TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Suncoast Pasco News

Pasco Seeks $19.5 Million For Foreclosure Rescue Plan

ADVERTISEMENT

By Carl  Orth | The Suncoast News

Published: November 29, 2008

DADE CITY - Red virtually covered the entire West Pasco area on a map shown to the County Commission this week about the high risk of more foreclosures.

So commissioners are applying for nearly $19.5 million in federal aid, one of the biggest grants in the state. The deadline to apply to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is Monday, Dec. 1.

Everyone at the commission meeting agreed action is quickly needed, but real estate leaders had different ideas than county officials about the best way to stimulate economic recovery here.

The county foreclosure rescue plan represents the best compromise to win approval from the federal government, according to Pasco Community Development Manager George Romagnoli.

The plan would devote the largest share of money, nearly $9 million, to buying foreclosed or abandoned houses, fixing them up and then selling them for a higher price. The county would not directly buy the houses, but would funnel the money through "nonprofit partner agencies," Romagnoli said.

Another $6.5 million would be devoted to down payment assistance to directly help buyers, the plan favored by the West Pasco Board of Realtors.

The Realtors group still recommends at least $10 million of the federal aid go toward down payment assistance, President Greg Armstrong said. Then the buyers themselves could fix the homes with some aid.

Armstrong described the county application as a "from top-down approach" that would benefit perhaps a few hundred people. Realtors' plan for the federal aid could benefit thousands, he believes.

Armstrong led a delegation of dozens of real estate agents who attended the County Commission meeting.

The county and its partners might not recoup the expense of upgrading foreclosed houses, Armstrong theorized. A glut of 5,700 houses for sale west of The Suncoast Parkway could make it difficult to get a higher selling price for the foreclosed houses that have been repaired.

County officials several times have given an example of spending some $30,000 to fix up a $60,000 house.

Romagnoli swayed commissioners, though, when he said the county might soon gain the ability to shift around as much as $2 million as market conditions change.

Right now, the threshold is $100,000 when the county must seek permission to change the way it spends federal funds.

The county stands to lose the $19.5 million in federal aid if the application is delayed past the Dec. 1 deadline, Commissioner Ted Schrader says.

Commissioners approved the plan as drafted by Romagnoli. HUD officials will review the county's Neighborhood Stabilization Program application.

If they approve, the agency will send a grant agreement back to the county by February.

HUD requires the county to commit the federal funds within 18 months and actually spend the money within four years.

"Time truly is of the essence," Armstrong said.

Carl Orth can be reached at 727-815-1068 or corth@suncoastnews.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT