Draft Action Letter - HUD Homes

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,