Piece by Piece
IN THIS ISSUE
FHA Updates 203(k)
After Foreclosure, New Legal Fights
Hot Market = More Cash Purchases
Bank Settles Complaint
Mortgage Finance Reform
Crisis Continues for People of Color
HUD: Minority Homeseekers Face Discrimination
HUD: Best Practice
SF Fed on Affordable Housing
ULI Terwilliger Center Releases New Survey
Calendar Items


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Piece by Piece Update

June 25, 2013

  

  

Greetings! 

  

Please take note of the following news and calendar updates:

 

OCC Publishes Informative Overview of 203(k) Program: Specific Benefits to Nonprofits and Lenders Outlined

 

(Courtesy of OCC): One of the most promising yet underutilized loan resources in the affordable housing sector is the FHA 203(k) program. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency recently released a new, concise overview of the program outlining specific benefits for lenders and nonprofits.  The FHA 203(k) program combines home purchase and rehabilitation financing as well as loans to rehabilitate and refinance a borrower's current residence. The program is a useful product in today's market that FHA-approved lenders can offer to individuals, nonprofit organizations, and government development agencies interested in purchasing foreclosed properties in need of repair. The new OCC report provides an overview of this program for lenders that may be considering expanding their product lines with 203(k) loans. It also outlines how FHA 203(k) loans would be evaluated under the Community Reinvestment Act.  MORE

 

 

After Foreclosure, Homeowners Face New Legal Fights

  

(Courtesy of Housing Matters and Washington Post): Lenders are filing new motions in old foreclosure lawsuits and hiring debt collectors to pursue leftover debt, plus court fees, attorneys' fees and tens of thousands in interest that had been accruing for years. It's an aftershock of the foreclosure crisis, and most homeowners don't know it's coming.  "Deficiency judgments are absolutely devastating to the foreclosed home buyer both as a matter of immediate financial impact and income tax consequence," said John Mixon, a recently retired professor at the University of Houston Law Center who has studied deficiency judgments. Deficiency judgments are allowed in 40 of 50 states.   In Georgia, lenders have legal rights to pursue deficiency judgments for up to 34 years following a default.  MORE

 

Hot Housing Market Drives More Cash Purchases

 

(Courtesy of Housing Matters) : In some housing markets, the competition for homes is so tight that prices are rising and many deals are requiring cash offers. In Los Angeles, for example, nearly a third of first-quarter home sales were cash purchases. The trend makes it more difficult for first-time buyers, who generally rely on mortgages, to participate in the market.  MORE

 

Wells Fargo Settles Foreclosed Homes Complaint

 

 

(Courtesy of AJC): Wells Fargo and fair housing groups across the country, including in Atlanta, have settled a complaint that the bank maintained foreclosed homes in predominantly white neighborhoods while neglecting homes in majority minority areas.   The bank will provide $27 million to 19 cities to promote home ownership and neighborhood stability in predominantly minority communities, according to the National Fair Housing Alliance.  MORE

 

Mortgage Finance Reform Moves Up the Agenda

 


(Courtesy of Ethan Handelman, NHC): 
With bipartisan legislation expected from Senators Corker (R-Tenn.) and Warner (D-Va.), we might actually see this Congress 

reform our housing finance system.  NHC President Chris Estes has stressed that affordable housing providers should focus on the need for 1) a federal backstop that is explicit and paid for, 2) broad access to affordable mortgage credit for low- and moderate-income families and 3) support for affordable housing built into the system.  NHC's ongoing advocacy through their Housing Mortgage Working Group and in coalitions aims to ensure that affordable home mortgages, rental housing, housing counseling, and related issues are a core part of whatever new finance system emerges. 

