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A vacant foreclosed home in Forest Hill will get a new coat of paint and other repairs as Tarrant County works to improve neighborhoods in several comunities with high foreclosure rates.
On Friday, the Tarrant County Housing Partnership, a non-profit organization that revitalizes distressed neighborhoods and increases the amount of affordable, quality housing, received a $75,000 grant from Wells Fargo Bank to help administer the neighborhood stabilization program.Tarrant County Housing Partnership was the only Fort Worth organization to receive the priority markets grant from Wells Fargo.The money will be used to help hire a construction manager and grant compliance manager, said Donna VenNess, executive director of the housing partnership.Officials from Forest Hill and Tarrant County toured the two-story brick home at 7213 Autumn Run which needs new carpeting, painting inside and out, tand he fence also must be repaired."I am very grateful that Wells Fargo is helping to stabilize our community," said Forest Hill councilwoman Lyndia Thomas."We have one of the highest percentages of foreclosures. This will help bring our community back; we are losing some of our residents because of the economy," Thomas said as she surveyed the newly-purchased home.Tarrant County commissioner Roy Brooks, who purchased his first home in Forest Hill, said the downturn in the economy has created some stumbling blocks for affordable, single-family housing, yet the city’s location will boost the real estate market."We just need a little help to turn the foreclosure situation around," he said.Meanwhile, VanNess said the home was purchased for $54,000 and it will cost $20,500 to make the necessary repairs. The Forest Hill property is the first house to be purchased. Once repairs are made, the home will be sold to a low to moderate income first time home buyer.VanNess said she hopes 30 properties can be purchased throughout the county this year.Forest Hill is one of eight target cities in Tarrant County to receive Neighborhood stabilization funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Tarrant County’s community development office oversees the HUD funding.The cities include Forest Hill, Mansfield, Hurst, NorthRichland Hills, Haltom City, Saginaw and Crowley.The Tarrant County Housing Partnership received $4 million from HUD and an additional $4 million from the Texas departmetn of Housing and Community Affairs to purchase and repair houses. "It makes me feel good that we can have an effect," VanNess said."My biggest concern is that these foreclosed properties can become rental properties. Our goal is to have owner-occupied homes," she said.ELIZABETH CAMPBELL, 817-390-7696
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