Archive for the ‘Foreclosure’ Category

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CEDAM Update – Speaker of the House and new Foreclosure Corps Director

Monday, August 1st, 2011

Meeting with Jase Bolger

CEDAM meets with Speaker of the House

On July 20, CEDAM’s Executive Director, Jamie Schriner Hooper, CEDAM’s Board Secretary, Peggy Vaughn Payne, and State Farm Public Affairs Specialist, Nick Metzger met with Speaker of the House, Jase Bolger. CEDAM staff spoke with Speaker Bolger about CEDAM, its members and its programs; he was particularly interested in the Michigan AmeriCorps Foreclosure Corps. State Farm presented a $10,000 grant disbursement for support for the Comprehensive Community Development Institute at the meeting as well. CEDAM is honored to partner with State Farm for this important training program. State Farm awards CEDAM 10,000 Grant (PDF).

Welcome Allison Treppa!

Allison joins CEDAM staff tomorrow as the new Foreclosure Prevention Corps program director. Allison’s experience includes working as the Director of Marketing and Communications at the Michigan Nonprofit Association, where she managed the Association’s web presence and print and online materials, as well as supervised the marketing and communications team. Allison has also worked for Michigan Campus Compact. During this time she launched the Michigan Service Scholars program, a  300-member AmeriCorps education award program. We are excited to add Allison’s expertise to the Foreclosure Prevention Corps program and look forward to working with her from here on!

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Renters Struggle to Afford Housing in Michigan

Friday, May 6th, 2011

[This post is a press release issued by Katie Fritz, Policy and Program Manager at CEDAM.]

Lansing, MI – Working at the $7.40 minimum wage in Michigan, a family must have 1.9 wage earners working full-time – or one full-time earner working 77 hours per week – to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment.

This is according to a national report, Out of Reach 2011, that was jointly released this week by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), a Washington, D.C.-based housing policy organization, and the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan (CEDAM). The report provides the Housing Wage and other housing affordability data for every state, metropolitan area, combined non-metropolitan area, and county in the country.

The current Housing Wage for Michigan is $14.32. The Housing Wage is the hourly wage a family must earn – working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year – to be able to afford the rent and utilities for a safe and modest home in the private housing market. Michigan’s Housing Wage has increased 27% since 2000.

The typical renter in Michigan earns $10.95, which is $3.37 less than the hourly wage needed to afford a modest unit. As a result, an estimated 59% of renters in Michigan do not earn enough to afford a two-bedroom unit at the Fair Market Rent.

“Despite the decline in the housing market, fair market rents have increased in the last decade,” said Jamie Schriner-Hooper, Executive Director of CEDAM. “As we work to rebuild the economy, we need to ensure that low- and moderate-income workers can afford to live in our communities.”

The gap between wages and rent is especially important given Michigan’s high foreclosure rate. “Homeownership is more financially accessible today, but only to those families with good credit,” explained Schriner-Hooper. “After a foreclosure, households need safe, decent, affordable rental housing options while they get back on their feet.”

This year, Michigan is the 30th most expensive state in the nation for renters, more expensive than Ohio and Indiana and similar to Wisconsin. The National Housing Wage is $18.46 in 2011.

Additional Facts about Michigan:

  • From 2005-2009, 25% of Michigan households rented their homes. Today that percentage is expected to be higher due to foreclosures and the tighter credit market.
  • Rent and utilities for a modest two-bedroom apartment cost more than $800 in eight Michigan counties: Grand Traverse, Wayne, Lapeer, St. Clair, Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw and Livingston. To afford this, minimum-wage earners need to work over 80 hours per week.
  • In the 37 least expensive counties, fair market rent for a 2BR apartment is $595. However, in several of those counties the average renter can only afford half that amount.
  • To find out what your personal housing wage is (how much you need to earn per hour to afford your rent and utilities), visit http://nlihc.org/oor/oor2011/calc.cfm.

For additional information, including data for your area, visit http://www.nlihc.org/oor/oor2010.

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Voices of AmeriCorps – Suzanne Elzinga

Tuesday, April 26th, 2011

[This post is part of a blog series highlighting the viewpoints of AmeriCorps Michigan Foreclosure Prevention Corps members serving at different foreclosure host sites around Michigan. Click here for information about the program.]

Being involved in AmeriCorps and the foreclosure prevention effort has taught me many valuable lessons that I hope to carry with me in the future. Through my AmeriCorps service, I have come to realize that I have a great passion for poverty reduction and awareness. Much of the poverty in our area comes from average middle class people. Many of these people are builders, construction workers, landscapers, and small business owners. Because of the bad economy in an area that is already based mostly on seasonal income, these people have no work. Some might tell people to “just go out and get a job,” but many tradespersons have no other skills, and other jobs are scarce.

On Wednesday, February 2nd, the United Way in Charlevoix/Emmet counties held its annual “Project Connect” resource fair. This event provided many free services such as haircuts, tax preparation, help with applying for assistance and benefits, and job search assistance. There was also free clothing, bags of groceries, personal care items and diapers and toys available. Many of the attendees are now homeless or living in conditions that they would have not even imagined 2 years ago. Fifteen percent of last year’s 679 attendees were homeless, 62% were unemployed, and 58% of the attendees were there for the first time. This event is paid for by donations of cash, time, products, and services by local businesses, charities, and residents.

