CHARLES CRUMM
The Oakland Press

Oakland County hopes to use a federal program to help low- and moderate-income residents acquire housing and get some of the foreclosed homes back into the marketplace.

The county plans to use $5 million of its $17 million allotment from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program money to help qualified residents in 43 of the county’s 61 communities take ownership of vacant foreclosed homes.

“We’re looking for people to purchase and occupy single-family homes and condos in select communities,” says Gordon Lambert of the county Community and Home Improvement Division.

For prospective buyers, income limits are set by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.A single person can earn up to $58,700 and qualify for the program, while a family of four can earn up to $83,900 and qualify.Under the program, the county will offer a zero percent loan of up to $100,000 for 49 percent of the home’s cost, plus rehabilitation expenses.

The homebuyer takes out a loan for the other 51 percent and repays the county when the home is resold or when it’s no longer the buyer’s primary residence.

“That’s the beauty of it,” Lambert said.The county plans a pair of meetings next week, one to explain how the program works to Realtors and lenders and another to explain it to prospective buyers.

The meeting for Realtors and lenders is at 9 a.m. Monday in the Board of Commissioners Auditorium, next to the county courthouse at 1200 North Telegraph Road, north of Elizabeth Lake Road.

Prospective buyers can attend a meeting at 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, at the county’s Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, just west of Telegraph Road in Waterford Township.

Residents are eligible for the county program in the townships of Addison, Brandon, Commerce, Groveland, Highland, Holly, Independence, Lyon, Milford, Oakland, Orion, Oxford, Rose, Royal Oak, Springfield, West Bloomfield and White Lake.Cities eligible for the county program are Auburn Hills, Berkley, Birmingham, Clawson, Farmington, Ferndale, Hazel Park, Keego Harbor, Lathrup Village, Madison Heights, Novi, Oak Park, Rochester, Rochester Hills, South Lyon, Sylvan Lake, Troy, Walled Lake and Wixom.Eligible villages are Holly, Lake Orion, Leonard, Milford, Ortonville, Oxford and Wolverine Lake.

Other communities, such as Pontiac and Waterford Township, operate their own programs and may choose to use the money for other purposes.

For more information about this program, please contact Erin Rose at erin.financemyhome@gmail.com or Karen Greenwood at Kgreenwood@cbschweitzer.com

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