February 2012
Urban Over Here ≠ Loss of Rural Freedom Over There
On the national level, the Tea Party has been viewed by some as a conservative movement concerned with rolling back changes over the past few decades for social and economic justice. On the local level, though, community developers and planners may notice more…
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Everyone Saves with Short Sales
Short sale--in which a home is sold for less than the balance due on the mortgage but the lender accepts that as payment in full--is a far better alternative for homeowners. And also for the lenders. That's not just an…
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I’m a Recovering Funder
I spent 10 years as a corporate foundation program officer in New York City. I managed our $5 million community development grants portfolio, which directly supported some 75 nonprofits. After this, I went on to run the nonprofit intermediary charged…
Obama’s Wrong Note on Foreclosures
As Election Day nears, President Obama is regaining his populist mojo. His State of the Union address was mostly pitch perfect, evoking core American themes of opportunity and optimism, and calling for "an economy where everyone gets a fair shot,…
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Report: Spending Half of Income on Housing
According to the new Housing Landscape 2012 report from the Center for Housing Policy, nearly one in four working households spends more than 50 percent of its income on housing. Let that sink in for a moment. The new report,…
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Raising Rents on the Poorest of the Poor?
Lest we get totally lost in the (important) debates about principal reduction and restructuring the secondary market, Barbara Sard of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities reminds us that housing stability and opportunity needs to go beyond debates about…
Preserving New York’s Preservation Companies
Like many states over the past several years, New York State has been implementing fiscal austerity measures to rein in expenses in the face of struggling revenues. But what will be left of New York communities when the dust settles,…
On Foot and Wheels, in Town and in the Country
Surprise! People in small towns like to walk and ride bicycles nearly as much as people in cities do. That's the word from a report just released by the Rails to Trails Conservancy. Since the statistics show the small town citizens…
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Partnership Potential: Land Banks and Community Land Trusts
In October 2011 a coalition of Philadelphia-based community, faith, and labor groups under the umbrella of the Campaign to Take Back Vacant Land, the Women's Community Revitalization Project, and Shelterforce publisher National Housing Institute sponsored a symposium at Philadelphia City…
The Healthy Nonprofit Ecosystem
In the halcyon days of my youth, way back in 2006, I went to New Orleans. I traveled there at the behest of the corporation that I worked for at the time, as we had made a $2 million disaster…
Property Owners as Stewards of a Community Vision
How can property owners become the stewards of a carefully crafted local vision? Milwaukee's "Queen Anne," one of the few Queen Annes in such a historic setting, is owned by an organization that has thrived on that same block for…
Connecticut’s Affordable Housing Commitment
Earlier this month, Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy announced a proposal that would increase the state's commitment to affordable housing by appropriating more than $330 million to renovate and create affordable, supportive and congregate housing. Couple that with last year's effort,…
Finally! Relief for Latino Homeowners
Nearly a year and a half after news broke of widespread wrongful foreclosures at the hands of the nation’s five largest servicers, the federal government and 49 of 50 attorneys general have reached a solution that will deliver $25 billion…
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$25B Foreclosure Settlement Lays Groundwork to “Fix a Broken System”
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has unveiled the long-awaited $25 billion agreement with the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers—the result of a 14-month investigation by all 50 state attorneys general following widespread instances of false or incomplete documentation used to…
AGs Inch Closer to Foreclosure Deal
A $26 billion robosigning settlement between states and the nation's largest banks could be announced as early as Thursday, according to several news sources, potentially providing relief to homeowners affected by the burst housing bubble and the bureaucratic deficiencies that…
Remaining Hurdles Dampen Positive Changes to the Housing Market
Over the past month, the Obama administration has achieved several Home for Good victories for homeowners and consumers. Among them was the bold move Obama made to appoint the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to defend consumers from…
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Interpreting Segregation
The Poverty & Race Research Action Council has received a number of inquiries on the widely publicized report from the Manhattan Institute, "The End of the Segregated Century," that looks at declining levels of racial segregation in American cities and…
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Sh*t NY Slumlords Say
The folks at the SurRealEstate blog (the organizing and policy department of the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board) poked some fun at slumlords using the Sh*t My ____ Says" meme: more
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New York AG Sues Banks Over MERS
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has sued Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and JPMorgan Chase over the banks' use of the mortgage database MERS, resulting in widespread "deceptive and fraudulant" foreclosure filings in the state and in federal courts,…
Less Pasture, More Concrete in Rural Future?
"From concrete to pasture." That's how one might characterize my relocation a couple years ago from Boston to Central Virginia. Boston is a place where a carefully landscaped pocket park nestled amid multi-family dwellings and shops represents the height of…
National Housing Institute
