Abstract: Letters written by Texas State Representatives and Senators regarding the development of low income housing in the state had the effect of moving development to lower income, higher poverty areas of the state.
Read more
Archive by Author
Bo McCarver’s weekly news compilation, 6-28-2011
June 28, 2011
Comments Off
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac undergo more scrutiny as it is discovered that almost 100 possible foreclosure fraud cases were never referred for investigation. Meanwhile, as inventories of foreclosed homes stack higher, the two agencies hold fire sales to reduce inventories. Also, Texas stories.
Read more Doggett on Foreclosures-“Well, the market didn’t really work, did it?”
June 27, 2011
1 Comment
Quote of the Day- “Well, the market didn’t really work, did it? And why should we be so wedded to it now? If we can back up a little, are we going to blame this whole mess on a guy who lied on his loan application? Really? Have you all been duped that much that [...]
Read more Feds Sue Wisconsin town for NIMBY Opposition to LIHTC Development
June 24, 2011
1 Comment
Its been a busy week at the Justice Department on the fair housing front. After yesterday’s legal action petitioning to join Disability Rights Texas’s lawsuit against the state for segregating developmentally disabled Texans in nursing homes, the today the DOJ filed suit against a Wisconsin town for opposing a Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) [...]
Read more DOJ to Intevene in Texas Developmental Disability Segregation Case
June 23, 2011
Comments Off
According to a press release by the US Department of Justice, the Justice Department today filed papers seeking to intervene in a case filed on behalf of thousands of Texans with developmental disabilities to enforce their right under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to receive services provided by the state in the most integrated [...]
Read more I woke last night to the sound of thunder
June 23, 2011
Comments Off
As other parts of the state literally burn and the Governor calls on Texans to implement a critical part of his disaster response program, prayer for rain, here in the Valley rain clouds are rolling in. As I’ve been writing this post, the lights in my downtown Edinburg office have gone out, interrupting my work. The city streets flood terribly with even ordinary rainstorms like today’s, but colonias have it much worse.
Read more Bo McCarver’s weekly news compilation, 6-21-2011
June 22, 2011
Comments Off
Tuesday Report, June 21, 2011 Special to the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service As more doom and gloom stories characterize the housing industry, Bank of America and Wells Fargo exit the reverse mortgage market. BoA aborts the venture as it posts a $73 billion loss in housing investments. Meanwhile, forecasters see house prices plummeting [...]
Read more Report: Texas Efficiency Rent 90% of SSI Payments
June 21, 2011
Comments Off
“Priced Out,” a new report by the Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) and the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) shows the severe housing affordability problems of people with disabilities. According to the report, a person with a disability receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) would have to pay 90% of their monthly income to rent an [...]
Read more Governor Vetos Tenants Rights Bill, Austin Homestead Preservation District Bill
June 17, 2011
Comments Off
In addition to the TDHCA sunset bill, Perry also vetoed two three other housing related bills: HB 1429 (Deshotel; Carona) – which required landlords to provide leases to tenants and prohibited retaliation for tenant organizing. Perry veto statement excerpt: “The litigation expenses incurred by landlords as a result of this bill could be significant, and [...]
Read more Governor Vetoes TDHCA Sunset Bill
June 17, 2011
2 Comments
Per the Governor’s Office: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME: Pursuant to Article IV, Section 14, of the Texas Constitution, I, Rick Perry, Governor of Texas, do hereby disapprove of and veto House Bill No. 2608 as passed by the Eighty-Second Texas Legislature, Regular Session, because of the following objections: House Bill 2608 [...]
Read more Housing Tidbits and Round-up
June 17, 2011
Comments Off
Housing news crossing our desk that didn’t turn into full blog posts this week: TDHCA and TSHAC received $620k through the fifth round of the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program (a program of the 2008 Housing and Economic Recovery Act). They expect to pass these funds through to local non-profits to reimburse counseling for up [...]
Read more NLIHC Newsletter for Renters, Residents and Tenants
June 16, 2011
Comments Off
National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) has just released the second issue of Tenant Talk, a newsletter for low income renters, residents and tenants, and for anyone who cares about issues that affect the lives of low income people. Tenant Talk provides information on actions the federal government is taking on issues related to housing [...]
Read more Bo McCarver’s weekly news compilation, 6-14-2011
June 14, 2011
Comments Off
Tuesday Report, June 14, 2011 Special to the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service Mortgage lenders are whining at new federal efforts to clean up toxic loans. The rules would force banks to retain at least five percent of the risked principle on loans sold to other banks. The rules would also force borrowers to [...]
Read more Problems Found with Accessibility Modifications to Smith County Manufactured Home
June 8, 2011
1 Comment
KLTV reports that a Habitat for Humanity of Smith County is facing criticism over home accessibility modification work done through its “Rehabitat” program. ReHabitat helps low-income seniors and low-income individuals with disabilities with emergency home repairs and modifications. According to the KLTV, a man in Smith County asked Habitat to make his manufactured home scooter-accessible, [...]
Read more Bo McCarver’s weekly news compilation, 6-7-2011
June 7, 2011
Comments Off
Tuesday Report, June 7, 2011 Special to the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service Government efforts to help distressed homeowners continue to fizzle. Awkward to administer and often burdened with tedious paperwork, the programs ultimately reach too few, too late. The failed initiatives further disenchant voters with the economic recovery efforts of the Obama Administration. [...]
