STIMULUS MONEY TO BE USED TO BUY FORECLOSURES

Oshkosh, Neenah and Menasha receive funds to purchase foreclosed homes

By Jeff Bollier of the Northwestern

Three cities in Winnebago County have received more than $1.1 million to help buy and repair foreclosed homes.

The money is a portion of about $40 million Wisconsin received to tackle the massive foreclosure problem that contributed to the financial meltdown last year. The cities of Oshkosh, Neenah, Menasha and the Winnebago County Housing Authority will split the funds in an attempt to counteract massive increases in foreclosures throughout the county from 2006-2008.

The funding will be used to purchase foreclosed properties from banks, to renovate and upgrade them or to demolish properties too costly to repair. Only properties in regions of each city that have above average foreclosure rates will be eligible for purchase under the program, Oshkosh Principal Planner Susan Kepplinger said.

Those areas include a swath south of Packer Avenue between Bowen and Jackson streets, an area north of Ninth Avenue and East of Knapp Street, and other portions of the city.

Kepplinger said the problem of foreclosures isn't always visible, but remains an issue throughout the community. First American Core Logic released data that shows the 90-day delinquency rate on mortgages in Oshkosh-Neenah rose by 0.5 percent in February 2009. The real estate data firm also indicated 1.2 percent of homes in Oshkosh-Neenah remain in foreclosure, the same percentage as in February 2008.

"In the case of Housing and Urban Development-foreclosed homes, there are no real estate signs," Kepplinger said. "It's just houses sitting there vacant that don't jump out at you. But when you start looking at ads or printouts of where the water has been shut off, you begin to realize the magnitude of the problem."

Housing Authority Executive Director Brad Masterson said the award comes with the requirement the program be implemented immediately.

"They're expecting these things to happen quickly," Masterson said.

In Oshkosh, Kepplinger said the city will rely on its newly-inked partnership with Green Bay-based NeighborWorks to help dispose of homes purchased and renovated under the program. Habitat for Humanity would also play a role by using sites of demolished homes for its building projects.