Non-profit consortium receives state grant

Thanks to a recently awarded $1.5 million state grant, a local consortium of non-profit organizations will better be able to fight the foreclosure crisis that hit Prince William County last year.

The grant, which is part of a $9.4 million pot of money, will assist Manassas-based Catholics for Housing Inc. purchase, rehab and sell foreclosed properties in Dale City, Manassas and along the U.S. 1 corridor in Woodbridge and Dumfries.

Catholics for Housing is part of a larger group that includes Securing Emergency Resources through Volunteer Service, Fuller Center for Housing, Project Mend-a-House and the Dale City Volunteer Fire Department.

Catholics for Housing executive director Karen DeVito said her group has received approximately 40 applications for these properties. There are income requirements and potential owners must be able to secure a first mortgage.

Homes will be sold at the purchase price plus the cost of rehabilitation, said DeVito. The $1.5 million should be enough to buy six to eight homes and needs to be spent by September 2010, said DeVito.

A total of 85 foreclosed homes in 24 neighborhoods statewide will be upgraded and resold with the funds, which are from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, a national initiative through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

There are more than 28,000 Virginia homeowners in some stage of foreclosure. To date, Virginia has received $38.7 million through the NSP; profits from sales are channeled back into the NSP for more purchases.

The NSP was authorized under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 and is run by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.

Other recipients are the City of Chesapeake ($1.5 million); Chesterfield County ($500,000); town of Culpeper ($1.2 million); city of Franklin: ($400,000); Lynchburg Neighborhood Development Foundation ($1 million); Petersburg-based Pathways ($600,000); and Virginia Beach Community Development Corporation ($1.2 million).

While foreclosures aren’t dominating the real estate market like they were last year, getting these homes rehabbed, sold and occupied is important for many reasons including public safety, said Jeremy McPike, president of the Dale City Volunteer Fire Foundation.

The department battled blazes in many empty foreclosed homes last year, partly due to squatters and teenagers. Part of the grant money is being considered for the some of the houses to be retrofitted with sprinkler systems —something that is not mandatory even for new construction.

There is also an effort to make these properties more energy efficient. The brand-new Station 10 in Dale City, where McPike volunteers, achieved Leed-certified standards for its environmentally-friendly design.

Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-878-8062.