NAPLES — One man has a plan for turning hundreds of foreclosed Collier County homes into affordable housing, pumping millions of dollars into the local economy, staving off blight and giving worthy applicants a chance to become homeowners.

“A window of opportunity exists right here in Collier County like never before,” said John Barlow, who founded the nonprofit organization Housing Opportunities Made for Everyone, or H.O.M.E., in May when he saw the foreclosure crisis snowball through the community.

The volunteer organization buys foreclosed homes, rehabilitates them and sells them to income-qualified buyers. Its first of 12 homes closed in December.
 

About 7,900 Collier County homes were lost to foreclosure in 2008 and Barlow, in a recent presentation to the Collier County Commission, proposed a partnership between H.O.M.E. and the county to transform about 15 percent of those homes to affordable housing.

As a member of the affordable housing advisory board, Barlow said the county has struggled to find affordable housing and this foreclosure crisis could bring a much-needed supply.

He suggested a one-home pilot program. In Barlow’s example, the county could buy a house for $60,000 from funds in the affordable housing trust fund, the general fund or proceeds of a potential casino tax. H.O.M.E. would then invest $40,000 for rehab work.

Read the full article at Naples Daily News, March 22, 2009.