Program to Address Growing Bank Foreclosure Properties

Nassau and Suffolk counties in New York are set to join a national program designed to address the growing number of Bank Foreclosure Properties. The National Community Stabilization Trust program will link local governments and banks holding foreclosed homes.

Under the program, banks and municipalities agreed to work together to contain the increasing number of Bank Foreclosure Properties. Participating banks will allow local officials to have the first priority in viewing and buying foreclosure properties on their inventory before placing them on the market for sale.

However, municipalities are given only three weeks to view and finalize a sale before the property will be put on the market. This is usually the time it takes for banks to prepare a foreclosed home for public listing.

Trust president and housing advocate Craig Nickerson said that the program would give officials in Nassau and Suffolk leverage over private buyers and investors looking for bargain properties.

Being the first to view and make an offer over foreclosed houses give local officials competitive edge because more and more expert investors and first-time homebuyers are jumping into the real estate foreclosure bandwagon.

According to Nickerson, cities and their for-profit and non-profit partners should be in the best position to control and determine the future of their communities by choosing strategically important houses, purchasing and rehabilitating them.

He added that so far, under the program, banks were able to close transactions on almost 50 percent of bids offered by municipalities on Bank Foreclosure Properties.

Nickerson also said that most major lending institutions have participated and financial companies under the program represented 65 percent of repossessions nationwide.

Wells Fargo senior vice president Tamara Swain said that the lender has signed up at the program and is willing to identify local foreclosure homes for the program. Wells Fargo is one of the top three lenders in terms of foreclosure cases in Long Island since last year.

Swain said that the lender knows that it is selling foreclosed properties to responsible parties, adding that it believes that putting occupants in homes long been abandoned and vacant is crucial for the recovery of the housing market.

The program addressing the growing number of Bank Foreclosure Properties has been established by five major nonprofit organizations, including the National Urban League.

Related Posts:

• Maine Counties Contain Foreclosed Houses for Sale
• Bank Delays Hinder House Repo Prevention Efforts
• Grant to Buy Homes on Foreclosure Listings Service for Rehab
• Bank Owned Foreclosure Lists in Missouri Trimmed by Citi
• Redevelopment Agency Plans to Buy Homes on Foreclosure Lists