Program targets foreclosed homes

Program designed to increase affordable housing

by Cindy Landrum

Published Oct. 9, 2009, 11:33 a.m.

Some homeowners’ nightmares are being turned into other homeowners’ dreams thanks to a federal grant.

The Greenville County Redevelopment Authority will receive $2.26 million from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which is designed to stabilize neighborhoods hit hard by foreclosures during the economic downturn.

The money will be used to provide rental housing for low-income people, provide financing to people who buy and rehabilitate foreclosed or abandoned houses, demolish substandard houses and acquire properties to establish a land bank for future affordable housing projects, said Martin Livingston, executive director of the redevelopment authority.

“This program will definitely help provide more affordable housing in Greenville County,” Livingston said.

All the money must be committed to specific projects by Sept. 17, 2010 and spent by June 30, 2013, he said.

The redevelopment authority had planned to buy and rehabilitate nine foreclosed homes in Greenville, Simpsonville and Mauldin, but it looks like it probably will only be able to buy about five houses.

The neighborhood stabilization program rules require the redevelopment authority to purchase homes at a discount from the appraised value, Livingston said.

“In Simpsonville and Mauldin, we are easily outbid,” he said. “Investors can certainly outbid us.”

The redevelopment authority did purchase one foreclosed property in Freetown and repaired it, Livingston said. While the renovations were being completed, a contract was put on the house, he said.

In addition, the redevelopment authority is working with the county codes enforcement division to identify substandard houses for demolition.

Four houses have been demolished so far and another 30 condemned properties have been identified. The properties all have structural deficiencies or other problems which are too expensive to fix, Livingston said.

The third part of the neighborhood stabilization program provides money for the redevelopment authority to acquire properties to establish a “land bank.”

“We’re targeting the worst properties for this,” he said.

The redevelopment authority will buy the foreclosed or abandoned houses in the Judson, Sterling and Brandon areas and tear them down. The land will be available for future rental or homeownership projects, Livingston said.

Three properties have been identified so far, he said.

Housing must be rebuilt on the land bank properties within 10 years, he said.

“We don’t plan on holding them for 10 years,” Livingston said.

Some of the money is being used to convert an old commercial building off Old Buncombe Road into rental units for people who make 50 percent of the area’s medium income, which Livingston said is $24,000 or less for a single person.

The redevelopment authority is working with Homes of Hope on the development which will be Charleston-style stack duplexes. The development will have 10 units, Livingston said.

The redevelopment authority is trying to identify additional sites to put other rental units, he said.

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