Troubled foreign currency borrowers could be moved to state-owned homes

State-owned homes or properties that can be converted into homes have been surveyed in recent weeks to see which buildings could be transferred to the National Asset Manager (NET), which provides assistance to troubled foreign-currency borrowers, daily tabloid Blikk said on Monday. The paper quoted the National Development Ministry, which said that 529 properties have been selected and assessed in the first round, of which the government is expected to examine 305 in detail. The properties include family-sized houses as well as multi-storey buildings suitable for several families including student and community accommodation. The development ministry was unable to tell for the moment how much it would cost to renovate the properties and make them ready for occupation. Decisions are expected to be taken soon on which properties and under what schedule will be converted for the affected families. The government established NET in November 2011 to purchase the homes of distressed borrowers from banks and allow residents to remain as renters. The paper said the NET had purchased 1,400 homes from the time of its establishment until end of March, while the government had targeted the purchase of 8,000 homes for last year alone.