Greg first came to Nantucket after college when he took a job in the kitchen at Toppers Restaurant in Wauwinet. He and his girlfriend Joy began their love affair with Nantucket, moving from place to place as the seasons changed.

“Back then, taking a seasonal rental wasn’t the scary thing it is now,” said Greg. “There were options. We didn’t mind being in a small place in the summer, because we were working so much. We knew could move to a really nice place in the winter.”

Over the years, the couple got married and had two children. They moved around a lot. They lived in employee housing, bartered for housing, and even moved off-island for a time. But they kept coming back to Nantucket, because the island had touched their heart and soul.

“We regretted leaving Nantucket the minute we stepped on the boat,” Joy recalled. “Those irreplaceable friendships you make when you first get married and have kids- you can never mimic that.”

They worked a winter season in Colorado, then returned to the island when friends needed summer help on their farm in exchange for free housing on Main Street. Next, they rented a cottage from a friend, but the property soon sold. They moved to another cottage, which they adored, but one day, their landlord surprised them with the news the house had sold quietly through a private sale. The family had to be out by the end of August. Here we go again…

This kicked their housing woes into high gear. Despite a vast Nantucket network, the family couldn’t find a winter rental. To buy time, they rented a house for September and October with no heat. By mid-October, panic set in. They rented a condo in Madaket with exposed, uninsulated pipes. They hoped for a mild winter, but mother nature had other plans. Plumbers were regularly called to fix frozen pipes. Then, winter storm Juno hit. They lost power, heat, and water.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. A local man sadly passed away. Greg found out where he was living and immediately pursued this lead, but the landlord needed some time. After a while, they were allowed to move in to a one- bedroom cottage. Before long, the family of four overwhelmed the septic, and they had to leave.

Greg and Joy were at a crossroads. Professionally, they were experiencing great success, having recently launched the popular Nantucket Culinary Center and Corner Table Café. Yet they knew they couldn’t have a successful business or raise their family on Nantucket with this level of uncertainty. They became serious about committing to the island, and started working to qualify as purchasers in our Covenant Program. They alerted as many as possible of their desire to buy a house, and eventually, they found someone who wanted to sell a covenant home before it was put on the market. As first-time home buyers, every inch of the way was stressful. They scrambled together the down payment and made the financing work. Finally this March, they became the proud owners of their very own Covenant home.

“Housing Nantucket’s Covenant Program allows us housing security, a feeling I have never known in my adult life,” said Greg. “We counted the other day– my son has moved thirteen times… and he’s eight! Now we’re in a great house in a wonderful year-round neighborhood. We have a yard. We’re ecstatic.”

The Margolis’s purchase was the ninety sixth covenant transaction to take place since the program’s inception in 2004. Housing Nantucket’s Covenant Program allows for the subdivision of a lot that is un-subdivideable through normal zoning means. According to program rules, one of the lots remains market rate, and the other has a permanent affordability covenant recorded on it. This significant ability allows a property owner to separate ownership of the main house from the cottage, when otherwise the two dwellings would need to remain together.

Your support enables Housing Nantucket to offer programs like these, which provide opportunities for year-round Nantucket residents like the Margolis family to call the island “home.” There’s just no place like home… Thank you!