NCHC in the Triangle Christmas Tree Challenge!

This year the North Carolina Housing Coalition entered the Triangle Christmas Tree Challenge. The Challenge is a new holiday tradition that allows nonprofits to communicate their message and win prizes. For the Challenge, non-profits were invited to decorate a Christmas tree at the American Tobacco Campus that will be displayed until January 2, 2011. There will be six prizes awarded for the trees that are deemed “best decorated.” The winners are determined in two ways: fans texting in their vote and a team of judges. Fans will choose the top three prizes by texting their votes starting at 8pm on Friday December 3^rd through midnight on December 16^th. The judges will select an overall favorite and the winners will be announced on Friday December 17^th.

Anne Ehlers, NCHC’s Development and Communications Coordinator, put her creativity to work and designed a beautiful silver and blue Christmas tree for the Coalition. Along with Anne, Regina Green, Sonia Ensenat, Barbara Goettsch, Chris Estes, and John Niffenegger decorated the tree on December 2^nd. Visit the Diamond View Park at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham and see the Christmas tree decorated by the team!

Please help support the North Carolina Housing Coalition by voting for our tree! You can text as many times as you want between 8 pm on Friday December 3^rd through midnight on December 16^th. To vote for our tree text TREE30 to 46988.

Sometimes you just need to hear good news…

With all the bad news surrounding the increasing amount of foreclosures in North Carolina and around the nation, sometimes it is beneficial to hear some good news. Here’s a summary of some of the recent news articles on foreclosures. The Charlotte Business Journal recently published an article stating that NC residential foreclosures in October are up 40 percent from a year ago. About 4,818 NC homes were in the process of foreclosure in October which is up 13% from September. The article also talks about how the numbers could have been even higher if not for the freeze on residential foreclosures due to the robo-signing controversy.

Now let’s hear a little good news. WCNC.com published a more uplifting article. A woman on the verge of losing her home got another chance due to a little help from the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA). The woman purchased the house and then fell on some hard times, with health problems and decreased hours at her work. She tried to negotiate with her bank, but instead the bank increased her payments and then a few months later started the foreclosure process. NACA began work on a loan modification with the woman. With NACA’s help, the bank agreed not to sell the house and re-modified her loan agreement with a lower fixed rate.

How about another one? In an article published by the Charlotte Observer, it describes how the Charlotte School of Law helped local homeowners. In 2007, the Charlotte Observer ran a series about Beazer Homes who had violated federal lending rules and through their aggressive sales tactics contributed to a high foreclosure rate in many of the Beazer Home developments in the Charlotte area. In 2009, the United States Attorney’s office charged Beazer Homes with mortgage and accounting fraud. Beazer Homes accepted responsibility for the charges and agreed to pay restitutions to the victims. The article goes on to talk about how the Charlotte School of Law students and faculty have been working for free to fill out the restitution fund claims. Since April they have helped 416 households and families have reported receiving restitution checks of up to $12,000. There may be thousands more families to help and the law school plans to continue their aid until the 2014 deadline.

During this Thanksgiving season, we should be thankful for all the agencies and programs across the state that are helping homeowners during this foreclosure crisis.

Click on the word "article" in each paragraph to read the full articles.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving

Since Thanksgiving is next week, I’ve been thinking about what I have to be thankful for over the past couple days. A recent report by the NC Justice Center brought to light the fact that I have one more thing to be thankful for, my home. According to their numbers, there are thousands more North Carolinians who are filing for foreclosure than there were in 2009.

This month, North Carolina is projected to break last year’s foreclosure filing record. The North Carolina Justice Center reports that North Carolina is on the path to have 70,476 foreclosures this year. This number far outshadows the total number of foreclosures that happened in 2009, which were 63,286. NC is projected to break last year’s total number of foreclosures next week, on November 23rd.

The counties with the highest amount of foreclosure filings are Mecklenburg, Wake, Guilford, and Forsyth. (See statistics listed below.)

In order to stop this record number of home foreclosures we need all levels of government to make investments in quality affordable housing, especially rental units. Investments in affordable housing will not only give more families real options for safe housing, but also will stimulate local economies by creating new construction jobs.

