Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/352007
arose with loans through the Down Payment Assistance Program were outside the control of the local governments involved, HUD "was willing to overlook or forgive those indiscre- tions. … Now they're coming back and saying we need to repay the funds." CITY ACTION On April 14, then-Sarasota Mayor Shannon Snyder wrote County Commission Chairman Charles Hines to say that the city did not want to take a risk on such repayments as a result of the new HUD rules. Snyder pointed out that those new HOME regulations "rein- force that all homebuyers must remain in the HOME assisted unit for a length of time that HUD calls the 'affordability period,'" which is between five and 15 years, "depending upon the amount of HOME assistance that is provided." Among the situations in which the city could be forced to repay the federal government, Snyder continued, are the following: • The homeowner vacates the property prior to the end of the affordability period by abandoning it or leasing it to someone else. • The homeowner dies prior to the end of the affordability period, leaving the home to an heir who is not income-eligible, or the heir leases the property, and it is no longer owner-occupied. Snyder added, "It is inconceivable that all of the families receiving the Down Payment Assistance will meet the complete required Commissioner Joe Barbetta/File photo Sarasota News Leader July 25, 2014 Page 63