County to Fund Rehabilitation of Abandoned Homes
Thursday, Jan 7, 2010 | Updated 2:54 PM PST
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The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors authorized the use of $4.8 million of anticipated state funds today to help first-time homebuyers acquire and redevelop homes that might otherwise be abandoned.
The money will fund a county program for low, moderate, and middle-income residents without the cash for a down payment or unable to qualify for a conventional home loan. The funding will also pay for some grants for rehabilitating homes.
Eligible properties must have to have been foreclosed on or abandoned and within areas the county has targeted as having the greatest need.
The funds, administered the state, flows from the Housing and Economic Recovery Act passed by Congress in 2008. The county's application is being evaluated, but the Community Development Commission and Housing Authority expects to get $4.8 million, despite the state's cash crunch.
The county got an additional $16.8 million directly from the federal government to fund the homebuyer program, as well as the creation of affordable rental housing.
Seventy-five percent of the funds must be committed by Dec. 31, and all funding must be spent by Sept. 30, 2011.
