Board approves foreclosure plan
By Staff
Despite a significant number of questions and concerns from board members, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a plan Monday to address the growing number of foreclosures in the county.
The plan has three main elements:
County housing staff will be available to counsel homeowners at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure.
Using the existing first-time home-buyer program, the county will help residents who qualify to purchase a foreclosed home by offering an interest-free shared equity loan.
County funds can be used to purchase up to 10 foreclosed properties that are in disrepair, fix them up and sell them to nonprofits or through the affordable housing program.
The plan also sets aside about $400,000 to help nonprofits that want to purchase and fix up foreclosed properties.
Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield), who voted against the plan, said it is unclear if such measures are even necessary. In a separate motion, Herrity asked county staff to come up with a more accurate method of tracking the number of foreclosures in the county.
“I think this may end up being a solution looking for a problem,” Herrity said.
Supervisor Michael Frey (R-Sully) also voted against the plan, and other supervisors who ultimately backed it expressed some reservations and asked staff to provide more specifics about the programs' operations before they are implemented.