New Homes out of Foreclosures – with the help of Cheviot

Posted on December 24th, 2007 by saman

The foreclosure catastrophe urges timely actions and local community is in process with plans and a step to buy empty homes. It is crisis metro cities across the country are confronting, and Cheviot says it wants to take steps that help to stop forsaken homes to lead to stain and scar. As per the survey of Cheviot, today’s figures show Ohio is in top three states of the nation, filing foreclosures. Across the nation, foreclosures climbed 68% comparing to the November, last year.

Lauren Bercarich from Local 12 shows strategy of Cheviot to deal with the problem, single home at a time.

Cheviot recently bought its first house. Review the plan, make it right to fix the problem and then search a good buyer. City council is benefited, because it cost only one dollar, after failure of federal government to sell it.

Steve Neal, Safety Service Director, from Cheviot says, “ The plan is very simple. They bring the house in the market, wait for six months, and by the time if doesn’t sell, the house is available under the program ‘good neighbor’. The city purchases this house just for one dollar.”

We surveyed what is going on and how things are set up. City workers are working hard to make everything new by tearing and cleaning what was there.

Steve Neal says, “It’ll be renovated for new amenities. There will be new cabinets, a new stove and a brand new bathroom. It’ll be easier for them to just drop in and start living when they move in.”

Prior to final purchase, the city inspected the house. And they found reasons to buy this house. They noticed brand new windows, good condition of the roof and solid foundation. Such house can be a better investment, they thought. So, it’s an investment in good neighborhood program. “The city is small with only 1.2 square miles. Number of foreclosures are increasing, with more than 100 in just two years, “ says Steve Neal,City Service Director, “they are too many.”

“If inhabitants see a home start to collapse, then they start thinking that the neighborhood is worsening and falling. So they will either want to move or they do nothing to their own property.”

So, Neal says city is taking steps to stop that and sending out a message to people, let’s do something together to stop it. The choice is left upon us. Second house is already in line and will soon available in the market.

The city wants to reassure homeowners and people that there is hope and they are for help. The plan of the city is to slow down the foreclosure tide.

The homes in the program had loans from Federal Housing Administration or Fannie Mae. The city will arrange to repair and renovate the second home from the profits previous home sale. Cheviot Savings Bank landed the city ten thousand dollar to make the project working and it also gave another, interest free loan of twenty thousand.