LAWRENCE — Lawrence CommunityWorks has a plan to help those facing foreclosure — buy their homes and rent them back to the owner with the option to buy.
And if the homes are already in foreclosure, the nonprofit wants to buy the houses, fix them up and resell them at affordable prices.
The program needs up to $5 million to get started, but already has state and federal lawmakers heralding it as a model for the rest of the state.
Juan Bonilla, Lawrence Community Works homeownership education coordinator, said that with so many people facing losing their homes, the two programs need to be up and running quickly.
"We want to address the issue as soon as possible," Bonilla said.
Lawrence CommunityWorks would purchase vacant bank-owned properties at a discount, between 30 percent and 60 percent of their previously appraised value. They'd look to sell them at a reduced price in exchange for the new owner completing homeownership courses. Some homes would be turned into affordable rental properties.
Under the lease-buyback program, Lawrence CommunityWorks would buy homes at risk of foreclosure and lease them for two years to the current owner. If the owner keeps up with the rent and completes financial literacy and credit counseling offered by the nonprofit, that person could buy the home back at no more than 75 percent of the original purchase price. The nonprofit sees the lease-buy-back program as a last resort in instances where loan modification and refinancing have failed.
The programs build on Lawrence CommunityWorks experience creating affordable housing and counseling new homeowners.
Lawrence CommunityWorks is also looking for money from state and federal agencies and grants from foundations. Some money could come from private investors, who'd receive 4 percent or so on their money in return.
State Rep. Barry R. Finegold, D-Andover, is among a group of Lawrence-area lawmakers working to get funding for the programs.
"This is not a handout," Finegold said. "We would be the conduit that would take over the properties and help people get on their feet."
Lawrence CommunityWorks has already secured a $1 million appropriation from the state Department of Housing and Community Development. Sen. Susan C. Tucker, D-Andover, said local lawmakers plan to ask area banks to invest money as well.
"We're telling them, 'This is a good investment for you and you'll get a return if you help us purchase and rehabilitate those homes,'" Tucker said.
Lawrence recently has seen rising copper thefts and squatting in abandoned foreclosed homes. Finegold is worried Lawrence will see a rise in arson, seen during the last recession when foreclosures rose, if action isn't taken.
"This can put Lawrence back 10 years," Finegold said. "We can't go back."
Finegold and Tucker believe the plan could be copied statewide. It has the support of U.S. Sen. John Kerry, who was in Lawrence to be briefed on the plan.
Experts predict Massachusetts could see a record number of foreclosures in 2008. More than 440 Lawrence properties were in foreclosure as of March, according to The Warren Group, a real estate information company.
In Massachusetts, lawmakers last year passed a series of initiatives aimed at preventing a future foreclosure crisis. The Bush administration meantime has moved to streamline federal agencies overseeing the banking industry.
Lawmakers, including state Rep. William Lantigua, D-Lawrence, want a 180-day moratorium on foreclosures so that Beacon Hill and Capitol Hill can come up with a solution to the current crisis.
In Washington, Congressman Barney Frank, a Newton Democrat, wants mortgage holders to write down money owed on troubled home loans in exchange for the federal government refinancing $300 billion in at-risk mortgages. The U.S. Senate approved a plan that could provide $211 million to refinance troubled home loans.
