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Photo courtesy of Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago In the Toolbox Welcome to the May edition of In Focus, a monthly update newsletter brought to you by HousingPolicy.org! This issue highlights foreclosure prevention – a topic of pressing importance to families and communities nationwide. We recently completed a major expansion of the foreclosure prevention section on HousingPolicy.org. The new section includes more examples and case studies of promising state and local foreclosure prevention practices, including refinance products with flexible underwriting requirements and policies designed to assist renters who live in foreclosed properties. Explore the expanded foreclosure prevention section on HousingPolicy.org to see what your community can do to help homeowners and renters keep their homes. Learn more about foreclosure prevention | "Out Loud" Podcast HousingPolicy.org's monthly Out Loud podcast series focuses on noteworthy housing policy solutions being implemented at the state and local levels. This month's edition of Out Loud takes an in-depth look at foreclosure prevention. Special guest Andrew Jakabovics, associate director for the Economic Mobility Program at the Center for American Progress, outlines the foreclosure crisis across the country and describes how communities are handling the ever-increasing problem. Also in the episode, Michael van Zalingen, director of homeownership services for Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, discusses how Chicago is helping families keep their homes. [Photo credit: Ralph Alswang] Listen to the podcast Solutions in Action Foreclosure prevention efforts tend to focus on owner occupied homes, yet approximately 20 percent of all properties facing foreclosure – including single-family homes and multifamily buildings – are occupied by renters. In April 2008, the State of Minnesota passed legislation to protect families living in rental units in the case of foreclosure. To ensure families have adequate time to find a new home, Minnesota now requires that landlords provide tenants with 60 days written notice before having to vacate due to foreclosure. The same law limits a landlord’s ability to rent out a unit that is going into foreclosure. Visit Foreclosure-Response.org to read more about this solution | |
| What's Your Story? Next month, the National Housing Conference (NHC) will honor former Enterprise Community Partners chairman Bart Harvey at the NHC 2008 "Housing Person of the Year" Gala and will also host a special policy symposium entitled, "Green Affordable Housing: How to Grow It In Your Community." As part of the celebration, next month's newsletter will focus on green affordable housing. We want your help identifying effective policies and innovative projects to highlight in the newsletter and HousingPolicy.org. How has your community tried to encourage green building practices in the construction and rehabilitation of affordable homes? Has your community established any policies or programs to incentivize green building for affordable homes? Share your story! Join HousingPolicy.org Did a colleague forward this newsletter to you? Keep In Focus coming to your inbox by joining HousingPolicy.org today! Sign up to keep receiving this newsletter and to receive periodic updates about the National Housing Conference and the Center for Housing Policy. Sign up here | Special Announcement The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced that it has selected finalists for new funding to boost local rental preservation efforts. The 21 cities, counties, and states – chosen from 80 applicants – will compete for up to $5 million each in funding to support innovative state and local rental housing preservation efforts. Individual awards will be announced in early 2009. These grants and loans are part of MacArthur's $150- million Window of Opportunity initiative, which seeks to preserve directly 300,000 affordable rental homes across the country. The Foundation's website includes a list of finalists that highlights the innovative approaches these states and localities are taking to preserve affordable rental homes. Click here for more details | |
Featured Gallery Entry: Flint Gateway Initiative, Flint MI Photo courtesy of PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. |
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