Share
Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
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 communities with high foreclosure rates.
On Friday, the Tarrant County Housing Partnership, a nonprofit organization that revitalizes distressed neighborhoods and makes more affordable, quality housing available, received a $75,000 grant from Wells Fargo Bank to help administer the neighborhood stabilization program.The 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 VanNess, 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 carpet, paint inside and out, and fence repairs."I am very grateful that Wells Fargo is helping to stabilize our community," Forest Hill Councilwoman Lyndia Thomas said."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 bought his first home in Forest Hill, said that the downturn in the economy has created some stumbling blocks for affordable single-family housing but that the city’s location will boost the real estate market."We just need a little help to turn the foreclosure situation around," he said.VanNess said that the home was purchased for $54,000 and that the repairs will cost $20,500. 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 Housing and Urban Development Department. Tarrant County’s community development office oversees the HUD funding.The other cities include Mansfield, Hurst, North Richland Hills, Haltom City, Saginaw and Crowley.The housing partnership received $4 million from HUD and an additional $4 million from the Texas Department 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."We just need a little help to turn the foreclosure situation around."
Roy Brooks,Tarrant County commissioner
ELIZABETH CAMPBELL, 817-390-7696
@Nyx.CommentBody@