HUD details $4 billion grant program

Federal housing officials will host three regional summits this month to discuss foreclosure prevention efforts, including a program that's providing nearly $4 billion in grant funding to help state and local governments purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed homes.

The Neighborhood Stabilization Program -- created as part of HR 3221, the sweeping housing bill signed into law July 30 -- helps state and local governments acquire land and property, demolish or rehabilitate abandoned properties, and offer down-payment and closing-cost assistance to low- to moderate-income home buyers.

Grant recipients can also create "land banks" to assemble, temporarily manage, and dispose of vacant land for the purpose of stabilizing neighborhoods and encouraging re-use or redevelopment of urban property.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is hosting the first summit today in Los Angeles, with meetings scheduled for Oct. 14 in Columbus, Ohio, and Oct. 16 in Orlando, Fla.

The summits will include discussion of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program and other federal, state and local foreclosure prevention programs. They are also intended to cultivate public-private partnerships and serve as forums for discussion of best practices, HUD said.

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