Foreclosed homes in Clayton County neighborhoods, which otherwise seem to be stable, are being renovated to increase the chances of them being re-sold, resulting in the affected neighborhood’s enhanced attractiveness to potential buyers.

According to David Barton, program coordinator with the Clayton County Foreclosure Resource Center, the CCFRC has purchased five foreclosed properties and is repairing and renovating them through its Neighborhood Recovery Program, which is designed to keep neighborhoods with abandoned properties viable and attractive.

Two of the homes are in Riverdale, at 1250 Julie Court and 7112 Graystone Drive. Renovations are almost completed and Barton expects them to go back on the market within a week.

Once on the market, these two homes will be priced in the $120,000 range, he said, with the remaining three starting at $70,000 to $120,000.

“One home is a two-story model with a full basement and, three bedrooms and two and half baths,” Barton said. “The other has four bedrooms with two baths including an extra master suite.”

Barton believes that, in other locations, these homes would sell for $200,000 or more.

This CCFRC’s pilot program is one of a number of programs under way designed to fight the foreclosure crisis in the county.

Last April, the Clayton County Housing and Community Development Department received stimulus funding of $9.7 million from the Department of Housing and Urban Development designed to repair foreclosed properties and put them back on the market.