Some city, state, and county officials say they have had trouble spending the grant money because federal rules are confusing and cash investors have often outbid them for residential properties.
“It became clear to us that the Neighborhood Stabilization Program as originally designed was too restrictive and limited the ability of our local partners to put this funding to work quickly,’’ Mercedes Marquez, HUD’s assistant secretary for community planning and development, said in a statement. “We need to be more flexible so our local partners can respond to market conditions and reverse the effects of foreclosure in these neighborhoods as quickly as possible.’’
James Miller, spokesman for the Florida Department of Community Affairs, which got $91 million to distribute to 24 cities and counties, called yesterday’s announcement wonderful news.
“It just broadens the pool of available properties that local governments can target,’’ he said. “This opens up more possibilities for them.’’
The new rules give communities a broader pool to work from. Now a community can buy a property that is at least 60 days delinquent on its mortgage if the owner has been notified, or if the owner is 90 days or more delinquent on tax payments.
HUD also expanded the definition of an abandoned property to include homes where no mortgage or tax payments have been made for at least 90 days or a code enforcement inspection has determined that the property is not habitable and the owner has taken no corrective action.
READER COMMENTS »
View reader comments » Comment on this story »