Washington State Will be Getting Help to Tackle the Forclosure Menace
January 2nd, 2009
As per an announcement by the federal government Washington will be getting help to tackle the problem of foreclosure menace. The assistance will be to the tune of $28.2 million to help the areas that have been worst hit by the foreclosure crisis. This includes Seattle and some parts of King County. HUD said that this funding is from the newly launched Neighborhood Stabilization Program.
The process got underway with the passing of the federal Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. The scheme grants a total amount of $4 billion as block grants to states for development of communities that have been badly hit by foreclosures and are experiencing a rising number of abandoned houses.
The primary aim is to combat homelessness, try to keep the people in the houses that are their homes and by doing so reduce the crime rates that are connected with these abandoned properties. The cities as well as the counties are given grants to purchase the foreclosed units or abandoned houses at a discount and then either demolishing or renovating them. The regions being focused on are the counties of King and Snohomish, Seattle, Everett, Federal Way, Spokane and Tacoma. These are among the 29 counties and cities that have been targeted.
Bill Cole of the state’s Department of Community, Trade and Economic Department said, “HUD approved the state’s plan, and we’ll pass the funding along to the local jurisdictions with the greatest need, which are in the greatest jeopardy of foreclosures.”
The city or the county administration are expected to work with private non-profit developers who deal with affordable housing or groups like Habitat for Humanity to go about the task of rehabilitating the foreclosed units. The discount will be 15% of the valuation of the house. It is expected that the houses will be bought for prices that will be less than the market value.
The programme will come under federal auditing and the stipulation is that the units will have to be sold to those with moderate to low-income buyers. Assistance will be in the form of down payments and paying for closing costs. The income of the buyer has to be 120% of the average income of the region.
Of the grants California got $529 million (47 grantees) and Florida got $541 million (49 grantees). Michigan and Ohio with each having 23 grantees got $263 million and $258 million respectively.
- How Do I Pay for a Home Purchased at a Foreclosure Auction?
- Cleveland Has Been the Epicentre of Foreclosures
- The Sin City of Las Vegas Is Now Becoming the Foreclosure City of Tents
- Afro-Americans Are Suffering the Most for this Foreclosure Crisis
- Congressional Panel Is Worried About Misuse of Funds Meant for Foreclosure Prevention
- Increase in Foreclosure Activity is Leading to More Homelessness
Related Posts
Posted in
Foreclosure Auction |
No Comments »
Comments
Leave a Reply
Search
