Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/277189
Hadsell told the News Leader on March 12 that he recently was able to talk with the person in charge of the HOME Program. She "has said what I am interpreting is correct," Hadsell added. Even though the Down Payment Assistance Program always had written requirements that local governments pay back federal money out of their own general funds when the loans went into default, he said, HUD in the past took "a more gentle position" on fore- closures, working with local governments when "things outside the communities' con- trol" resulted in the defaults. Now HUD officials "are finding that they have less flexibility in that," Hadsell added. The change resulted from a series of Washington Post articles that cast the Down Payment Assistance Program in a bad light, capturing Congress' attention, he explained. The program rules always required that a per- son receiving a loan stay in the program for 10 years, Hadsell continued. If the person did not, the local government that provided the loan had to "recapture those [federal] dollars." Before the recession hit, Hadsell pointed out, such a situation was not a problem. The local government could foreclose on the house and sell it to pay back the funds. Now that prop- erty values are lower, he said, "There's no way to recover those dollars." The change has been particularly difficult in cases involving military personnel, he The City Commission tentatively is set to hear a discussion about the Down Payment Assistance Program on April 7. Photo by Norman Schimmel Sarasota News Leader March 14, 2014 Page 35