Fairfax, Prince William Consider Homebuying Programs Targeting Foreclosed Homes

In Northern Virginia, The Washington Post reports:

• Fairfax County is developing a program to allow as many as 100 first-time home buyers to purchase foreclosed houses at cut rates to bolster the county's affordable-housing efforts and help prevent the region's mortgage crisis from causing neighborhood decline. Dubbed the Silver Lining program, county housing officials have proposed spending as much as $6.4 million over two years to help such middle-income professionals as teachers, police officers and firefighters afford the region's housing.

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• Although Fairfax has not been hit nearly as hard by foreclosures as neighboring Prince William and Loudoun counties, the number of foreclosures has risen dramatically as a result of the subprime mortgage crisis -- from 198 in 2005 to 4,527 in 2007. Most of the foreclosures are clustered in Springfield, Herndon, Centreville and the Route 1 corridor. The situation has raised concerns about depressed property values, a decline in maintenance and higher rates of crime, including vandalism.

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• A similar proposal will be considered today in Prince William, where county staff will present a program to supervisors that would make low-interest loans available to county employees to encourage them to buy houses there.

For more, see Fairfax May Offer Deal On Foreclosed Homes.