Next year I hope we can be grateful that this unfortunate housing trend has been reversed and we see a growing number of families in safe, healthy, and affordable homes.

TOP 10 COUNTIES BY TOTAL PROJECTED FORECLOSURE FILINGS FOR 2010
Mecklenburg (11,713)
Wake (5,800)
Guilford (4,360)
Forsyth (2,532)
Union (2,132)
New Hanover (1,979)
Durham (1,900)
Gaston (1,828)
Brunswick (1,801)
Cumberland (1,698)

TOP 10 COUNTIES BY PER CAPITA PROJECTED FORECLOSURE FILINGS FOR 2010
Dare (2.76 percent of individuals)
Brunswick (1.63)
Currituck (1.45)
Mecklenburg (1.29)
Clay (1.16)
Cherokee (1.13)
Union (1.06)
Pender (1.05)
New Hanover (1.01)
Jackson (.97)

For a link to the full report click here

Is renting still affordable?

I rent my house. In fact, I plan to be a renter for the next several years. As a young professional, I think my participation in the rental market is fairly common. Buying a house is daunting, especially when you don’t know where you want to live or whether you can afford a down payment. I had figured that most people who were like me and renting, were able to do so in a way that was safe financially. However, I was shocked to discover how wrong I was.

This fall, the U.S. Census Bureau released a report which stated that slightly over half of the people who rent, 51.6% to be exact, spend more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities. This trend hurts the lowest income renters the hardest.

At the same time, the amount of people renting has continued to grow. Across the United States, now 34.1% of families rent the houses, apartments, or mobile homes they live. Our housing market is feeling some strain. Tension continues to build as more and more consumers look for rental properties, and our unemployment rates continue to be high. It’s no wonder why so many people can’t find affordable housing.

So, what’s the solution? The National Low Income Housing Coalition suggests that one avenue to address this problem is to properly fund the National Housing Trust Fund. If Congress put forth $1.065 billion to fund the program (which they established in 2008), more people would have access to housing vouchers, communities would have more money to build housing, and more housing could be rehabilitated. This is one simple way we could move affordable housing forward in our country and help working families, or young people starting out, get back on their feet.

For more information click here

Is Homeownership a Foundation for Success?

In the past homeownership was assumed to be more beneficial to children than rental housing. Now there is research demonstrating otherwise.

Several recent research studies have found that the benefits of homeownership on children were overstated. In the Center for Housing Policy’s Insights from Housing Policy Research series, Maya Brennan reviews new research on the effects of homeownership on children and discusses what policy implications this research might have.

Research studies in the past have found connections between homeownership and positive outcomes such as higher test scores, higher graduation rates, fewer behavioral problems, lower rates of teenage parenthood, fewer problems related to allergies and asthma, and better physical health. New research shows that it does not really matter whether a child lives in an owned or rented home. Other factors including residential stability, neighborhood quality, school quality, and the parents themselves are more influential for a child’s well-being.

Researchers are reassessing this data by using sophisticated study design and analytic methods, identifying and controlling for other possible contributing factors, and reviewing the selection of populations to be studied. After accounting for the differences between homeowners and renters, homeownership has little effect on children’s educational outcomes, children’s behavior, and children’s health. Instead, home environment and neighborhood characteristics influence test scores and achievement. The research also found that parents who choose homeownership have personality traits that are beneficial to children’s education. This may lead researchers to incorrectly conclude that homeownership is the reason for the benefits.

Policymakers have used the earlier body of research to promote homeownership for low and moderate-income households. These homeownership programs may not be yielding the intended benefits. Although, more research needs to be done to determine what types of housing policies will work best to improve children’s outcomes, current research implies that housing policy should be re-balanced to equally value both rental housing and permanent forms of homeownership.

Click here to learn more about this research and read the full article.

Your Support Matters!

We recently received a call from Donald, a retired veteran in a wheelchair living on a fixed income. The distress in his voice was palpable. He’d been living with his daughter for 13 years but a series of unfortunate events meant he now had to find a new home.

