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Margert in the News
Banks Benefiting More
than Homeowners in Foreclosure Fight
The Full Story
08/15/10
Banks will get the
biggest benefit from an Obama administration housing program designed to help
unemployed homeowners escape foreclosure.
Housing experts expressed concern that banks, not homeowners, will be helped by
the White House's $3 billion funding infusion — $2 billion from the Treasury
Department and another $1 billion from the Housing and Urban Development
Department — going to those states hit hardest by the housing market crash and
unemployment.
"Giving money to the
banks isn't what the government should be doing right now," said Dean Baker,
co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
"I'm not a big fan; it's ill conceived," he said.
The basic principle is to help struggling homeowners, but with so many people
underwater on their mortgages, the new funding is unlikely to do much good,
Baker said.
"You need to make sure that someone benefits from the program other than banks,"
he said.
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Margert Community Corporation is a New York State Division of
Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) Neighborhood Preservation Company, a HUD
and HPD approved housing counseling agency and a partner with NEDAP and the
Center for NYC Neighborhoods in protecting homeowners from foreclosure and
predatory lending.
To learn about the Making Home
Affordable Program and to speak with a HUD-approved housing counselor for free.
please contact Margert Community Corporation, or visit
MakingHomeAffordable.gov
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One in 10 mortgage holders
faces foreclosure
The Full Story
 By
Alan Zibel -
Published: Aug 26, 2010
WASHINGTON — One in 10 American households with a
mortgage was at risk of foreclosure this summer as the government's efforts to
help have had little impact stemming the housing crisis.
About 9.9 percent of homeowners had missed at least one
mortgage payment as of June 30, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday.
That number, which is adjusted for seasonal factors, was down
slightly from a record-high of more than 10 percent as of April 30.
In a worrisome sign, the number of homeowners starting to
have problems with their mortgages rose after trending downward last year. The
number of homes in the foreclosure process fell slightly, the first drop in four
years.
More than 2.3 million homes have been repossessed by lenders
since the recession began in December 2007, according to foreclosure listing
service RealtyTrac Inc. Economists expect the number of foreclosures to grow
well into next year.
The number of Americans missing payments and falling into
foreclosure has followed the upward trend in unemployment, which has been near
double digits all year and has shown no sign of dropping soon.
"Ultimately the housing story, whether it is delinquencies,
homes sales or housing starts, is an employment story," Jay Brinkmann, the trade
group's top economist, said in a statement. "Only when we see a consistent
increase in employment will we see an increase in sales and starts, and a
sustained improvement in the delinquency numbers."
There was some modestly encouraging news. The percentage of
mortgage borrowers receiving foreclosure notices fell slightly to 4.57 percent
in the April-to-June quarter. That's down from 4.63 percent in the
January-to-March period and the first drop in four years.
And the percentage of loans receiving their first notice of
foreclosure also dipped. That fell to 1.1 percent in the second quarter from 1.2
percent in the first quarter.
Besides forcing people from their homes, foreclosures and
distressed home sales have pushed down on home values and crippled the broader
housing industry. They have made it difficult for homebuilders to compete with
the depressed prices and discouraged potential sellers from putting their homes
on the market.
Government efforts haven't made much of a difference. Nearly
half of the 1.3 million homeowners who have enrolled in the Obama
administration's main mortgage-relief program have been cut loose through July,
the Treasury Department said last week. The program is intended to help those at
risk of foreclosure by lowering their monthly mortgage payments.
Roughly 32 percent of those who started the program have
received permanent loan modifications and are making their payments on time.
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Homelessness Up 50% In
New York City
The Full Story
Monday, 30 Aug 2010,
MYFOXNY.COM
If you think you've been seeing more people sleep on city
streets, statistics back up the perception. The homeless
population living on New York City streets has gone up 50
percent in the past year, according to city statistics
reported by the
HellsKitchenLife.com blog. The New York City
Department of Homeless Services conducts a
yearly survey of the streets of the city to count the
number of homeless who are not in shelters. The HOPE survey
was conducted in January 2010.
The number of homeless in the borough of Manhattan was up
47 percent in the past year, according to the count. The
2010 count had 1,145 people living in the streets. That is
up 368 from 2009.
Brooklyn had the biggest increase of any borough. It saw
a homeless increase of more than 100 percent in 2010.
More than 1,000 people now live in New York City's subway
system -- up 11 percent in the past year.
