HUD rolls out additional foreclosure funding

In an effort to improve the stability of the housing market, the federal government will provide an additional $1 billion stimulus towards foreclosure relief.

Residents in some of the country's hardest-hit areas have been forced into moving because their homes have been repossessed by lenders. Through funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, state and local governments will be able to purchase these foreclosed properties and rehabilitate them for the purpose of selling them to other relocating families. It was the third round of funding provided through the HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

"These grants will support local efforts to reverse the effects these foreclosed properties have on their surrounding neighborhoods," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. "We want to make certain that we target these funds to those places with especially high foreclosure activity so we can help turn the tide in our battle against abandonment and blight."

Across the country, local nonprofit organizations will use the grants to redevelop or demolish abandoned properties and to provide financial assistance for low-income families that are moving to a new home and require help securing a mortgage.

Communities in 46 states will divvy up the $1 billion grant, with Florida receiving the largest sum at $208 million. Foreclosures in that state have riddled its housing market and reduced home values by 11.4 percent in the last year, according to Zillow.com.


More News