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warnedhomesU.S. asks for specificsBy Mary Sue PennUniversity Park officials say they have a real housing problem on their hands and it’s spelled HUD.They charge that houses owned by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department are not maintained and are given low appraisals. They claim HUD is contributing to the depression of home values within the village.Village Manager Michael Gruber-mann recently sent a letter to HUD outlining the problems and threatening legal action if a meeting is not scheduled.“Your organization’s indifference to what you are doing is creating a blight that this community has been struggling with for the last 10 years,” Grubermann wrote.. .It is a shame that 6,200 taxpayers have been cheated by the federal government in such a fashion. I wonder how many other communities are suffering similar fates.It was not the first time that the village dashed off a letter in the hopes of inspiring a change in HUD policies.Village President Vernon Young wrote to the South Suburban Board of Realtors with a similar complaint in October and sent copies to state and federal officials, including President George Bush.The letter resulted in a meeting with a regional HUD official last fall.Still problems continue.Young said HUD-owned houses are not well maintained and it is hard to track down who is responsible.He also said, “Some are turned over quite regularly — sold and bought and sold and bought in a matter of a few years.”That leads village officials to sus-Your organization's indifference to what you are doing is creating a blight that this community has been struggling with forthe last 10 years.Michael Grubermann in letter to HUDpect that the mortgage makers are not properly qualifying the buyers Since the federal government insures the mortgages, the lenders are assured of a payment.Another problem comes into play when homes to be sold with a Federal Housing Administration or Veterans Administration mortgage are appraised by HUD, Young said.He pointed to one case where a University Park family received a $95,000 offer for their house, but HUD appraised it at $85,000“Few sellers, let alone buyers, are inclined to pursue the so-called appeals process available, even when they are made aware of it,” Young wrote. “The damage has already been done by the initial appraisal.William Shaw, a HUD spokesman, said he planned to look into the village's charges, but he added that he needed more specific information.He said lawns of HUD homes are cut twice a month, and the agency intervenes if a “health or safety issue” arises at a property But HUDSee HUD, Page A-2
Newspaper Details
Park Forest Star
Park Forest, Illinois, US
Sun, Jun 09, 1991
Page 61
Full Page
Clipped by
Patrick P.
NY, USA 04 Sep 2020
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