Hilton Head Monthly Magazine

The town of Bluffton is seeking to buy foreclosed, abandoned or vacant properties to use for affordable housing in the Buck Island, Simmonsville, Goethe Road and old town neighborhoods. The Town Council is hoping to decide which properties to purchase by Dec. 15.

The town recently received $638,350 in federal Neighborhood Stabilization Funds to pay for strategic land acquisition for new affordable housing development. The grant money comes from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and is used to help communities that have suffered foreclosures and abandonment.

Under grant requirements, the town can only pay up to 99 percent of the appraised value of a piece of property. The properties must meet one of three requirements: they must have been foreclosed on; the property must be abandoned and no taxes or payments have been made in the last 90 days; or the property must be vacant but previously developed.

Anyone interested in selling their land to the town as part of the program can call  Andre White at 843-706-4579.