June 18, 2009
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has changed its rules, making it easier to receive assistance from the County’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program to buy foreclosed properties in communities hit hard by the housing downturn.
The County’s program provides an eligible homebuyer with a forgivable loan of up to $50,000 to purchase a foreclosed or abandoned home, and up to $12,500 to make energy-efficiency and conservation improvements to the home. The program also provides assistance to nonprofit agencies and developers to buy and rehabilitate foreclosed and abandoned residential properties to operate as affordable rentals for low-income families.
Prior rules required that foreclosed properties be purchased at 15 percent below the current appraised value to qualify for program assistance.
The rules were recently changed to allow foreclosed properties to be purchased at one percent below the current appraisal rate, increasing the number of properties eligible for the program.
The Neighborhood Stabilization Program was created as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act, which was passed by Congress last July to help homebuyers purchase foreclosed and abandoned homes in neglected neighborhoods. The County Department of Housing and Community Development received more than $5.1 million for the program.
For more information about affordable housing, please visit the Housing and Community Development Web site at www.sdhcd.org.
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