Southampton granted $175,000 from State of New York to help rein in zombie property troubles

Southampton, NY: The State of New York’s plan to combat abandoned, “zombie,” properties has extended an $175,000 grant to Southampton to assist the city.
 

The funds allotted to Southampton will be used to train and fund city officials for code enforcement, to set up a database of abandoned properties, and to offer assistance to home owners in violation of city code before they are fined.


The $13 million initiative, announced late June 2016, offers grants of $75,000 to $350,000 to cities that formally applied before Aug. 16 for assistance and have populations of at least 5,000; depending also upon number of vacant homes (minimum 100) and scope of a city’s abandoned and unmaintained property troubles.


The funds are part of a $550 million portion allotted to New York of the $3.2 billion total settlement for state and federal authorities in February 2016 with Morgan Stanley, to resolve misrepresentation of subprime mortgage loan claims from before the 2008 housing crisis.


The plan to diminish zombie homes stems from New York’s Abandoned Property Neighborhood Relief Act, signed into law in June 2016, wherein owners of vacant and abandoned properties left unmaintained during foreclosure proceedings are moved to comply with city and state ordinances.

 

 

 

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