The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) could not meet to conduct business yesterday because it could not get a quorum of board members. As a result the agency is compelled to schedule an “emergency” board meeting for next Monday at Dallas Love Field. All of this could have been avoided had Governor [...]
Read more
Archive | June, 2009
Brownsville CDC director discusses recent changes in border low-income housing and colonias
June 26, 2009
Comments Off
Homebuyers buying new houses through a CDC in Brownsville, Texas have an average income of $19,000. Low-income border families, who a decade ago would have bought lots and built homes through their own labor in a colonia, have lately been buying homes from many of the former colonia developers. Lately, these former colonia developers have [...]
Read moreTexans worried about their economic condition, housing concerns high on list
June 25, 2009
Comments Off
A new public opinion poll found that 37 percent Texans say their family’s economic situation is worse than one year ago and only slightly more than half are “very confident” that they can pay the rent or mortgage. The Third Annual Texas Lyceum Poll, conducted from June 5th-June 12th, 2009, focused on Texans’ attitudes on [...]
Read moreDoggett/Henneberger diavolg on consumer protection legislation for mortgage borrowers in the Texas Legislature
June 24, 2009
Comments Off
Robert Doggett worked on behalf of TxLIHIS during the past session of the Texas Legislature, One of his main focus areas was trying to gain some reasonable protections for consumers facing mortgage foreclosure. In my first experiment with a diavolg I asked Doggett about what was proposed in the legislative session to deal with consumer [...]
Read moreBo McCarver’s weekly housing news compilation – 6/23/2009
June 23, 2009
Comments Off
A surge of mortgage defaults is forecasted as the housing industry slowly sinks further into the general recession. The Texas market has been slower to react but now approximates national averages. A new Harvard study suggests the “echo boomers,” children of baby boomers, will create new market demands and help lift the economy. For a [...]
Read moreWhat would Daniel Boone do? The dilemma of imposing state regulations to improve housing in Texas colonias
June 23, 2009
Comments Off
“We continued not in a state of indolence, but hunted every day, and prepared a little cottage to defend us from the winter storms.” – Daniel Boone As the Southwest Airlines flight climbed upward from the El Paso Airport it banked southeast over the area known locally as the Lower Valley. The rich soils along [...]
Read moreFort Worth housing fund crisis shows need for more public oversight
June 23, 2009
Comments Off
Once again the lack of oversight of a city housing department leads to waste and abuse and puts the federal funds in jeopardy. The Fort Worth Weekly reported on May 19 that Jerome Walker the long-time deputy director of Fort Worth’s housing and economic development department was fired on May 7. Now the city’s funding [...]
Read moreTexas LIHTC corruption case should embarrass us into taking action
June 22, 2009
2 Comments
I don’t know who, if anyone, is guilty in the Dallas Low Income Housing Tax Credit public corruption case that is set to get underway in federal court today. But I do believe that all of us who work in affordable housing in Texas are little guilty for not speaking up louder to demand a [...]
Read moreTexas colonia problems need to be put back on the front burner
June 21, 2009
2 Comments
Eight to ten years ago the colonias were subject to public attention and policy action. Funds were appropriated to provide water and sewer services, model subdivision standards were enacted to restrain the development of substandard colonias, legislation was passed to restrict exploitive contract for deed sales, state agencies worked to convert contracts for deeds into [...]
Read moreI want to believe the President’s financial consumer protection plan will work, but it won’t
June 20, 2009
Comments Off
President Obama adopted a fighting stance against the financial services industry today in his weekly radio address. He promised that his proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) would protect Americans by banning unfair practices and enforcing strong new consumer protections. I want to believe. But having studied the details of the president’s plan for financial [...]
Read moreAn in-depth look: financial reform called for a major overhaul but did not get one
June 20, 2009
1 Comment
In pondering the Obama administration’s Financial Regulatory Reform: A New Foundation plan announced this week I find myself agreeing with New York Times columnist Joe Nocera, who wrote on June 18: “… the Obama plan is little more than an attempt to stick some new regulatory fingers into a very leaky financial dam rather than rebuild [...]
