National Housing Program slowly hitting region

SUFFOLK

More than a year after its birth, a national program to help neighborhoods hit hard by foreclosures is slowly starting to reach local streets.

The Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which provided $38.7 million for use statewide, has been used to purchase one home so far in South Hampton Roads.

That house, in Portsmouth's Cradock neighborhood, is one of 19 purchased, according to the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. About $1.6 million has been spent, said Hollie Cammarasana, a department spokeswoman.

The program, which was part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, allows communities to buy vacant homes, repair them and sell them to low- or moderate-income buyers. One of the goals is to stem the decline of nearby home values.

While there is a sense of urgency, the pace of the program has been tempered by all the levels of government involved and the fact that the initiative is new, said Doug Kincaid,

assistant director for community development for the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

In Suffolk, Redevelopment and Housing Authority Executive Director Clarissa McAdoo said Tuesday that she was ready to close on two houses, but she was waiting on the city to get the money from the state. McAdoo told her board that turnover in the city might be contributing to the time it is taking.

McAdoo said she had already received one extension from a real estate agent and she wasn't sure how many more she could get before the seller walked away.

"We've got homebuyers," she said. "We're ready."

Another reason for urgency is so buyers can take advantage of the $8,000 federal credit for first-time homebuyers, Board Chairwoman Caroline Martin said.

"That is one of the criticisms nationally, that we're not spending the dollars," Martin said.

Debbie George, a spokeswoman for the city, said by e-mail that "based on information from the housing authority and city staff there has been no delay."

The state is waiting for a formal request from Suffolk, Cammarasana said.

The requests, or funding reservations, require certain information, including evidence that the house has been foreclosed on, Cammarasana said. The state has 21 days to get the money to the locality once it receives the request, but it tries to get that done within a week, she said.

Between about $1 million and $2 million was designated for each of South Hampton Roads' five major cities. The proceeds from sales are intended to pay for future purchases.

Norfolk is close to selecting its first properties for purchase, said Ron Williams Jr., the city's acting director of budget and management. The city could close on its first homes in January, he said.

In some cases, the private sector has stepped in and purchased homes that cities were targeting but couldn't move on fast enough. Kincaid said that provides a setback on the work that staff have done for the purchase, but it's a good thing in the big picture.

"As long as it's happening," he said.

Dave Forster, (757) 222-5563, dave.forster@pilotonline.com