. That is, until island builder Billy Cassidy called with an interesting proposal.

Billy was developing a neighborhood off Bartlett Farm Road, and he planned to use the new Covenant zoning bylaw to create affordable homeownership opportunities. The Covenant bylaw allowed him to sell a house and cottage on the same lot to different owners, when ordinarily the two dwellings would need to be sold to the same owner. In exchange, a Covenant was placed on the property, which ensured one of the homes would be owned and occupied by year-round residents for generations to come. Billy was looking for year-rounders who might be interested in purchasing one of these Covenant homes.

“At the time, the Covenant Program was new,” said Lindsay. “Everyone warned us not to do it. They said Covenant homes would never appreciate in value, and that the point of owning real estate on Nantucket was to make money. But my parents encouraged us. They told us that if we wanted to build our lives here, this was a really good opportunity. We were committed to the island, so we just went for it.”

“Billy offered options for purchasers, and reduced the price of the house based on what finish work you wanted to do yourself,” said Sean. “We wanted to make the house our own, so we purchased it unfinished. We completed it as sort of a family project over the years.”

Today, Lindsay and Sean are confident they made the right choice.

“It’s like an oasis back here,” said Lindsay. “The Covenant homes are all owned by year-round families. Everyone’s out and about, with kids playing. We love the dirt road feel and shared driveways. They did a great job with this neighborhood.”

“Owning a Covenant home gave us the opportunity to grow our family and our business,” said Lindsay. “We have two daughters now. Because we had affordable housing costs, we could consistently save. So when commercial land became available down the street, we were able to purchase it, and built a barn for our business.”

After thirteen years, Lindsay and Sean’s family has outgrown their Covenant home. So they’ve decided to purchase an open-market home close by, and will sell their Covenant home to another young couple this fall.

“Our experience has been amazing,” said Lindsay. “Leaving this house will be hard, but now this opportunity will be available for another family. It’s a sustainable cycle, and that part feels really good.”

Housing Nantucket’s programs create quality affordable housing that meets the needs of our year-round residents. Thank you for supporting our work.