Read moreGovernor Perry vetos three affordable housing bills
June 19, 2009
Comments Off
Texas Governor Rick Perry has vetoed three affordable housing bills passed by the Texas Legislature. HB 3983 by Rep. Rodriguez (D-Austin) and Sen. Watson (D-Austin) – Relating to the imposition of property taxes on the residential homesteads of low-income and moderate-income persons. The bill makes technical changes to the Homestead Preservation District law, passed by [...]
Read moreJudge Sotomayor said to have been a strong low income housing advocate
June 19, 2009
Comments Off
The New York Times reported today that President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court was a passionate low income housing advocate as a board member of the state housing finance agency for New York. Time and again, Sonia Sotomayor challenged her fellow board members at the State of New York Mortgage Agency, asking pointed questions [...]
Read moreAddressing low-income families’ housing aspirations is essential to financial reform
June 19, 2009
2 Comments
You don’t have to work long in the field of affordable housing to find out how strong the desire is among many low income families to own a home. “How to I get a loan to buy a house,” is one of the most frequent questions I get asked. Often the question comes from people [...]
Read moreThe Nouveau Poor foreclosure crisis slights the poor
June 18, 2009
Comments Off
You can’t help these days being struck by the amount of government and media attention heaped on the plight of people facing home foreclosure. I Googled “housing counseling” to see what advice was available to a low income person about finding subsidized rental housing. I had to search through several pages of listings of home [...]
Read moreGetting closer to finding out why so many Texas hurricane survivors were denied housing assistance
June 17, 2009
1 Comment
The pieces are slowly coming together to answer the question, why were so many applications for FEMA housing assistance in the wake of Hurricane Ike denied by FEMA? While more than 82,000 households affected by Ike have received almost $371 million in FEMA funds for repairs, more than 730,000 families requested help from FEMA, meaning [...]
Read moreBo McCarver’s weekly housing news compilation – 6/16/2009
June 16, 2009
Comments Off
While market analysts search vainly for glimmers of hope in the housing industry, foreclosure rates continue to soar. Efforts to help sinking mortgage holders require time and much paperwork, ideally done by a specialist. Meanwhile, scammers claiming those special skills emerge everywhere and take several thousand dollars from desperate homeowners while not improving their situations. [...]
Read moreAn encouraging sign of understanding by new FEMA administrator
June 16, 2009
Comments Off
I liked what I heard from new FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate in his June 9 testimony before the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response. In response to a question from Homeland Security Committee Chair Bennie Thompson (D-MS) regarding evidence that FEMA trailers cost upwards of $75,000 each, Administrator Fugate responded… Mr. Chairman, [...]
Read moreKatrina Cottage pilot program woes due to failure at all levels
June 15, 2009
1 Comment
How many times do we have to hear the story before it sinks in? Let’s sum up the government response to the plight of impoverished hurricane survivors… The federal government is slow and bungling. The state government is slow and would rather spend money on economic development rather than helping poor disaster victims get back [...]
Read moreRoundup of housing related bill action affecting TDHCA by the Texas Legislature
June 14, 2009
1 Comment
I am finally getting around to compiling the list of all the bills that passed and those that did not in the recent session of the Texas Legislature. In today’s post are the bills that affected TDHCA. First is a list of those that passed, followed by those that were filed but did not pass. [...]
Read moreTX Legislature seeks better homes, faster repairs for hurricane survivors
June 13, 2009
Comments Off
It has been almost a year since Hurricane Ike’s and Hurricane Dolly’s floodwaters rose above streets, and above doors and windows, destroying countless Texas homes and affecting the lives of an estimated one million Texans. Today, far too many homes still remain in need of repair. Amid the destruction, the agony of families, and the [...]
