Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Lauderhill to Receive $4.293 Million to Help Foreclosures

It was announced that more than $541 million in federal foreclosure aid is coming to Florida. The money will be distributed through the state to cities and counties throughout Florida for the redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed homes. The funding is provided through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program under The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. The CDBG program is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Lauderhill's portion is $4.293 Million.

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act appropriated nearly $4 billion for assistance to state and local governments for the redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed homes. State and local governments may use the funds to purchase and redevelop foreclosed and abandoned homes and property. The funds can also be used to offer downpayment and closing cost assistance to low- to moderate-income homebuyers. State and local governments will also have the ability to create “land banks” to assemble, temporarily manage, and dispose of vacant land to encourage re-use or development of property.

At this time no specific discussion has taken place on how this money will be spent. It is anticipated that staff may be advising the Commission at the October 20th Commission Workshop about these available funds, and how they could be utilized. However, it will take more time to properly make the determination on how best this could help Lauderhill and its residents.

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