Virginia will give $17.5 million to counties and cities, including Fairfax County and Alexandria, to buy and restore foreclosed houses, Gov. Tim Kaine said Monday.
The money is the second installment of the state’s $38 million Neighborhood Stabilization Funding program to help the state recover from the foreclosure crisis. Virginia’s foreclosure rate has jumped from 0.24 percent in 2006 to 1.73 percent last year, according to the governor’s office. Nearly 17,000 foreclosed homes are empty.
Of the $17.5 million, $15 million will be distributed among 29 neighborhoods to renovate 136 houses, while $2.5 million will go to Frederick, Shenandoah and Warren counties. Properties must have been foreclosed, abandoned or vacant for at least 90 days to qualify.
Fairfax County will receive $1 million of the funds, while Alexandria will pick up $936,955.
Fairfax will add the money to its Silver Lining Building Initiative, which helps first-time buyers purchase foreclosed houses, and to local nonprofits. A similar plan approved last year, using government credit to acquire and rehabilitate 10 homes in poor condition, has not moved forward.
“The focus has been on first-time homebuyers and the Silver Lining Initiative because that was a two-year program. The Fairfax County credit line does not have a time restriction,” said Tina Norvell, spokeswoman for the county’s housing office.
Shane Cochran of the Alexandria Office of Housing said he expected at least four of the 136 homes selected statewide to be in Alexandria. The number of foreclosures in Alexandria increased from 23 to 365 between 2006 and 2008. In the first quarter of this year, an additional 65 houses were foreclosed on.
In April, the program announced $7 million divided among Loudoun and four other counties. The state Neighborhood Stabilization Office has not begun rehabilitation, spokesman Chris Thompson said.
Kaine introduced the second phase of funding at a regional forum at the Fairfax County Government Center, addressing various aspects of the housing crisis and proposed solutions.
He also signed two foreclosure-related bills. The first expands the amount of tax credit available to seniors and disabled people attempting to save their homes from foreclosure. The other establishes strict stipulations for mortgage brokers offering loans.