While the numbers are alarming, they are still at
historically low levels and the ratio of homeless to the
general population remains low compared to other major
cities, according to the city. The HOPE survey showed a 29
percent drop in homelessness from 2005. DHS works to
prevent homelessness and also provides short-term emergency
shelter. The agency seeks to help homeless individuals move
from shelters back to permanent housing.
For example, the
DHS says it provided temporary, emergency shelter to
8,230 families with children -- equating to 25,204 adults
and children in July. But the agency says shelters have seen
fewer families. From October 2009 through June 2010,
shelters had 11 percent fewer children, who are now back in
homes of their own.
Margert Community Corporation is a
HUD approved housing counseling agency that delivers a wide
variety of housing counseling services to
homebuyers,
homeowners, low- to
moderate-income
renters,
and the
homeless. The primary objectives
of the program are to providing comprehensive assistance to
persons who want to rent, buy or already own a home, and who
seek to be responsible renters, buyers and owners.
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State Integrates Agencies to Form New Organization:
New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR)
The Full Story
New York's Top
Housing Official Announces Consolidation of Housing Agencies to Form Single
New Organization: New York State Homes and Community Renewal
Unprecedented Integration Aligns Programs,
Services and Leadership, Cuts Costs, Maximizes Ability to Create Quality
Affordable Housing and Vibrant Communities Across the State
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 22, 2010
The State's main housing agencies have been integrated under a single
leadership structure to form a new organization well-equipped to respond
to the growing need for affordable housing in New York. The new
organization, New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR),
consolidates the state's myriad housing and community renewal programs,
cuts costs, increases efficiency and maximizes New York's ability to
create quality affordable housing and safe, vibrant communities.
Governor Paterson said: "At the beginning of the year I announced
the consolidation of numerous state agencies to reduce costs and
preserve scarce resources in the face of a $9 billion budget deficit.
The merger of the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) and
nyhomes, will not only save taxpayer dollars, it will increase
transparency and efficiencies and strengthen our ability to improve the
quality of life from one end of New York to the other. At a time when
poverty and homelessness are on the rise across the country, our role in
creating homes that people can afford is crucial. I'm confident HCR will
serve as a national model for building and preserving affordable homes
and improving communities and local economies."
Brian
Lawlor, Commissioner and CEO of HCR said: "Governor Paterson's
directive to integrate the state's housing agencies and resources under
a single leadership structure is good public policy long supported by
industry partners and advocates. By aligning all of the state's housing
and community renewal programs and staff, HCR will cost-effectively and
efficiently create more opportunities for decent affordable housing and
healthy communities. HCR will also adopt new strategies to improve our
investments and our accountability. It will strengthen the partnerships
that are critical to the success of our programs and cultivate new ones.
And it will conduct business in a transparent manner that emphasizes
accountability and enhances New York's national reputation as a leader
in the field of affordable housing and community revitalization."
Programs Aligned Under Three Departments
The new HCR aligns all of the state's housing programs in a logical
way to enhance decision making and ensure that program resources are
being coordinated and targeted to maximize resources.
The new alignment takes similar programs that had in the past been
administered by the Housing Trust Fund Corporation (HFA), the State of
NY Mortgage Agency (SONYMA), the Housing Finance Agency (HFA), the
Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC), and DHCR and organizes them into
three units led by one manager and a dedicated staff:
- Finance and Development unit will align all
programs that fund the development of affordable housing, including
Low Income Housing Tax Credit programs, tax exempt and taxable bond
finance programs, single family loan and Capital awards programs.
- Housing Preservation will include all the
programs that maintain and enhance the state's portfolio of existing
affordable housing. This includes the Office of Rent Administration,
the Section 8 program, Asset Management and the Weatherization
Assistance Program.
- Community Renewal - will include all the
programs geared toward community and economic development, job
creation and downtown revitalization, including the NYS Community
Development Block Grant Program, NY Main Street program, Affordable
Housing Corporation, Neighborhood Stabilization Program and the
Neighborhood and Rural Preservation programs.
Administrative and support services, including Communications, Legal
affairs, Administration, Fair Housing, Policy Development, and
Accounting and Treasury will fall within the Office of the President.
The Mortgage Insurance Fund will continue to be administered as an
independent office reporting directly to the Commissioner/CEO.
This new model is designed to cut red tape and simplify the delivery
of programs, eliminate duplicative efforts and increase accountability
and impact.
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full story
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