HOUSING UPDATES!

Good afternoon! I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend and enjoyed the fantastic weather we had, as summer’s heat is back. We’ve been busy at the Coalition, as this year’s legislative session is drawing to a close. See Carley’s legislative update below for all the details. Chris and Regina are out of the office this week on well-deserved vacations, but the rest of the staff is hard at work.
We’re excited to announce that registration for this year’s Annual Affordable Housing Conference has opened! Together with CICCAR and NCHFA, we’ll again be hosting the conference at the Raleigh Convention Center on September 16-17th.

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.

On July 27th, we’re happy to partner with NC Legal Aid in offering a Fair Housing and Reasonable Accommodations/Modifications Workshop in Greensboro.

As we’ve mentioned before, the Coalition has had an ongoing relationship with UNC’s School of Social Work Department. Over the years, we’ve had students intern at the Coalition, which has been a positive experience. We’re happy to announce that our two interns from last year have secured jobs in partner organizations. Alex Bidot is now with Orange County Habitat for Humanity and Jessica Parker is with the Northern Moore Family Resource Center. We wish them the best and look forward to working with them in the future. We’d also like to officially welcome Kareema Whitfield to the Coalition, who will be interning for the summer.

Congratulations to DHIC, DCLT, and Self-Help on the grand opening of Maplewood Square Apartments in Durham! This is a beautiful development for fixed-income seniors. It was wonderful to witness the community’s support at last week’s celebration.

Also, thank you to the Durham Housing Coalition for inviting Chris and Anne to speak at the Durham Affordable Housing Summit last Thursday. Durham is making great progress in regards to affordable housing.

Thanks again for your continued support.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

State
Homeowner and Homebuyer Protection Act

Thank you for contacting your House members about SB1015! Yesterday, SB1015, The Homeowner and Homebuyer Protection Act passed the NC House by a vote of 89 – 23, thanks to your action!

Today, the Senate will vote whether to concur with the House version of the bill. There has been considerable pressure to weaken or kill the bill. Let’s keep that from happening! Please call your NC Senator and urge him/her to vote YES on SB1015! Click here to find your legislator's contact information. If the bill passes today and becomes law, it will prohibit foreclosure rescue scams and add greater consumer protections regarding “rent to own” contracts and contracts for deeds.

Thank you again for your hard work and firm support of this legislation!

State Foreclosure Prevention Program
SB 1216 has passed favorably out of the House and will likely pass the Senate this afternoon. SB 1216 will extend and expand the State Foreclosure Prevention Program that is administered by the Commissioner of Banks office. The program, set to expire in October, was put into place in 2008 to address the influx of foreclosures due to subprime lending. Since its inception, the program has connected thousands of North Carolinians facing foreclosure with HUD-certified housing counselors and helped over 4,000 people avoid foreclosure. If passed, SB1216 will extend the program to 2013 and open it to all types of home loans, not just subprime. The program would be funded by a fee on foreclosure filings.

National

National Housing Trust Fund: H.R.4213

The U.S. Senate ended the June work period and left for the July 4th recess without acting on H.R. 4213, the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 (the extender bill). However, two elements of the bill, extension of unemployment benefits and the homebuyer tax credit, were decoupled from the larger bill and brought up separately. Both the Senate and the House passed the extension of the tax credit, but the Senate once again failed to get enough votes to preempt a filibuster of the bill extending unemployment benefits.

The Senate could take up a version of H.R. 4213, which includes a number of extensions of business-related tax credits as well as the funds for the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) and three important provisions related to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program after the July 4th recess. All these provisions are paid for by closing several tax loopholes that benefit certain business interests. Some pro-business groups have indicated they are less interested in the “extenders” passing if they come at the cost of increased taxes.

Housing advocates are urging House and Senate leaders to attach the NHTF to whatever legislative vehicle is sure to pass.

Comments Invited on CRA Regulations
The agencies that regulate banks and thrifts request written or oral comments on whether and how they should revise their regulations to better serve the Community Reinvestment Act’s goals. Public hearings will be held in four cities between July 19th and August 17th. Written comments may be submitted through August 31st.

National Homeless Plan Released
Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness is intended to serve as a roadmap for action by federal agencies along with local and state partners in the public and private sectors, to end veterans and chronic homelessness by 2015, and to end homelessness among children, family, and youth by 2020.