After several requests, we are posting this boilerplate letter to submit to elected officials regarding the elimination of the HUD Homes program.
Dear ______:
I am writing today to
ask that you look into the recent decision by the United States Department of
Housing and Urban Development to cancel its sales of post-foreclosure homes to
the Cuyahoga County Land Bank at a deep discount.
I am
sure you know the story of the recently created county land banks in Ohio.
In Cuyahoga County, the land bank is making a real difference for urban
redevelopers by serving as a clearinghouse for rectifying the most
title-clouded properties on the market.
Historically, HUD's
presence in the chain of title has been a death knell for many properties. The program that shifted these HUD homes into the land bank
has been far more successful than previous efforts to push HUD-foreclosed
homes directly into the hands of developers. In Cleveland's Collinwood
neighborhood in particular, real strides are being made to put this housing
stock back into the private market. One such program is bringing artists
from across the country to the Collinwood neighborhood in concert with numerous
other arts-based neighborhood development initiatives in the area. Please
do what you can to reverse HUD's change of policy.
Thanks,
Friday, January 18, 2013
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Action Alert - HUD Homes
The Plain Dealer recently reported that the United States
Department of Housing and Urban Development will cancel its ongoing deal to
sell post-foreclosure homes to the Cuyahoga Land Bank at a deep discount.
As many of you are aware, Northeast Shores has aggressively
used this program to create nearly 30 homeownership opportunities in our
neighborhood since the Land Bank opened in 2010. This program allowed us to
sell homes to interested buyers for as little as $5,000. In a few
circumstances, these homes were completely rehabilitated and sold for nearly
$100,000. These homeownership opportunities allowed us to further attract
artists to the neighborhood, remove the number of blighting structures by
returning them to productive use, and increase the rate of neighborhood homeownership.
During a time when our community is still dealing with the
aftereffects of the foreclosure tsunami, it is essential that we are able to continue
to provide these opportunities for homeownership. We are currently
under-supplied due to a significant uptick in artist demand from across the
country. As we are finally seeing a possible neighborhood recovery, it is
critical that this program continue so our plans can proceed.
Please take just a few moments out of your busy schedule and
contact your senators and representatives and let them know that they need to
reverse this bad decision. Even if you do not live or work in the Collinwood
community, this is a national decision that needs further examination.
It is very rare that we ask you to reach out to Congress on
our behalf. Please help!
If you missed the Plain Dealer stories, they can be read
here:
To get contact information for your member of Congress,
please use the following links:
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