I feel that our communities are seeing the effect of the economy and realizing that our residents who are poor, homeless, or struggling are no different from anyone else. There is less judgment out there today, and the community is coming together to help our residents in need. I am so proud that I am part of this community and am able to share resources and ideas to assist people in times of need.

 

The Foreclosure Corps team. Thank you for reading the blog series!

 

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Voices of AmeriCorps – Steve Sedwick

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

[This post is part of a blog series highlighting the viewpoints of AmeriCorps Michigan Foreclosure Prevention Corps members serving at different foreclosure host sites around Michigan. Click here for information about the program.]

I applied for the AmeriCorps position for one simple reason: I needed a job. After thinking more about the position I realized that it was a great opportunity. Luckily, I was chosen for the position. I am a college student taking full-time credit hours, and this position gives me the flexibility I need to be able to succeed in college and at my agency Northeast Michigan Affordable Housing. I am a criminal justice major, but I am the Foreclosure Intake Specialist AmeriCorps Member at my agency. While my position doesn’t directly relate to the profession that I am going into I still am gaining wonderful experience. I get to work with people and help them, which I enjoy doing.

As a Foreclosure Intake Specialist AmeriCorps Member I take intakes, set up client folders, add clients to a master client list, mail out paperwork and information packets, and organize client folders. My position is a key part for my agency. In addition to intake duties, I have also been put in charge of marketing and making new resources for my agency. It has been hard work, but I have learned a lot. I have enjoyed my experience so far, and I am happy that we have been able to help so many people in the short time that I have been here. I look forward to serving the rest of my year!

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Bills Curtail Foreclosure Redemption Period When Most Needed

Monday, April 18th, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PDF Copy of Press Release
April 18, 2011
Contact: Neeta Delaney, MFTF Co-Director
517-937-079 Delaney@cedam.info

Lansing, MI: The House Banking and Financial Services Committee is considering a package of bills (HB 4542-4544) introduced to temporarily extend for one year the sunset of Michigan’s 90-Day Pre-Foreclosure Negotiation Law. The bill will also disproportionately and permanently shorten the time Michigan homeowners have to redeem their homes or find another place to live once a sheriff’s sale has occurred. This move would make Michigan the first state in the nation to shorten the time that homeowners have to save their homes during this historic economic recession. It also comes at a time when there are early signs that unemployment and job creation are turning around, making it more likely that homeowners will either qualify for loan modifications to avoid foreclosure and/or be able to redeem or sell their homes is they have a reasonable time to do so.

Specifically, the package of bills includes a permanent curtailment of Michigan’s post-sheriff’s sale redemption period from 6 months to 3 months – effectively cutting in half the period of time Michigan homeowners have to redeem their homes or find another place to live. According to an early April survey of HUD and MSHDA certified foreclosure counselors and legal service attorneys around the state, the primary reason at-risk homeowners don’t qualify for or are denied a permanent loan modification is job loss or a reduction in income. Among those who will be hurt by a permanent curtailment of the redemption period are those who are currently unemployed or underemployed and need a reasonable amount of time to find work and to refinance or sell their home.

Among those testifying in opposition to the bills before the House Banking and Financial Services Committee on April 13 was The Michigan Foreclosure Task Force (MFTF), a broad-based statewide coalition addressing the foreclosure crisis. According to MFTF Co-Director Neeta Delaney, “We would like to see the 90-Day Pre-Foreclosure Law improved and extended for at least a year, but can’t support the current package of bills to permanently reduce the time Michigan homeowners have to stay in their homes. Shortening the period of time homeowners have to find work and possibly save their homes just doesn’t make sense.” Delaney adds, “the collective experience of our broad-based membership taught us that reducing the redemption period will not only hurt struggling homeowners, it will also hurt neighborhoods by increasing the number of vacant properties and lowering the surrounding home values, further depressing the housing market and stalling economic recovery.”

Backers of the bill argue that it is only fair to reduce the post-foreclosure redemption period by 90 days because the homeowner is receiving 90 days on the front end by way of the temporarily extended 90-day Pre-Foreclosure Negotiation Law. However, under the proposed law, the reduction of the post-foreclosure redemption period does not sunset with the extension of the 90-Day pre-foreclosure law. It’s a permanent reduction. After 2012, homeowners will not have the benefit of the 90-Day law on the front end or the benefit of a 6-month redemption period on the back end. Additionally, under this proposed law, even homeowners who do not opt-into the 90-day pre-foreclosure process will have their redemption period cut in half.

The Michigan Foreclosure Task Force was formed in 2007 and has championed legislative causes, such as Michigan’s 90-day mandatory mediation law, as well as pioneered the Michigan Foreclosure Prevention Corps, which has provided 40 AmeriCorps members to local foreclosure counseling and prevention programs. The Task Force has a diverse membership including counseling agencies, legal services attorneys, financial institutions, state and local officials and others working together to expand foreclosure counseling efforts in Michigan and mitigate the neighborhood impacts of concentrated foreclosures. The Michigan Foreclosure Task Force is supported by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, Bank of America, the Kresge Foundation, CEDAM and others. For additional information, please visit www.cedam.info/foreclosure.

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