Fairfax County Will Buy Forclosed Properties As Part of Affordable Housing Initiative
July 1st, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News
Fairfax County, with some of the highest median priced homes in the greater Washington, DC area, has announced a bold new step in its Affordable Housing Initiative. The landmark housing program, announced yesterday by the County Board of Supervisors, will spend more than $10 million to buy foreclosed properties outright and help families buy others through subsidized loans.
Board chairman Gerald E. Connolly noted “Fairfax, like the rest of the country, is facing a foreclosure crisis that’s unprecedented. The county has to use its resources and influence to try and stem the tide.”
Initial plans call for the county to buy as many as 200 homes. Tax revenue will purchase 10 houses outright and the rest will be purchased by qualifying buyers with help from government backed, low interest loans.
Assistance will be directed to first time buyers earning up to $75,600 or 80% of the county’s median income. Purchases will be limited to $385,000 and will exclude condominiums. In addition to the subsidized mortgages, buyers will be eligible for second trusts up to $70,000.
One of Fairfax County’s primary goals is to expand the stock of affordable housing for a category known as “workforce housing.” This category includes middle-income professionals like teachers, police officers, firefighters and some medical personnel who otherwise could not afford to live in one of the nation’s most affluent jurisdictions.
Although it lags behind neighboring Prince William County in Virginia and Prince Georges County in Maryland, Fairfax County had 1700 foreclosures in the past year. Several neighborhoods in Fairfax County, including Herndon, Centreville, Vienna, and Falls Church, are at risk of becoming foreclosure clusters according to a recent report commissioned by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
Do you qualify for this new program? Look here for homes in Fairfax County and then call me at 703.927.4554 and let’s figure out the details together.
Michael
