almost_there
02-17-2009, 12:44 PM
From my local paper....Field of Dreams (Rice, MN) is where I currently live, and am loosing the house in the "2nd wave" of foreclosures affecting tentants of property owner's losing those properties to foreclosure. I've contacted the writer of this story and I am meeting with her on Friday afternoon. We're goin' public.
February 15, 2009
Federal grant to help open doors for homeowners (http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009102150021)
Application spearheaded by St. Cloud HRA seeks funds for foreclosed homes
By Kirsti Marohn
RICE — The name of this city’s newest housing development, Field of Dreams, belies what for many homeowners has been a financial nightmare.
The neighborhood west of town has seen 36 foreclosures in the past three years. For-sale signs dot the lawns in front of homes that appear vacant.
“People got into those houses that flat out couldn’t afford to be in them,” Rice Mayor Mitch Fiedler said.
The homes were soundly constructed, Fiedler said, but some are damaged because of frozen water pipes, pet excrement or neglect.
Now, Rice, St. Cloud and other area cities and counties are jointly seeking federal money to buy or help homebuyers purchase foreclosed houses and rehabilitate them. The grant application, spearheaded by St. Cloud Housing & Redevelopment Authority, marks the first regional effort to address the foreclosure problem.
Fiedler believes that if the grant money could help young families get into a home, “that would be a good thing for the city.”
“I don’t like to see empty houses. I just think it’s better if we can keep it filled,” he said.
The federal government recently provided almost $57 million to Minnesota for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to address vacant and foreclosed properties. Only counties that ranked among the top 20 in the state for foreclosure rates — or cities within those counties — could apply for the funds.
The program is aimed at neighborhoods with a concentration of foreclosures in recent years, where abandonment and blight are potential or even present problems.
The St. Cloud HRA, along with the three counties and several area cities, are seeking $2 million from the program, said Cliff Knettel, HRA development director.
The application identifies 18 neighborhoods within the three counties, including four in St. Cloud, three in Sauk Rapids, four in Becker, two in Clear Lake, one in Waite Park, Liberty Pointe in St. Joseph, Walnut Ridge and Field of Dreams in Rice and the Lange addition in Foley.
See the rest of the story here (http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009102150021).
Also, not only do we live in Field of (Broken) Dreams right now, our last name is Lange!! (see the reference to the Lange addition in Foley above) We truly must be cursed! :shock:
February 15, 2009
Federal grant to help open doors for homeowners (http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009102150021)
Application spearheaded by St. Cloud HRA seeks funds for foreclosed homes
By Kirsti Marohn
RICE — The name of this city’s newest housing development, Field of Dreams, belies what for many homeowners has been a financial nightmare.
The neighborhood west of town has seen 36 foreclosures in the past three years. For-sale signs dot the lawns in front of homes that appear vacant.
“People got into those houses that flat out couldn’t afford to be in them,” Rice Mayor Mitch Fiedler said.
The homes were soundly constructed, Fiedler said, but some are damaged because of frozen water pipes, pet excrement or neglect.
Now, Rice, St. Cloud and other area cities and counties are jointly seeking federal money to buy or help homebuyers purchase foreclosed houses and rehabilitate them. The grant application, spearheaded by St. Cloud Housing & Redevelopment Authority, marks the first regional effort to address the foreclosure problem.
Fiedler believes that if the grant money could help young families get into a home, “that would be a good thing for the city.”
“I don’t like to see empty houses. I just think it’s better if we can keep it filled,” he said.
The federal government recently provided almost $57 million to Minnesota for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to address vacant and foreclosed properties. Only counties that ranked among the top 20 in the state for foreclosure rates — or cities within those counties — could apply for the funds.
The program is aimed at neighborhoods with a concentration of foreclosures in recent years, where abandonment and blight are potential or even present problems.
The St. Cloud HRA, along with the three counties and several area cities, are seeking $2 million from the program, said Cliff Knettel, HRA development director.
The application identifies 18 neighborhoods within the three counties, including four in St. Cloud, three in Sauk Rapids, four in Becker, two in Clear Lake, one in Waite Park, Liberty Pointe in St. Joseph, Walnut Ridge and Field of Dreams in Rice and the Lange addition in Foley.
See the rest of the story here (http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009102150021).
Also, not only do we live in Field of (Broken) Dreams right now, our last name is Lange!! (see the reference to the Lange addition in Foley above) We truly must be cursed! :shock: