Boston Massachusetts Launches Foreclosure Prevention Program
The City of Boston will spend roughly $18 million to help homeowners avoid foreclosure and bring new buyers into the market in a program announced Wednesday by Mayor Thomas M. Menino.
The program, called the Homeownership Stabilization Campaign, is a 12-month initiative to aid neighborhoods hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis.
The two-part program will provide equity to homeowners and stabilize housing prices in areas with high foreclosure rates by assisting new buyers in the purchase of homes. About $10 million comes from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, about $4 million is from the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development and another $4 million is coming from the City of Boston. The funds represent more than a 200 percent increase over last year’s homeownership budget, partly because of the $8.2 million in state and federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds Boston received. The City of Boston is also applying for $39 million in funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development as part of a second Neighborhood Stabilization Program.
In a prepared written statement, Menino said the City of Boston has around 928 foreclosed homes primarily in East Boston, Dorchester, Hyde Park, Mattapan and Roxbury. Menino said the goal is to ensure foreclosed properties are redeveloped. To that end, the city has purchased 12 properties and is in the process of purchasing 90 more homes from banks.
About $11.6 million of the $18 million will be spent renovating properties acquired by the city; help new homeowners of foreclosed properties rehabilitate those homes; and provide down payments to people buying foreclosed homes. Also, it will provide home equity loans to homeowners and provide subsidies for private and nonprofit developers to rehab foreclosed homes. The initiative also includes $6 million for existing homeownership programs that focus on senior homeowner repair assistance, home buying education and lead paint abatement.
Source: BostonBizJournals
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