He needed:
• an apartment with rent and utilities less than $400 per month
• a deposit equal to the rent
• wheelchair accessibility
• proximity to a grocery store, his doctor’s offices and a pharmacy

With a little creative networking, we connected Donald with an agency that helped pay his deposit and a housing development that matched his needs. When he called back to let everyone know he had found a place you could hear him smiling and he said, “y’all have been so great. You’ve done so much to help me, I owe you a Christmas present.”

Everyone at the Coalition smiled too. Of course, he doesn’t owe anyone a Christmas present, it’s what we do. But, we couldn’t do this work without your support.

Please make a personal contribution today and help us continue to connect clients with the help they need and create lasting change. All North Carolinians
deserve a decent, safe place to lay their heads at night.

Many thanks and warm regards,

Ben Collins
Board Chair, North Carolina Housing Coalition

Click here to donate online!

Housing Matters 8.17.2010

It's busy here as we're processing conference registrations and getting our panelists together to finalize workshop presentations. Two important notes on the Affordable Housing Conference - please make room reservations at the Sheraton, and please nominate someone you think should be recognized as volunteer and professional of the year in the world of affordable housing. Click here for more information.

In the last issue of Housing Matters, I mentioned that I spoke on the News & Views radio program hosted by Chris Fitzsimon of NC Policy Watch. To listen to the interview, click here.

Special thanks to Griff Gatewood, who is leaving CASA in Raleigh for Duke Divinity School. Griff did a great job at CASA working on the front lines of providing housing options for persons with disabilities. Though we're sorry to see him go, we wish him all the best as he moves on to this new chapter in his life and career.

Many times during the course of two weeks, I attend meetings covering a wide array of issues connected with housing. Last week, I gave two presentations that connected transportation, housing, and sustainable communities. The first was to the LUCID working group of the Triangle J Council of Governments. This group brought together area land-use and transit planners for a discussion on the importance of transportation access to affordable housing. The other meeting was NC-DHHS' event, “NC Active Living Leadership Forum.” The Governor’s cabinet secretaries, senior staff, and many legislators attended, and there was a high-level discussion on what makes healthy, sustainable communities. I was pleased to be able to bring the issues of equity and housing for low- and moderate-income people into their conversation.

Tomorrow, I'm headed to Philadephia for a NeighborWorks Symposium on Sustainable Development and Affordable Housing. Next week, I'll be in Durham for a state-level conversation led by the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation on racial wealth disparities in our nation and state.

NCHC Annual Campaign
By now, all of you should have received an attractive mailer from us asking for your financial support. We'd like to thank everyone for supporting the Housing Coalition as organizational members. However, we rely on your personal contributions as well. Our goal is to expand our capacity to support local housing advocacy efforts across the state that will promote more affordable housing development in more integrated settings. I want to thank Anne Ehlers for her great work on the Campaign! Please note that the clear envelope is recyclable! To donate online, please click here.

NC 2010 Affordable Housing Conference – Sept. 16-17th, Raleigh
Thanks to all of you who've already registered for this year’s Annual Affordable Housing Conference. The Conference is several weeks earlier this year so be sure to register now to get the lower registration rates. Together with CICCAR and NCHFA, we’ll again be hosting the conference at the Raleigh Convention Center on September 16-17th. Click here for all the information and to register. There are still rooms available at the Sheraton hotel.

Each year at our Annual Conference, we recognize those individuals who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to advocate for affordable housing. We're asking for nominees for our Volunteer and Professional of the Year Awards. Winners will be recognized at the Coalition’s luncheon on the second day. Please nominate someone you think is deserving. Click here for more details.

NC Housing News
As mentioned in last week's Housing Matters, the NC Department of Commerce, Division of Community Assistance will be hosting Fair Housing Roundtables across the state to get public input on the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing in NC. It's very important that your stories be recorded so we can highlight areas that need attention, and eventually establish a Fair Housing Enforcement Center in NC. Please plan on attending one of these roundtables listed in the Announcements below.

