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Piece by Piece Update
October 21, 2011
Greetings!
We hope you find the following news, calendar and other items below helpful and informative.
Georgia Ranks 3rd Nationally in Foreclosure Filings
Georgia moved into the top five states nationally for foreclosure filings during 3rd quarter 2011 according to RealtyTrac. Georgia ranks third following California and Florida. In Metro Atlanta, one in every 89 homes received a filing notice during third quarter. RealtyTrac experts anticipate that foreclosures will continue to trend upward as lenders work through the "robo-signing" controversy. MORE
AJC: Kasim Reed wants to use foreclosed homes for first responders Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said the city could better deal with crime by providing affordable homes to police and other first responders, and taking more care with the distribution of housing vouchers. MORE Rehab to Rent strategies "With an estimated 1 million or more homes for sale and in foreclosures than we have owner-occupant buyers for today, our country needs more buyers interested in becoming landlords so we can remove for-sale signs from these properties and speed a broader housing market recovery," according to a new brief by David Abromowitz and John Griffith published in American Progress (and circulated by PBP partner the National Housing Conference). They suggest that rather than offer an across the board $10 billion in tax subsidy as suggested by some, the federal government should direct the $10 billion as targeted subsidy to give mission-driven nonprofit groups a prominent seat at the bidding table. Most nonprofit mission-driven organizations lack the necessary capital to outbid all -cash, for-profit investors, but with a source to level the playing field that would change substantially. MORE Georgia Lawmakers Co-Sponsor Bill in Congress to Allow Struggling Homeowners to Tap Retirement Accounts to Make Mortgage Payments  US Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Rep. Tom Graves (R-GA) recently introduced the Home Act, a bill that would allow struggling homeowners to withdraw funds from their retirement accounts tax free to pay their mortgages. Borrowers could pull as much as $50,000 from their retirement account or one-half of the current value of their account, whichever is smaller, and avoid the typical 10% tax penalty. The money must be put directly toward the mortgage within 120 days of withdrawl. MORE LEGISLATION
PBP Local Government Sector Share Code Enforcement Practices
This month's WebEx meeting of the PBP Local Government Sector focused on code enforcement and featured best practices and strategies shared by Rob Hosack, Community Development Director for Cobb County. Cobb County has had success in utilizing nuisance abatement procedures to obtain demolition orders (issued by the superior court) to take down foreclosed and abandoned aging properties primarily in older, established neighborhoods. PowerPoint Audio
AJC Reports on Efforts to Tighten DeKalb County Code Enforcement Newly revamped code enforcement procedures in DeKalb County allow code enforcement officers to post a violation at the property or send one in the mail (for years, the system called for officers to personally notify violators and get them to sign citations). Then, if the property owner doesn't show up in court, the judge can still find them guilty in their absence and levy a fine of up to $500. If an officer serves the citation personally, a violator still faces a fine up to $1,000 and up to 120 days in jail, according to report in the AJC. MORE
Foreclosures Impact the Neighbors Left Behind
Homeowners in hard-hit Metro communities are left trying to keep property values from falling any further than they already have....Neighborhood homeowners associations are faced with difficult decisions and cost-cutting measures to maintain communities during the foreclosure fall-out. MORE Fall Affordable Housing Conference - Tuesday, October 25 G-STAND together with its partners, the Atlanta Housing Association of Neighborhood-based Developers and the Georgia Affordable Housing  Corporation, will host the 10th Annual Fall Affordable Housing Conference in Atlanta at the State Bar of Georgia Conference Center. Conference sponsors include RBC Bank and Georgia Power. Make plans now to attend the 10th Annual Fall Affordable Housing Conference on Tuesday, October 25 from 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. at the Conference Center of the Georgia Bar Association in Atlanta. REGISTER NOW!
Sincerely Susan Adams Piece by Piece Coordinator 
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