New Castle County has received $7 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to purchase and rehab homes in struggling communities and then make them available at affordable rates to potential buyers or renters.
Called the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, the county will purchase homes for immediate resale or place them in a land bank for a short period of time for transition to non-profit partners. Those agencies will then resell, rehabilitate or redevelop the residential properties.
In total, 31 homes will be purchased in the first phase of the program, with an additional 38 homes to be acquired over the next 5 years. As of December, 22 foreclosed and vacant homes have been purchased in New Castle County with non-profit housing agencies planning to begin their rehab within the next 45 days.
In the last year, New Castle County has experienced a significant increase in the number of foreclosed and abandoned properties. Through November, there have been 2,799
foreclosure complaints filed in the unincorporated areas of New Castle County outside the City of Wilmington, an increase of 23 percent from the same time period in 2008.
"New Castle County is working to minimize the housing crisis in our communities with a multi-pronged approach that includes providing information to homeowners on preventing foreclosure, making ownership possible for more families through the Workforce Housing Program, and revitalizing neighborhoods stricken with multiple foreclosures through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program," said County Executive Chris Coons. "We are very fortunate to be working closely with an extensive team of community partners who bring expertise and a record of success to the initiative.”
The priority areas for the program were selected based on the number and density of foreclosed properties in neighborhoods. The priority zip code will be 19720. Other Neighborhood Stabilization Program areas may include zip codes 19702, 19709, 19802, 19805 and 19701.
"When a home is foreclosed and abandoned, it affects not only the family that lost its home but the community as a whole,” said U.S. Sen. Ted Kaufman, who attended Tuesday's announcement along with Sen. Thomas Carper and Gov. Jack Markell. “This program raises the value of many residential homes and in doing so strengthens neighborhoods in Delaware that have been hit hard in these tough economic times.”
For information about the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, call 302-395-5616.