Thanks again for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Chris Estes
Executive Director

Housing Matters 8.3.10

I can’t believe it's August already! Typically, this has been one of our slower months, but that's definitely not going to be the case this year, as we prepare for the Annual Affordable Housing Conference and many other meetings across the state!

Last week, I had the pleasure of presenting to a Just Economics leadership class in Asheville. Just Economics takes grassroots leaders through a series of workshops to empower them to be more effective and active advocates for their communities around the issue of living wage jobs and sustainable community development.

I also spoke on the News & Views radio program hosted by Chris Fitzsimon of NC Policy Watch. I've been a regular guest on his show, and this time we discussed the current housing market, foreclosures, the need for more affordable rental housing, the Homeowner Protection Act, and our upcoming Affordable Housing Conference. We will post a link to the interview next week on our website, Facebook page, and Blog.

I also appeared on the St. Augustines’ morning radio program hosted by George Hausen, Director of Legal Aid of NC and fair housing advocate Octavia Rainey. We discussed how failing to integrate affordable housing in fast-growing areas is the underlying issue to the school assignment question for Wake County Schools.

New NCHC Program: Manufactured Home Communities Advisors!
I'm excited to announce that the NC Housing Coalition has been selected by Resident Owned Communities USA as a Technical Assistance Program Affiliate. We'll receive a $50,000 grant from the Corporation for Enterprise Development to work with residents of manufactured home communities to convert their parks into resident-owned co-operatives and their homes into appreciating assets. We've hired Kevin Drexel from Asheville to lead this multistate (NC, SC, TN, KY) effort. Kevin spent two years working with us on converting a park in Burnsville, NC to a community land trust in order to preserve the land and homes of the residents.

We will be featuring this new program in a workshop at our conference. If you are a local community organization or local government official, we hope you'll attend to learn more about how you can work with Kevin on this effort.

NCHC Annual Campaign
By now, all of you should have received an attractive mailer from us asking for your financial support. We'd like to thank everyone for supporting the Housing Coalition as organizational members. However, we rely on your personal contributions as well. Our goal is to expand our capacity to support local housing advocacy efforts across the state that will promote more affordable housing development in more integrated settings. I want to thank Anne Ehlers for her great work on the Campaign! Please note that the clear envelope is recyclable!

NC 2010 Affordable Housing Conference – Sept. 16-17th, Raleigh
Thanks to all of you who've already registered for this year’s Annual Affordable Housing Conference. The Conference is several weeks earlier this year so be sure to register now to get the lower registration rates. Together with CICCAR and NCHFA, we’ll again be hosting the conference at the Raleigh Convention Center on September 16-17th. Click here for all the information and to register. There are still rooms available at the Sheraton hotel.

Each year at our Annual Conference, we recognize those individuals who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to advocate for affordable housing. We're asking for nominees for our Volunteer and Professional of the Year Awards. Winners will be recognized at the Coalition’s luncheon on the second day. Please nominate someone you think is deserving. Click here for more details.

NC Housing News
As mentioned in last week's Housing Matters, the NC Department of Commerce, Division of Community Assistance will be hosting Fair Housing Roundtables across the state to get public input on the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing in NC. It's very important that your stories be recorded in the Analysis of Impediment so we can highlight areas that need attention and eventually establish a Fair Housing Enforcement Center in NC. Please keep an eye on our website, as we'll be posting more information as it's available.

Thanks again for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Chris Estes
Executive Director

NC SAVE$ Energy

One of our ongoing goals at NCHC is to promote energy efficiency measures that reduce utility costs, preserve and improve NC's affordable housing stock, and reduce carbon emissions. That's why we are a member of the NC SAVE$ Energy Coalition. NC SAVE$ Energy (HB 1050) is a proposal by consumer, social justice, housing, and environmental groups to create an independent (non-utility) energy efficiency program for North Carolina. As introduced in the North Carolina House, this bill will enable residents all over the state to participate the economic and environmental benefits of energy efficiency. Programs could include weatherizing homes, appliance upgrades, and efficiency technology such as timers for lights and a/c and other cost-effective activities. For more information, visit www.ncsavesenergy.org and check out NC SAVE$ Energy's new video.

