Atlanta's neighborhood stabilization program on track

The first thing that strikes you when you walk into Tracey Sanders' home – in the shadow of Turner Field – is her back wall.

Lined with five bookshelves, the wall houses more than 800 DVDs – mostly science fiction and full seasons of television shows. On an adjoining wall is a poster featuring the “101 Greatest Movie Quotes” of all time.

“My goal is to get every movie featured on the poster,” said Sanders, 43. “I think I only have about three or four, so I have some work to do.”

Not surprisingly, she already has “The “Wizard of Oz.”

“There’s no place like home.”

Sanders’ home is an example of what Atlanta’s federally funded Neighborhood Stabilization Program has done.

Her home is one of 241 formerly foreclosed units that have been purchased by the city through the federal program designed to stabilize depressed communities. Since March, the city has spent close to $15 million to buy and renovate properties and to help homeowners with down payments.

“We want to show the success of the NSP and show what we have done with the federal dollars,” said James Shelby, the city’s commissioner of planning and community development. “This does not eradicate the city of foreclosures, but it does put a dent in it for a while.”

Sanders, who moved to Georgia three years ago from Houston, said she has never been interested in owning a home. She rented in Texas and lived in an apartment in Norcross, before moving to Peachtree Street where Midtown meets Buckhead.

“My father always said, ‘buy a house.’ But I never wanted one, because it was just me,” Sanders said “But then, some of my co-workers started looking into buying homes and then I started looking. Then I heard about this program.”

“What a dump,” Beyond the Forest – 1949.

In 2008, in response to the national foreclosure crisis, the federal government started the NSP to allow communities to purchase foreclosed homes in neighborhoods ravaged by the recession. Metro Atlanta communities were awarded $68.2 million with Atlanta getting $12.3 million. The city also got $3.9 million from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

But in a scathing audit conducted last December, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found that Atlanta was moving too slow and had until September of this year to spend the money or lose it.

While admitting that the city was slow in getting homes, Shelby said the audit was misleading in that the data had not caught up with the facts. The report showed only $141,480 had been spent, while Shelby told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in January that more than $2 million had been spent to purchase 39 homes that would be rented or sold.

At the time of the audit, Councilwoman Joyce Sheperd, who chairs the community development committee, had been skeptical that the program could work under the federal guidelines. For example, while investors could swoop in and easily buy properties, the city is required to check the property for lead paint and other potential hazards.

But she is happy with the progress the city has made.

“They did a pretty comprehensive job of making this happen. They have done what they needed to do,” Sheperd said. “Now, I feel really comfortable.”

To date, the city has coordinated the acquisition of 135 foreclosed and abandoned residential properties. Shelby said the city has obligated 91 percent of the federal money and 94 percent of the state money.

Since some of those purchases are apartment buildings and multi-family homes, the city has actually produced 241 units throughout the city – including areas like Pittsburgh, the West End, Peoplestown, Edgewood and Grove Park.

Until she moved in three months ago, Sanders’ home sat empty for two years. The home is two stories and has three bedrooms and two and a half baths. The first floor is decorated in browns and golds and the amateur photographer is preparing the walls to house some of her original photographs. And for an intown property, the backyard is huge. She is exactly seven minutes from her job downtown where she works for Atlanta’s office of contract compliance.

The home was originally being offered for $165,000. Sanders countered with $158,000 and her offer was accepted. But with help from the NSP and other funding sources, she was actually able to purchase the home for $118,000.

“That is still amazing to me,” Sanders said. “Now, I am amazed at how few people have used the program.”