Grants to Contain Fort Worth Foreclosure Homes
September 25th, 2009 by 
Joseph Smith
Fort Worth foreclosure homes would be even more attractive to first-time buyers with the continuous grant support provided by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced the release of federal grants to produce affordable housing and support community development in Texas. Among those that will benefit are Fort Bend County, Tyler, Longview, Denison and El Paso. These areas will receive a grant totaling to $18,781,606.
The annual funds provided by the HUD will provide first-time homebuyers with down payment assistance, help families and individuals who are homeless and provide housing option to people with HIV/AIDS.
Donovan said that the grants represented the HUD’s continuing investment and commitment to help its local partners develop and improve their communities. He said that it is important to provide assistance to state and local neighborhoods to allow them to make the necessary improvements and to create more affordable housing.
He added that the funding assistance would also be the base for sustainable growth and future prosperity.
According to industry experts, preventing the spread of Fort Worth foreclosure homes is important to the recovery of the housing market in the area. Foreclosure properties are pulling down prices and values of surrounding houses and become targets of vandals and criminals.
Statewide, the HUD funding includes $12,513,582 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), 327,655 Housing Opportunities for People With AIDS (HOPWA) 5,482,508 HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) and 457,861 Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG).
The CDBG program of the HUD has been in existence since 1974 and already provided about $124 billion to both state and local governments to help them in community development efforts. The bulk of CDBG funds are used on public facility improvements and renovation of affordable housing.
Communities that are eligible to receive the CDBG funds are chosen based on population, age of housing stock, poverty rate and the extent of overcrowded homes. Meanwhile, the HOME program is designed to create more affordable houses for families with low income. Since 1992, over 600 communities have finished less than a million affordable housing units and provided direct rental assistance to about 209,000 tenants.
The ESG program is designed to provide shelter to homeless people while the HOPWA is geared to provide support services and rental assistance to people with HIV/AIDS.
