Killing many "birds" with one stone. (Foreclosed homes to become affordable housing)

[SoCalDem]

Chandler, AZ. is buying up foreclosed homes and using them as low-income dwellings

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/135450


Foreclosed homes to become affordable housing


Ari Cohn, Tribune

February 13, 2009 - 4:59PM

Chandler could begin buying up foreclosed homes by the end of the year and start turning them into affordable housing.

Chandler plans to buy foreclosed homes

The City Council Thursday voted unanimously to accept $2.4 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for “neighborhood stabilization.” A portion of the money will be used to purchase up to 15 homes in a target area bounded by Elliott and Ray roads, and from Arizona Avenue to Alma School Road, where the foreclosure rate approaches 40 percent, city officials have said.

City Councilman Jeff Weninger said the federal grant money would have just gone elsewhere if the city didn’t accept it.....snip...

This solves MANY problems..

1) keeps flippers from grabbing up "cheap houses"
2) provides homes for people who have been on long waiting lists
3) keeps local property values from tanking even more, as too many "For Sale" signs pop up
4) rent coming in means that SOME taxes will be paid on those places
5) keeps kids in school, so federal money can help out
6) it's cheaper to buy foreclosed homes, than to BUILD low income places.
7) has a natural integration of families..rich and poor..into all kinds of neighborhoods..(not just clusters of "poor folks" in the ratty part of town)



Stimulus money should be allocated for this sort of thing..

[babylonsister]

1. Nice to see someone using their brains. This should be a 'no-brainer'

for every state.

[notadmblnd]

2. My niece just found a house listed for 5 grand. It needs a hot water heater and she doesn't know

if the furnace works. She offered 3500.00 and is waiting to hear back.

[SoCalDem]

3. Wow.. where is that place?

A house for the price of a used car ...what have we come to:)

[notadmblnd]

6. It's in Pontiac Mich

I just got off the phone with her.

[JVS]

8. Are there strings attached? I've seen many houses on the market in Detroit come with the...

legal stipulation that the buyer make significant repairs which could be expensive

[notadmblnd]

10. I didn't discuss that with her. From what she tells me, it's not in bad shape

The roof and foundation are good, the back yard is fenced in. I'm sure if she gets it, she'll want to make improvements. I'll talk to her again tomorrow and maybe go with her to look at it.

[dkf]

4. OMG your kitties are adorable!

Love the pic.

[Toucano]

5. An obvious no brainer.

I don't see why the big shots are trying to make solving the housing crisis so complicated.

We've got a ton of empty houses and a ton of homeless people. What to do? What to do?

[SoCalDem]

7. They are afraid that some "undeserving" family might end up in a "nice" house

and probably cannot figure out how to make money from the plan..

[marions ghost]

9. I guess

at this point it makes some sense...

But I really have problem with people being forced out of their homes due to foreclosure and then others benefiting from it. Seems like that's unfair and could cause trouble. :shrug:

[4 t 4]

11. Nice !

one good thing to come out of this nightmare. Working on it in Illinois

[marions ghost]

14. Well

so what's wrong with what I said? So how about the people who were suckered into loans and tried to own a house --and then got the boot, only to see others helped and subsidized?

I agree that it makes more sense than leaving the houses vacant. I would support it fully if there were more done at the same time to identify and ALSO help the homeowners who were snookered. maybe that IS being done...I don't know. It's pretty easy to tell who the snookered are....for one thing they only had one house.

Do you think I'm on the side of those who caused the nightmare? Sheesh :shrug:

[SoCalDem]

12. I agree, but for the homes that are already sitting there, empty

it makes a lot of sense....and the people wh were forced OUT of one, might just be the very people who could be helped by getting them a place to live...maybe even their "old house"..

[marions ghost]

15. Sure

I wonder if any effort has been made to do that? --Link up the previous owners with the new opportunities. It's pretty devastating to lose your house. I would think if they don't seek to address the problem of the displaced people there would be resentment. Or are those people just disposable?

:shrug: I don't have answers, I just ask questions in an effort to understand what is going on. I live in a very isolated situation and don't have much connection with people in what are suddenly very transient neighborhoods.

[SoCalDem]

16. until a month ago, we had SIX foreclosed house on our block

the one next to us was horribly vandalized..cops would do NOTHING..

It's been bought & repaired, and there are only 2 unoccupied now..

[Terran]

13. Neighborhood Stabilizations funds were restored to

the Stimulus Bill, so there will be an extra $2 billion or so, I think, to go around for this purpose. The funds can also be used to create transitional housing for homeless persons, which is *sorely* needed in my state.