 

Foreclosure Crisis Continues, Particularly for People of Color

 

(Courtesy of G-STAND News & Notes): A new report from the Alliance for a Just Society finds that the foreclosure crisis continues across America, but particularly for people of color. The study shows that communities with a majority population of people of color faced a greater loss of wealth than predominately white communities in 2012. With 13.2 million mortgages still underwater, the Alliance for a Just Society argues that the foreclosure crisis continues.  MORE

 

HUD Study Finds Minority Homeseekers Face Discrimination

 

(Courtesy of Liza Getsinger, NHC): Many housing advocates, researchers, and practitioners expected the findings from the recent release of HUD's 2012 Housing Discrimination Study: Housing Discrimination Against Racial and Ethnic Minorities. The study found that well-qualified minority homeseekers are told about and shown fewer homes and apartments than whites, while the most blatant forms of discrimination have declined since the passage of the 1968 Fair Housing Act. At the release event, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan spoke of the importance of remaining vigilant around housing discrimination issues in both the rental and homeownership markets.   FROM HUD     FROM NY TIMES

  

BEST PRACTICE: Home Repair Assistance for Veterans in West Virginia

 

(Courtesy of HUD's THE EDGE publication): A new program in West Virginia will help veterans, active service members, and surviving spouses finance accessibility and energy efficiency improvements to their homes. The program provides forgivable loans and is the first of its kind to be administered by a housing authority in the state.  The new program administered by the Fairmont-Morgantown Housing Authority (FMHA) is helping veterans in five WV counties. Through the home rehabilitation program, FMHA offers loans for qualifying home improvements to veterans, active military service members, or their surviving spouses who earn less than 80 percent of the median income for each county. An eligible home, including manufactured homes, mobile homes, and townhomes, must be in a one- to four-unit property and must be the loan applicant's primary residence.  MORE 

  

San Francisco Fed's Latest Issue of "Community Investments" Focused on Affordable Housing

 

(Courtesy of Liza Getsinger, NHC) : The spring issue of Community Investments, published by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, poses questions to practitioners working in the field of affordable housing about the industry's future in a constrained fiscal environment. The issue presents an overview of key challenges facing affordable housing post-recession and innovative models designed to help the industry adapt in this new fiscal climate. They also explore how public-private funding partnership models can help streamline the development process and encourage more efficient construction of safe and stable affordable homes. Issue features pilot initiative in the Bay Area between Enterprise Community Partners and Waypoint to purchase, renovate and lease 100 homes in Oakland. MORE

 

ULI Terwilliger Center Releases New Survey of Views on Housing Transportation and Community

 

(Courtesy of ULI): ULI's Terwilliger Center for Housing, in partnership with the ULI Infrastructure Initiative, set out to discover where America stands in 2013 when it comes to views on housing, transportation and community.  The survey highlights how some of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. population-Gen Y, Latinos, and renters-are driving changing attitudes about where and how we live.  MORE

  

CALENDAR ITEMS

Share your calendar items with us! Please email Susan Adams at [email protected] with news of your upcoming events.

 

July 24;  9:00 AM to 3:00 PM - Save the date!  The Atlanta Housing Authority is Celebrating Homeownership in July, Join some of the industry's leading strategists and speakers as they discuss the state of the market and its impact on quality affordable housing. Loudermilk Center - 40 Courtland Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30303. 

 

September 9 - 12;  2013 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference, Philadelphia, PA.  Registration deadline for scholarships is July 2. For registration and more details on conference agenda click here.  

 

September 16-18, the National Housing Conference presents Solutions 2013: National Conference on State and Local Housing Policy is designed to be useful to both newcomers and experienced practitioners and policymakers by offering a comprehensive, highly interactive educational experience over the three-day conference. The conference will include opportunities for peer-to-peer learning, mobile workshops, facilitated discussions, panel discussions, networking receptions and breakfasts, and plenary sessions. MORE
 

September 21 - Neighborhood Summit:  Celebrating One Region: Sharing Ideas, Places and Spaces, will feature workshops, curbside consulting and exhibitors that will focus on our region's connectivity and similarities while "celebrating" our rich diversity and gifts.  To register:  www.NeighborhoodSummit.org

 

Sincerely,

Susan Adams

Piece by Piece Coordinator  

 

 

andp brown