Read moreGalveston Long Term Recovery Plan should focus on what it takes to allow survivors to return home
June 12, 2009
2 Comments
Lots of hard work has gone into the production of the Galveston Long Term Recovery Plan. The citizens behind this work are to be commended for their efforts. I carefully reviewed the housing portions of the plan and offer the following constructive criticisms. Unfortunately, as a blueprint for the reconstruction of housing, the plan falls far [...]
Read moreRental housing most vulnerable in Hurricane Ike shortchanged in reconstruction plan
June 11, 2009
Comments Off
Renters and rental housing were particularly hard hit by Hurricane Ike. Yet renters and rental housing needs are being shortchanged by local officials as they make decisions on how to allocate federal CDBG dollars for hurricane rebuilding. Thanks to the research of graduate students in community and regional planning at the University of Texas at [...]
Read moreThe “Ike Dike” is no excuse for diverting money from rebuilding homes
June 11, 2009
Comments Off
The June 4 issue of the Wall Street Journal reports that Houston leaders are pushing a plan to protect against future hurricanes by building a giant dike with movable barriers across Galveston Bay. The dike could easily cost in excess of $4 billion. As the Gulf Coast braces for hurricane season, Houston-area leaders are pushing [...]
Read moreTexas to receive an additional $1.7 billion for hurricane rebuilding
June 10, 2009
Comments Off
U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced HUD is allocating $3.7 billion in disaster aid to 11 States. HUD has awarded Texas $1,743,001,247 of new funds for Hurricane Ike rebuilding, bringing the total awarded to Texas to $3,057,991,440. As I have pointed out repeatedly, the State of Texas’ plan for administering these funds is [...]
Read moreHow Ike and future hurricanes impact Black households disproportionately
June 10, 2009
Comments Off
African-American households reside in areas most vulnerable to hurricanes in the greater Galveston Bay area. Census tracts in which 60% or more of the population is comprised of African-American households are in the areas that were hardest hit by Hurricane Ike and remain most vulnerable to future damage in even low-grade tropical storms and category [...]
Read moreBo McCarver’s weekly housing news compilation – 6/9/2009
June 9, 2009
Comments Off
Housing stories were scarce this week as national economic and international events dominated the news. The business indicators remained gloom, however, with the housing market stifled by conservative lending practices by large banks. As they wait the general economy to recover, most builders are idle. For a pdf version of the full stories, plus contextual [...]
Read moreA confession: we’ve learned firsthand the reasons for disaster rebuilding delays
June 9, 2009
Comments Off
I have to fess up. Having pointed out in yesterday’s blog the unacceptably slow pace of rebuilding homes destroyed in the Texas hurricanes, it’s only right that I point out the delays that we ourselves have encountered in a disaster housing rebuilding project we are associated with. We call the project Texas Grow Homes. It’s [...]
Read moreTexas home rebuilding for hurricane survivors unacceptably slow
June 8, 2009
Comments Off
As we approach the four year anniversary of Hurricane Rita it’s appropriate to take stock of how well the efforts are going to help the hurricane survivors rebuild their homes. Karen and I had the opportunity to gather data and assess things in preparation for her testimony before the disaster response subcommittee of the US [...]
Read moreKaren Paup’s testimony on post hurricane housing rebuilding in Texas
June 7, 2009
Comments Off
Note: Karen Paup was invited to testify before a subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security Committee on post-hurricane housing disaster disaster recovery in Texas. Here are her abbreviated oral remarks. Testimony of Karen Paup, co director, Texas Low Income Housing Information Service, before the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery of the Committee on Homeland [...]
Read moreAuthors
-
Bo McCarver’s housing news clips for May
- Mitt Romney at private fundraiser: I might eliminate HUD – The Washington Post
-
Bo’s housing news clips: Study finds zoning segregates lower-income students in lower-scoring schools.
-
Texas LIHTC housing program rocked by second earthquake in two months
- Low-Income Housing Program Compels Building in Poor Texas Areas – NYTimes.com
