Louisiana will receive $38 million to help stabilize neighborhoods hard-hit by foreclosures. The state of Louisiana will receive $34 million, while Baton Rouge and New Orleans will each receive about $2 million to help manage challenges facing the housing market.
The funds, allocated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) new Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) will provide targeted assistance to state and local governments to acquire and redevelop foreclosed properties that might otherwise become abandoned and blighted. The state of Louisiana has a foreclosure rate classified as “medium,” at 3.9 percent. Baton Rouge also faces a 3.9 percent foreclosure rate, while New Orleans has a “high” rate of 4.4 percent.
“The housing crisis is one plaguing neighborhoods in states across our country,” Sen. Landrieu said. “Here in Louisiana, we have the added challenge of rebuilding properties that have been destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and more recently Gustav and Ike. Homes in Louisiana have been abandoned because the aftereffects of hurricane after hurricane have left them uninhabitable. I am pleased that this funding will help us uplift neighborhoods across the state and restore value to struggling properties.”
In total, HUD Secretary Steve Preston allocated $3.92 billion to all states and hard-hit areas trying to handle the effects of high foreclosures. The funding is provided through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.
State and local governments can use their neighborhood stabilization grants to acquire land and property; to demolish or rehabilitate abandoned properties; and/or to offer downpayment and closing cost assistance to low- to moderate-income homebuyers, whose household incomes do not exceed 120 percent of the area’s median income. Furthermore, the grant recipients can create “land banks” to assemble, temporarily manage, and dispose of vacant land in order to stabilize neighborhoods and encourage reuse or redevelopment of urban property.
HUD followed Congress’s direction in distributing grants, targeting them toward areas based on the number or percent of foreclosures, subprime mortgages and mortgage defaults and delinquencies. HUD relied on data sets from multiple government agencies and private sources.
Text of the revised financial institution rescue package up for a vote before the Senate the evening of October 1, 2008. Read more...
Equity ratings there winger, equity ratings..... And Bobby is 'banking' on what kind of a bond rating from what rating institutes? Uhhhhh,, based on what????? Written by
on 10/2/2008
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Tell us about how CDS influences all these issues. Credit Default Swap. Seems like the average american Joe ( Mrs.Sara Palin's term.)is not being informed of this economic and free market influence force. The CDS market covers $55 Trillion and trying to steer it with $700 billion is a just short of not so smart. Written by Winger II
on 10/1/2008
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Yep, more ignorant Senator Landrieu smack..... I wonder if it ever occured to that dizzy blond if perhaps the initial cost of the housing available might be one of the problems (Like as in a major contributing factor)??????? Written by
on 10/1/2008
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