Read more Congressional Hearings on HOME program
June 3, 2011
Comments Off
The Congressional House Financial Services Committee is holding a hearing this morning on the HOME program, recently the focus of a Washington Post article previously discussed here at Texas Housers. The prepared testimony of HUD Asst. Sec. Márquez and OIG Asst. IG Heist is embeded after the jump. Additional recent coverage of this issue includes: [...]
Read more Video of Houston Disaster Recovery Town Hall
June 2, 2011
Comments Off
Last week we highlighted a town hall on Disaster Single Family Home Repair in Houston, hosted by the Texas Organizing Project. Mayor Annise Parker spoke at that event, as did Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. We’ve put video of their comments up at Youtube so you can watch them from the comforts of your own chair: [...]
Read more Section 8 Waitlists In Texas
June 1, 2011
1 Comment
Previously here at Texas Houser’s, we noted the Dallas Housing Authority lost 13,000 applications to its Section 8 program. Under the Section 8 program, officially termed the “Housing Choice Voucher Program,” families may apply to receive vouchers to help them pay a percentage or portion of their rent. Dallas reopened its Section 8 waitlist for [...]
Read more Bo McCarver’s weekly news compilation, 5-31-2011
May 31, 2011
Comments Off
Tuesday Report, May 31, 2011 Special to the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service Home prices continue to freefall as the backlog of unsold units rises and few buyers step in. Home ownership continues to decline; experts project the rates could reach those of the 1980s. As goons rule Jaurez, residents flee. Many who stay [...]
Read more TDHCA Sunset bill passes House and Senate
May 30, 2011
1 Comment
The TDHCA Sunset bill passed the Texas House and Senate last night. The final bill differed in several aspects from the Commission’s recommendations. We’ll recap those differences here at Texas Housers sometime over the next few days. Text of final bill (pdf)
Read more San Antonio Haven for Hope homeless facility receives HUD design award
May 27, 2011
Comments Off
The Haven for Hope homeless facility in San Antonio, Texas is one of three recipients of the HUD Secretary’s 2011 Housing and Community Design Award for excellence in residential housing design. The U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in conjunction with the American Institute of Architects, selected the Haven for Hope homeless facility [...]
Read more Hurricane Disaster Spending–an opportunity to repair homes *and* create jobs in affected communities
May 27, 2011
Comments Off
Texas Low Income Housing Information Service is working with residents in Galveston, Houston and the Valley to make sure that under-employed and unemployed Texans get as much work as possible from the Hurricane Recovery dollars. Section 3 says that when HUD dollars are spent on housing or infrastructure projects and low-income people in the affected [...]
Read more Houston Town Hall on Disaster Single Family Home Repair
May 26, 2011
1 Comment
On Saturday, May 21, 2011, Texas Organizing Project (TOP) along with other supporting organizations spearheaded a record attendance Town Hall meeting to address the City of Houston’s lack of attention to Single Family Home Repair due to Hurricane Ike. Over 300 attendants packed Jerusalem Baptist Church to receive information about the ongoing slow progress of [...]
Read more 60 minutes on Texas Farmworkers
May 25, 2011
Comments Off
Last weekend 60 minutes ran a story on migrant youth farm labor. The story features a Texas family staying in a TDHCA-licensed migrant labor housing facility. In the short online-only ‘extra’ clip below, 60 minutes reporter Byron Pitts is astounded at the fact the family is charged a damage deposit to stay at the facility. [...]
Read more Houston SRO Development wins Urban Land Institute Award
May 25, 2011
Comments Off
New Hope Housing at Bray’s Crossing, Houston, Texas was one of ten winners of the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Awards for Excellence: The Americas competition. The winners of the awards competition, widely recognized as the land use industry’s most prestigious recognition program, were announced last week in Phoenix at the 2011 ULI Real Estate Summit [...]
Read more Bo McCarver’s weekly news compilation, 5-24-2011
May 24, 2011
Comments Off
Tuesday Report, May 24, 2011 Special to the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service In Texas, Galveston disaster recovery continues and a homeless census found the homeless population in Harris and Fort Bend counties grew by 25 percent. Nationwide, a huge backlog of unsold houses wait for better mortgage terms for borrowers as sales continue [...]
Read moreChronicle on Houston Disaster Recovery Repair
May 23, 2011
Comments Off
Saturday’s Houston Chronicle ran a short story on the status of the single-family housing repair program funded with Hurricane Ike disaster relief. The full story quotes TxLIHIS Co-Director John Henneberger: Houston on track to repair 44 Ike-damaged homes Some owners skeptical the delay is finally over City housing officials say they’re on track to have [...]
Read more Thoughts on the Washington Post Investigation of the HOME Program
May 19, 2011
1 Comment
5/20 update: HUD has posted a more detailed response to the WP article that includes an re-analysis of the entire data set. That response is available here: “Setting the Record Straight: What the Washington Post Got Wrong About the HOME Program” The Washington Post article last weekend that discussed the Beaumont HOME development failure is [...]
Read more TDHCA releases map of total affordable rental units by county
May 18, 2011
Comments Off
The Housing Resource Center at TDHCA has just released an interactive google map of the affordable rental units funded by the department. An image of the map appears below–double clicking on the embeded image will take you the interactive map itself.
Read more Bo McCarver’s weekly news compilation, 5-17-2011
May 17, 2011
Comments Off
Tuesday Report, May 17, 2011 Special to the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service Groundbreakings for new residential units dropped in April as the housing industry continues its freefall. In California, lenders have drawn out “short sales” with a myriad of paperwork to the extent that realtors are protesting. Meanwhile, a year-long Washington Post investigation [...]
Read moreAuthors
- 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
-
Bo’s housing news clips: National home foreclosures and Galveston housing woes are top stories in recent weeks
