San Jose’s Piece of the Pie, Let’s Get Homes Occupied Again!
More than $5.6M has been allocated to San Jose to help residents purchase and fix up foreclosed homes, out of the $539M reserved for the State of California by HUD.
According to Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein, this amount is not nearly enough and is an insult to the state. They have pointed out that California is receiving less assistance than Florida even though we have nearly twice the number of foreclosures! However, the residents of San Jose seem happy to have some of this HUD pie to work with. A plan is being created to help buyers to purchase vacant homes, and return them to their former glory.
The program being considered would provide help for the downpayment, and some remodeling work. Income limits have been established - according to the Mercury News, the income limit for a one person household is $88,600 and $126,600 for a family of four.
On Monday, HUD will be publishing rules for how to spend the grant money, and communities will not be given their allocation until HUD approves plans in place. Although San Jose’s plan won’t help current homeowners facing foreclosure, it should help solve the problem of vacant, untended properties dragging down neighborhood property prices – and morale.
