Thursday, January 15, 2009

City to buy foreclosed homes

AP Photo

From the NY Times:

New York City will spend $24 million in federal financing to rehabilitate and resell 115 foreclosed homes, one of the most aggressive steps in recent years that city officials have taken to prevent the vacant properties from becoming a blight on neighborhoods, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced on Wednesday.

The city will use the money to take control of so-called real estate-owned homes, or foreclosed properties owned by banks that have failed to be sold at auction. The city has already bought the first four homes — two on Staten Island, one in the Bronx and one in Queens.


City Has Plan to Resell Foreclosed Homes

“What we’re trying to do is to not acquire a lot of land and properties and have it just sit there,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “What we’re trying to do is get it in, fix it up and get it back off our books into the private sector. It doesn’t do us any good if we’re holding it. You can’t house anybody. And it doesn’t generate tax revenues. We don’t want to make the mistakes that we had in the past.”

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah oh sure our caring Mayor at work again. I guess he has plans for those neighborhoods too. I see tall buildings and rezoning in their future.

Anonymous said...

Sure, sell them to the Russians who will fill them with Mexicans.

As they say in Spamalot, look on the bright side: the template for subdividing McMansions will be established.

They will go the route of brownstones in the 40s.

Ant said...

HPD has a cash load of these tax exempt homes it inherited the last time this was done. Some in Queens but more on Staten Island. It has been renting them out for $100, $200 bucks for the last 30 some odd years. They definitely do house people - many still have the original homeowners living in them. The City of course has flipped the bill for all the repairs to the homes.

It's a good way to live if you can get it.

Anonymous said...

Oh Boy, The city will section 8 into barricks for single moms with 8 kids and a Pancho to block bust.
No public auction, hearing nothing.
They smell that Obama social cash already

Anonymous said...

Si bueno....now I can bring my cousins (all 15 of them) to live in America the land of abounding entitlement opportunities!

Anonymous said...

Just try to buy one of those foreclosures yourself. I made the mistake of purchasing one on the Bronx Courthouse steps and six months and several thousand dollars later I still could not take possession because a lien that had been paid was not properly recorded as satisfied.

I bet the land-grabbing city lawyers don't have to worry about charges for credit checks or Co-op board interviews for property that no one can even convey title to.

Anonymous said...

This recession is the biggest land grab in our history. Planned by the very people buying these homes with our tax money.