Let me first admit that I have not yet read the book but I plan to over the next several weeks. The book is Reckless Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon by Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner. It’s the story of the arrogance that was Fannie Mae before its collapse. David [...]
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NLIHC Newsletter for Renters, Residents and Tenants
June 16, 2011
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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 NLIHC: Out of Reach 2011 report updated
June 14, 2011
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NLIHC’s annual report, Out of Reach 2011, a side-by-side comparison of wages and rents in every county, metropolitan area, combined non-metropolitan area and state in the United States, is now updated to reflect FY11 Income Limits recently released by HUD. The new income limits are used to set income eligibility requirements for assisted housing. The [...]
Read more Sadly, how far we have strayed from this great moral course
June 11, 2011
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We built this Nation to serve its people. We do not intend to live in the midst of abundance, isolated from neighbors and nature, confined by blighted cities and bleak suburbs, stunted by a poverty of learning and an emptiness of leisure. The Great Society asks not how much, but how good; not only how [...]
Read more Low-income Americans will need to work into their eighties
June 11, 2011
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Only by retiring at 75 years old would a majority of Americans in the lowest income quartile — defined as earning below $11,700 annually – have half a chance of not running out of money during retirement, a study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute finds.
Read more Congressional Hearings on HOME program
June 3, 2011
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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 60 minutes on Texas Farmworkers
May 25, 2011
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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 Thoughts on the Washington Post Investigation of the HOME Program
May 19, 2011
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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 moreWashington Post Focuses on Beaumont Housing Failure
May 16, 2011
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Saturday’s Washington Post ran a story on a failed HOME development in Beaumont: BEAUMONT, Tex. — At the dusty intersection of Texas and Elm streets, two partially completed houses sit empty on an unkempt corner lot across from 86-year-old Gardine Grogan’s dilapidated home. Three years ago, a local developer walked off the job without finishing [...]
Read moreUpdate:2011 Tornado Season
May 12, 2011
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Three weeks ago we had an extensive discussion of the relationship between tornado fatalities and manufactured housing (see Many of These Are Preventable Deaths, 4/28). At that point in time, the National Weather Service had not yet examined the string of tornadoes that blew through the South on that day. The data is still coming in, [...]
Read moreValley Tops List of Housing Cost Growth
May 6, 2011
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This week the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) released “Out Of Reach,” a side-by-side comparison of wages and rents in the United States. The report includes a tool to generate local summaries of the status of renters. Below are NLIHC’s summaries of the State of Texas and Starr County, as well as a map [...]
Read moreBo McCarver’s weekly news compilation, 4-12-2011
April 12, 2011
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Tuesday Report, April 12, 2011 Special to the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service “Things are going to get worse before they get better” seems to be the mantra of economists following the US housing industry. The Obama Administration’s efforts to jump-start new mortgages and salvage troubled ones have largely failed. Republicans are now calling [...]
Read moreIncreasing Minimum Entry Door Width in Manufactured Housing
April 11, 2011
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TxLIHIS recently submitted Comments to the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee (MHCC), a federal advisory committee to HUD on the regulation of manufactured housing, regarding its review of the minimum exterior door and interior hallway widths allowed in the building code for such homes. These comments follow: ************************ April 8, 2011 Mark J. Mazz, AIA General [...]
Read moreBo McCarver’s weekly news compilation, 4-8-2011
April 8, 2011
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Tuesday Report, April 5, 2010 Special to the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service New mortgage rules that make banks accountable for lending risks are shaking up the housing industry. The heady days of bundling bad mortgages and selling them off to naïve companies are gone. Meanwhile, lending companies are having to accept short sales [...]
Read moreNYT: Time Runs Out for St. Bernard Parish
March 30, 2011
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This morning’s New York Times has an Op-Ed about HUD’s proposed action regarding housing discrimination by the government of St. Bernard Parish, LA. Time Runs Out for St. Bernard Parish It has taken far too long, but the Department of Housing and Urban Development has finally intervened in an outrageous case of housing discrimination by [...]
Read moreBo McCarver’s weekly news compilation, 3-15-2011
March 15, 2011
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Tuesday Report, March 15, 2011 Special to the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service The horror stories of screwed homeowners continue to surface as Congress prepares to stifle any relief programs. The cuts are now extended to veteran’s with a proposal to cut housing vouchers by 10,000 annually. In Fort Bend, NIMBYs protest an affordable [...]
