A new affordable home buyer program is about to get under way in Edgartown, which if successful may put another dozen Islanders — who have been doing the seasonal shuffle or finding ownership just out of reach — in homes of their own. Administered by the town affordable housing committee and the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority, the so-called buy-down program will provide mortgage subsidies of up to $200,000 for income-qualified applicants, who in turn will be able to buy existing homes on the open market.

“We’re going to supplement the cost of the home that you have either selected on your own or we have in our inventory,” said housing committee member Janet Hathaway this week. “This allows you more or less to go into a home that doesn’t need any significant renovation for the first five years.”

The subsidies are made possible by a pledge of $1.6 million from the developers of the Field Club in Edgartown three years ago, in lieu of providing three affordable lots in the club’s Katama subdivision. The money — not all of which has been received yet — has been deposited in an affordable housing trust created by the town. In an interview this week, Ms. Hathaway and committee chairman Mark Hess said the club still owes a final payment of $300,000 which has been promised by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, the housing committee has been working to craft the home buy-down program as a way to put the money toward creating more permanent affordable housing in Edgartown by utilizing the existing housing stock.

Mr. Hess and Ms. Hathaway said the program is being geared toward people of moderate income who are short of being able to afford a mortgage for a starter home. “That is where we are seeing a need,” Ms. Hathaway said. “Someone may be able to afford a $150,000 mortgage and may even have a down payment saved, but the house they want to buy on the Vineyard is $300,000 or $400,000. That’s where the program can help.” She also said: “The difficulty of building a house from scratch is enormous. What we found is that a big group here doesn’t have those capabilities in funding or just the knowledge. That is definitely a changing demographic.”

The rule book for the program is thick but not impenetrable; home buyers must prequalify through an application process that includes income verification and other information. An information workshop hosted by the committee last month saw a good turnout of potentially qualified applicants. The deadline for applying is Feb. 18.

People who live or work in Edgartown and earn between 100 and 150 per cent of median income are eligible for the program. The income range runs roughly from a two-person household earning $65,900 a year to a six-person household earning $143,400 a year.

Qualified applicants will be given a defined period of time to shop for a house on the open market; the house must meet a certain test of standards for quality set by the committee and not need any major renovations. The housing committee has compiled a list of 15 qualified houses currently on the market through Link MV, the Island’s multiple listing service for real estate. But others may also qualify.

“These houses are not dilapidated or needing renovation,” Mr. Hess said.

Once an applicant is approved, he or she will be given a price point range for which homes they qualify to buy. For example, an applicant who qualifies for a $150,000 subsidy can look at listings in the $300,000 range.

Mr. Hess and Ms. Hathaway said they are hoping for about a dozen applicants. If there are more applicants than money available, the subsidies will be sorted according to need.

The rules for the program also create a system for capping the equity on the home; the home may be sold in the future but will remain in the town’s permanent affordable housing stock.

Mr. Hess said without the money from the Field Club the program would not be possible.

“We’ll keep this program on file if we ever get another chunk of money but this is pretty much a one-shot deal,” he said.

Applications for the buy-down program are available in the Edgartown town hall on the third floor; the telephone number is 508-627-6178. They are also available at the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority office in Vineyard Haven; the telephone number is 508-693-4419.