What Wall Street Reform Means for Housing...

On July 21, 2010 President Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, sweeping legislation that covers a broad range of financial and housing policy issues. The Act contains several key provisions of importance to homeless and low income Americans.


•The law extends the expiration date for the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (PTFA) from the end of 2012 to the end of 2014. PTFA ensures that tenants living in foreclosed properties can remain in their housing for as long as possible after the property owner / landlord is foreclosed upon and a new party takes ownership of the property. The Law Center hopes to make PTFA permanent, but is extremely pleased in the short term to see it extended.

•The law also clarifies an ambiguous provision of PTFA, explaining that the date of a "notice of foreclosure" means the date on which title to a property is transferred by a court order or through a non-judicial foreclosure process. Since in many cases tenants can only use PTFA to remain in their homes for 90 days after a notice of foreclosure, it was important to clarify that earlier notices to tenants did not start the 90 day clock after which a tenant would have to move. The Law Center anticipates that this provision will help keep tenants in their homes for longer periods of time, but will continue to monitor implementation of the law, to ensure that it is being vigorously enforced.

•In addition, the law provides $1 billion in new funding under HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), a program that sends money to help rebuild housing in blighted communities. This new funding includes an ongoing requirement that 25% of NSP funds be used to benefit low income people.

•The law creates an Emergency Homeowners' Relief Fund at HUD, designed to provide temporary mortgage assistance to homeowners, to help avoid foreclosures. This program is funded at $1 billion.

•And finally, the bill sets up a HUD program to fund civil legal services to prevent foreclosure among homeowners and eviction of tenants in foreclosed properties. Unfortunately, the law does not provide money for this new program, meaning that it will not get off the ground until funds are appropriated by Congress.

NC HOUSING UPDATES...

Settling back into work after taking some time off is always difficult, but at least the heat keeps me from wishing I was outside! I was glad to see some rain finally come our way, and hopefully more is in store to avert another drought.

This week, I will be presenting to the Triangle J Council of Governments, Council on Aging group, as Triangle J prepares to apply for a HUD Sustainable Communities Grant. Next week, I will be in Asheville to present to the Just Economics grassroots leadership class on the housing and financial challenges currently facing our economy.

NC Legislative News
Our state legislators returned to their home districts after several long days during the final stretch of the 2010 session. While many of the structural budget problems were left for next year’s Assembly, we're happy to report that several key housing-related pieces of legislation passed.

SB1015, The Homeowner and Homebuyer Protection Act, passed on the final day in a slightly weaker fashion than originally introduced. Working in coalition with other advocacy groups such as the NC Justice Center and the Center for Responsible Lending, we were able to fight off several attempts to water down the bill.

SB 1216 also passed and will extend and expand the State Foreclosure Prevention Program that is administered by the Commissioner of Banks office. This bill extends the program through 2013 and opens it to all types of home loans, not just subprime. See below for more details on these two bills.

Because of the hard work of Carley and our lobbyists at the Policy Group, no legislation passed that adversely affected affordable housing or impacted property tax assessments on LIHTC developments. Thanks to Steve Metcalf and his team at the Policy Group and to Carley Ruff for their great work at the General Assembly.

NC 2010 Affordable Housing Conference – Sept. 16-17th, Raleigh
Thanks to all of you who have already registered for this year’s Annual Affordable Housing Conference. The Conference is several weeks earlier this year so be sure and register now to get the lower registration rates. Together with CICCAR and NCHFA, we’ll again be hosting the conference at the Raleigh Convention Center on September 16-17th. Click here for all the information and to register.

Each year at our Annual Conference, we recognize those individuals who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to advocate for affordable housing. We are asking for nominees for our Volunteer and Professional of the Year Awards. Winners will be recognized at the Coalition’s luncheon on the second day. Please nominate someone you think deserving. Click here for more details.

NC Housing News
Next week, on July 27th, we’re happy to partner with NC Legal Aid to offering a Fair Housing and Reasonable Accommodations/Modifications Workshop in Greensboro. Click here for the details and to register.

Thanks again for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Chris Estes
Executive Director