Fort Worth Offering To Help People Buy Foreclosed Homes

Fort Worth Foreclosure News

FORT WORTH (CBS 11 News) ― Buying foreclosed homes can save consumers a bundle of money.

But one North Texas city wants to make it even easier for folks to purchase foreclosed homes.

The phone hasn't stopped ringing since the City of Fort Worth announced it was trying to put a plan in place to help people buy one of the over 3,000 foreclosed homes in the city.

"We will use this federal funding to provide down payment, closing cost and minor repair assistance to individuals who are acquiring foreclosed properties in seven targeted zip codes in our community,: said Jerome Walker, Fort Worth Housing and Economic Development.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently awarded $6.3 million to Fort Worth under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. People who are eligible can get as much as $20,000 to put toward buying a home.

Here are the requirements:
- A consumer must make 120 percent of the area's median income. For a family of four, that works out to be $77,500. If the family is bigger, the number goes up.
- The consumer must buy a foreclosed property in the seven targeted zip codes: 76248, 76112, 76123, 76179, 76133, 76137 and 76131.
- If the borrower stays in the house for five years, the loan is forgiven.
- The consumer must be qualified for a loan by a private lender.
- The consumer must attend home ownership, training and counseling by a certified agency. The city has a list
- The city will not maintain a list of foreclosed properties.

Fort Worth hopes it can begin to solve the foreclosure problem before it starts to affect housing values across the city.

The city estimates they can help 280 people get into foreclosed homes. They still have to get the plan approved by the feds. If all goes well, the program will kick off in the first quarter of 2009.

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