HUD Approves $30M Neighborhood Stabilization for Oklahoma

On Monday, ""U.S. Housing and Urban Development"":http://www.hud.gov (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced the approval of the state of Oklahoma's plan to use its $29,969,459 allocation under HUD's new ""Neighborhood Stabilization Program"":http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/communitydevelopment/programs/neighborhoodspg/ (NSP).
HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program was created under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) and provides nearly $4 billion to all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and 250 cities and counties experiencing particularly high foreclosure problems and risk of property abandonment. The program permits these state and local governments to purchase foreclosed homes at a discount and to rehabilitate or redevelop them in order to respond to rising foreclosures and falling home values.
State and local governments can use their neighborhood stabilization grants to acquire land and property, demolish or rehabilitate abandoned properties, or offer downpayment and closing cost assistance to low- to moderate-income home buyers. In addition, these grantees can create ""land banks"" to assemble, temporarily manage, and dispose of vacant land for the purpose of stabilizing neighborhoods and encouraging re-use or redevelopment of urban property.
The NSP Program also seeks to prevent future foreclosures by requiring housing counseling for families receiving homebuyer assistance. In addition, HUD seeks to protect future home buyers by requiring states and local grantees to ensure that new home buyers under the program obtain a mortgage loan from a lender who agrees to comply with sound lending practices.
According to ""2008 figures"":http://www.realtytrac.com/ContentManagement/pressrelease.aspxxChannelID=9&ItemID=5681&accnt=64847 from the foreclosure research company ""RealtyTrac"":http://www.realtytrac.com, the state of Oklahoma had a total of 16,059 foreclosure filings last year - a 51 percent increase from 2007. Oklahoma's foreclosure rate ranked 29th out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia.