Now here is some really good news for Texas, and especially for the survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. As part of the Supplemental Appropriations Act for 2009 Congress appropriated $80 million for Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers to be administered by public housing authorities (PHAs) in areas impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. HUD [...]
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Archive | August, 2009
Bo McCarver’s weekly housing news compilation – 8/25/2009
August 30, 2009
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This story is repeated so often its headline is no longer news: more US homeowners find themselves “underwater” as the value of their houses plummet below their mortgages. The worsening job market fuels more foreclosures. In Galveston, hapless FEMA is removing unused trailer homes that were emplaced so long after Hurricane Ike that homeless residents [...]
Read moreTen principles should guide state administration of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program
August 21, 2009
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The Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program is the largest affordable housing production program in Texas. At the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service (TxLIHIS) we are expanding our efforts to advocate on behalf of low income families and communities in Texas concerning rules and policies of the LIHTC program. The following is a [...]
Read moreDallas Housing Authority misfires in war on crime
August 18, 2009
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The Dallas Housing Authority’s board of directors (DHA) adopted a new policy this week to require public housing tenants to register their overnight guests with the apartment manager. According to the DHA the goal is to reduce crime in the housing developments which housing authority officials says is mainly caused by “visitors” to public housing. [...]
Read moreBo McCarver’s housing news compilation – 8/18/2009
August 18, 2009
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Across the nation, struggling homeowners who are behind in paying taxes on their homes are now faced with huge fees from companies that have bought their tax accounts from counties. While the policy rids counties of troublesome accounts, it has dire repercussions on communities hard hit by the recession. Meanwhile, renting returns to vogue as [...]
Read moreORCA’s public hearing for $1.7 billion disaster relief program crashes
August 13, 2009
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Today’s web based public hearing conducted by ORCA to accept public testimony on the $1.7 billion Hurricane Ike/Dolly CDBG Disaster Relief Texas state plan crashed. Among others, I dutifully registered in advance and followed the participation instructions provided by ORCA to log into the meeting. Public hearings are required by the federal government as a [...]
Read moreWho is to blame in the Dallas tax credit corruption scandal?
August 13, 2009
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In response to a recent blog post I received the following comment from an anonymous reader… Offering a bribe to a community group is not nearly as disgusting as a sham community group insisting on a bribe in order to support a tax credit project, then funneling some of the take to the elected officials [...]
Read moreWhen the price of community support got too high, housing tax credit developer turned to FBI
August 12, 2009
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It’s like a pornographic movie… the Dallas housing tax credit trial… everyone gets screwed. In today’s trial testimony the Dallas Morning News reports… Busch [federal prosecutor] plays a Feb. 16, 2005, call between [Low Income Housing Tax Credit Developer and FBI star witness Bill] Fisher and [Black State Employees Association of Texas (BSEAT) official Darren] Reagan. Fisher [...]
Read moreGovernment witness in Dallas corruption trial testifies he paid for community support for tax credit deal
August 11, 2009
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Low income housing tax credit developer and star government witness in the Dallas public corruption trial Bill Fisher admitted in testimony in federal court today that he paid $55,000 to a community organization to support his application to the state for low income housing tax credits. Fisher’s testimony is reported in the Dallas Morning News’ [...]
Read moreBo McCarver’s housing news compilation — 8/11/2009
August 11, 2009
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Years after Hurricanes Rita and Ike, FEMA has been ordered by a federal judge to publish rules for homeowners to apply for repair funds. The inept performance of an agency almost still-birthed under George Bush’s stewardship lingers-on. Meanwhile, federal funds idle as thousands of Texans living on marginal means are unable to repair their homes. [...]
Read moreFederal court orders FEMA to reconsider denial of home repairs to Hurricane Dolly survivors
August 10, 2009
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Good news for the low income Hurricane Dolly survivors who were denied home repairs by FEMA! The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas Brownsville Division issued a ruling on August 6 in the case of La Union del Pueblo Entero v. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The Plaintiffs brought suit in [...]
Read moreLandmark housing desegregation lawsuit settled — Texas cities next?
August 10, 2009
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A Westchester County suit in federal court, charging local governments failed to “affirmatively further fair housing” has been settled on terms favorable to those who challenged racial housing segregation in the majority white communities. The New York Times is reporting that, “Westchester County officials have entered into a landmark desegregation agreement that would compel the [...]
Read moreGovernor Perry’s disaster rebuilding plan is the latest disaster to strike Texas
August 8, 2009
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We share the state auditor’s concerns in a report just released about the unacceptable length of time it takes the councils of governments (COGs) and the state agencies (ORCA and TDHCA) to deliver hurricane assistance to Texas families and communities. The state auditor’s report examined the COGs’ and state agencies’ performance in managing roughly half a [...]
Read moreAdvocates offer recommendations to improve the Texas Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program
August 7, 2009
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The Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program is the program that produces, by far, the largest number of affordable housing units in Texas each year. The tax credits are awarded to housing developers by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) through a competitive process. The rules for that process are set out [...]
Read moreBo McCarver’s weekly housing news compilation – 8/4/2009
August 4, 2009
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Like trying to push a rope, the Obama Administration is having little luck getting banks to address troubled mortgages. The banks find more profit in other ventures and do not want the new rules that come with Federal dollars. In Fort Worth, we see the city’s shakers and movers curtailing a program that might have [...]
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Bo McCarver’s housing news clips for May
- Mitt Romney at private fundraiser: I might eliminate HUD – The Washington Post
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Bo’s housing news clips: Study finds zoning segregates lower-income students in lower-scoring schools.
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Texas LIHTC housing program rocked by second earthquake in two months
- Low-Income Housing Program Compels Building in Poor Texas Areas – NYTimes.com
