While Washington fiddles with the subprime mortgage mess, the city of Denver has launched programs aimed at homeowners who are upside down in their home loans and first-time buyers who need a little boost.
One provides funds to fix and flip foreclosed or abandoned properties that otherwise may drag down property values around them and become magnets for crime.
Another will help homeowners with subprime mortgages. The $25 million Mortgage Credit Certificate program will allow roughly 180 mortgage holders to deduct 20 percent of their mortgage interest from their federal income-tax bills. The program is open to anyone who took out an adjustable-rate mortgage between 2002 and 2007. It also is available to qualified first-time homebuyers.
The funds for this program were authorized under the 2008 Housing and Economic Recovery Act, not this year’s federal stimulus package.
The city also launched the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to funnel $10 million to the Denver Housing Authority and the Denver Urban Renewal Authority, which will contract with five nonprofit agencies — including Habitat for Humanity — to buy, rehab and sell foreclosed or vacant homes. Targeted neighborhoods include Montbello, Green Valley Ranch, Northeast Park Hill, Elyria/Swansea, West Colfax, Villa Park, Barnum, Athmar Park, Westwood and Mar Lee.
City Councilman Paul Lopez, whose district includes Westwood and Mar Lee in southwest Denver, said the rehab program is badly needed in those neighborhoods because they were hit hard by predatory lenders.
“The banks aren’t keeping up (maintaining) their foreclosed properties,” Lopez said. “We’ve had to bring code inspectors into several properties for violations.
“This program will not only clean up the neighborhoods and bring the property values back, but they will also create a number of jobs here,” he said.
Stephanie Walker, a 30-year-old full-time recreation worker who also attends college full time, was the first person to take advantage of the city’s Mortgage Credit Certificate program. She closed on her first home two weeks ago, a small house in northeast Denver.
“I just can’t believe this all came together,” she said Wednesday, breaking into tears of joy. “I couldn’t have done it without the program and the tax break.”
Mike McPhee: 303-954-1409 or mmcphee@denverpost.com
Do you qualify?
To find out, go to or contact the city’s Office of Economic Development at 720-913- 1608.
