Kent County and the cities of Great Rapids and Wyoming in Michigan received over $11 million from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The funds will be utilized to buy homes in Bank Forclosure List in neighborhoods greatly affected by the foreclosure crisis.
The program is designed to keep foreclosure properties from becoming blights and dragging other houses in the neighborhoods.
In Kent County, one out of 372 houses is in some kind of foreclosure proceeding. Even though how much residents mow their lawns, plant flowers and do other improvements to take care of their properties, the values will keep slipping because of the growing number of properties on Bank Forclosure List in their areas.
The federal funds will allow the cities and county to purchase repossessed homes, rehabilitate to make them energy efficient, functional and affordable to use. The funds was part of the almost $3.9 billion approved as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.
Kent County and Grand Rapids are both working with nonprofit organizations and builders that will develop the purchased properties on Bank Foreclosure List in exchange for a fee.
Developers will receive $17,500 in fees in Grand Rapids while Kent County proposes a fee of 15 percent based on the total project cost.
Michigan is one of the top 10 states in terms of high foreclosure rates. Last May, the state recorded 13,891 foreclosures. During the first quarter of this year, foreclosure filings were made on 33,184 real properties in the state, representing a 2 percent decline from the last quarter of 2008. However, the figures are above the level reported in the first quarter of 2008.
One in 136 Michigan homeowners received a filing of foreclosure in the first three months of the year, making the state the sixth highest in terms of foreclosure rate.
Last March, the state reported 12,417 real properties is some stage of foreclosure, a drop of 1 percent from the February level but 31 percent higher than the March 2008 total.
Industry experts speculated that the drop in foreclosure rates in March was due to a slight increase in sales of houses during the third and last quarter of 2008. And with 12.6 unemployment rate, the number of properties included in Bank Forclosure List will continue to make the state as one of the highest in the country in terms of foreclosure rate.
Search Bank Foreclosure Lists in Michigan Cities:
Comments on this entry are closed.