In Case You Missed It: Can Lease Purchase Save Us?
Last week’s webinar, “Can Lease Purchase Save Us?,” sponsored by NHI/Shelterforce and NeighborWorks America, provided an in-depth look at the lease purchase model that allows potential homebuyers to rent their […]
Waiting for Details: NJ’s Foreclosure Relief Corp.
New Jersey has roughly $300 million in a housing trust fund that is currently unused, so on first glance, a state senator's proposal to create a “Foreclosure Relief Corp.” that […]
The New Bottom Line: A Coalition Built to Last
The New Bottom Line, an alignment that is highlighted in the Fall 2011 issue of Shelterforce, recently received the “Most Valuable National Coaltion” honor from The Nation as part of […]
Do As I Say, Not (Necessarily) As I Do
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has issued some guidance to banks about the “obligations and risks related to foreclosed property.” The memo, released last week, asks banks […]
BPC’s Housing Commission Sounds Promising…
The DC-based think tank Bipartisan Policy Center announced the full member roster of its housing commission last week. The announcement comes two months after former HUD secretaries Henry Cisneros and […]
Cleveland Has a Foreclosure Problem?
You might have caught 60 Minutes flying over Cleveland last Sunday for a quick look at the city’s challenges stemming from rampant foreclosures and vacant properties. If you did and […]
Occupy Giving Organizers a “Shot in the Arm”
The Occupy movement took a welcome turn in the last few weeks when it began organizing around the issue of foreclosures. For a populist movement that aims to represent the […]
“When Houses Become Widgets”
“What can cities do when limited-liability entities start buying up distressed properties as investments and then ignore basic maintenance?” asks Stephen Clowney, an assistant law professor at the University of […]
Does the Current Reliance on Credit Scores Deny Deserving Applicants?
Last week, we asked readers if credit scores were too much of a driver in home loan approval. You answered overwhelmingly that yes, credit scores prevent often worth applicants from […]
Occupy Our Homes
As readers of this blog likely know, today is the national kick-off for a new phase of the occupy movement intended to tackle the problem of vacant bank-owned homes and […]
Can Nonprofits Use Volunteerism to Achieve a Sustained Increase in Capacity?
Last week, we asked readers if volunteerism could play a factor in growing an organization’s capacity. Respondents offered a mixed assessment to the level at which volunteerism can make an […]
Criminalizing Homelessness
Last week, when we asked if homelessness should be a more prominent Occupy Wall Street issue, we pointed to an article by author Barbara Ehrenreich that looked at homelessness from […]