Foreclosure plan OK’d by county
In response to the foreclosure crisis that has swept through the valley, Clark County commissioners Tuesday approved a plan to spend $30 million in federal funds to get people into vacant homes.
The plan outlines how the county and North Las Vegas will use federal money from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to repopulate vacant houses in areas hardest hit by foreclosures.
An estimated 12,100 homes in the county have fallen into foreclosure.
The plan will be sent to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The agency will critique it, reply within 45 days and begin disbursing money next year.
A total of $72 million was earmarked for Nevada. Of that, $24.3 million will go to the county and $6.8 million to North Las Vegas. Las Vegas' share is $20.7 million.
The state is expected to divert about $8 million of the federal money it receives directly to the county, plus $2 million each to the county and North Las Vegas for pilot programs in blighted areas.
Nonprofit entities would get $9.26 million to remodel and sell vacant homes and $8 million to renovate and rent out dwellings.
About $3 million would be used to overhaul the abandoned Buena Vista Springs apartments near Martin Luther King Boulevard and Carey Avenue.
Commissioner Lawrence Weekly said he wants to ensure that areas are maintained after they are cleaned up. The once crime-ridden apartment complex could become an example of good work that can be done, Weekly said.
Commissioner Susan Brager said she liked that $400,000 would be set aside to counsel prospective buyers on caring for a home.
"We want to make sure we set people up for success, not failure," Brager said.