Read moreManufactured homes, mobile homes, and trailers, oh my!
March 14, 2011
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While many readers were tracking the exciting housing bills popping in the mad-end-of-bill-filing rush in the Texas Legislature last week, I was in DC attending the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee (MHCC), a federal advisory committee to HUD on the regulation of manufactured housing. I’ll keep most of the exciting details of parliamentary intrigue and interpersonal [...]
Read more502 Rural Housing Program Proposed for Decimation
February 23, 2011
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Today the National Rural Housing Coalition sent a letter (below) to Tom Vilsack, the Secretary of the US Department of Agriculture, decrying the proposed funding reductions for the 502 Direct loan program. The Administration’s own budget proposes reducing the funding for the 502 Direct program from $1.12 Billion to $200 million. This reduction will impact [...]
Read moreStudy of State’s Use of LIHTC Boost
February 21, 2011
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This month the “Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits” included an article examining how different states utilize their ability to offer some Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) developments a 30% “boost” in funding. (article link here). As regular readers know, the LIHTC program is a federal program that supports the production of affordable multifamily housing. [...]
Read moreBo McCarver’s weekly news compilation, 2-15-2011
February 15, 2011
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Tuesday Report, February 15, 2011 Special to the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service Ike damage remains, and as part of its proposal to revamp Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Obama Administration plans to get out of the business of creating new homeowners. The practice of financing marginal loans has contributed to major federal [...]
Read moreU. S. House FY11 Budget Bill Slashes and Burns Federal Housing Safety Net
February 14, 2011
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This press release from the National Low Income Housing Coalition unfortunately shows the current budgetary carnage is not restricted to State Legislatures. This environment makes clear the Feds aren’t going to be picking up any of the housing or homeless services needs dropped by Texas. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on its [...]
Read moreHUD’s Worst Case Housing Needs Report for 2009
February 7, 2011
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According to a new report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the number of renters facing the worst need for housing increased from 5.91 million to 7.10 million people from 2007 to 2009. About 41% of very low-income renters faced worst case need. These increases cut across racial groups, with 48% of [...]
Read moreBo McCarver’s weekly news compilation, 2-1-2011
February 1, 2011
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Tuesday Report, Feb. 1, 2011 Special to the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service The Congressional Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission issued its report that echoes earlier analyses: shaky loans and a “gold rush” mentality in the housing market sparked the recession. Finger-pointing, indifference and ineptitude emerge from the collage of testimonies by bank executives. The [...]
Read moreACS Segregation Data II
January 18, 2011
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In a natural followup to yesterday’s post, Remapping Debate this morning released a look at the segregation patterns revealed by an analysis of the American Community Survey at the Census Block Group level. (A Census Block Group is smaller than a census tract and more closely represents natural neighborhood size). Highlights from their national [...]
Read moreReasonable Accommodation Enforcement Action in the News
January 13, 2011
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This blog post is by Elizabeth Nowrouz. According to the Justice Department, a $1.2 million agreement has been reached in a case against an Alabama property management company accused of violating the Fair Housing Act. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants did not allow a tenant with a mobility impairment to move into a ground [...]
Read moreIntroduction to an “Analysis of Impediments”
January 10, 2011
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One of the conditions of the TxLIHIS – Texas Appleseed – State of Texas Fair Housing settlement on hurricane recovery is that the state will update its Analysis of Impediments (AI) to Fair Housing. This piece by Elizabeth Nowrouz gives some basic background for readers about what an AI is. The 1974 Housing and Community [...]
Read moreEmergency Homeowners Loan Program (EHLP) in Texas
January 6, 2011
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EHLP Program Introduction: The 2010 Financial Reform Bill (Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act) funds up to $50,000 (or 24 months) of mortgage payment relief for un-or-under employed homeowners facing likely foreclosure. These funds are available through a re-authorized Ford-administration program, the Emergency Homeowners Loan Program (EHLP). Texas was allocated $135.4 million under [...]
Read moreHousing Credit Update
December 17, 2010
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A couple of changes in the prospects for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program in the last few days. The Tax Credit Exchange (i.e. 1602 Grants in Lieu of Tax Credits) program was not extended in the final “tax extender” compromise bill that passed the Congress yesterday. This program was used as leverage by [...]
Read moreBo McCarver’s weekly news compilation, 11-30-2010 & 12-07-2010
December 9, 2010
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Tuesday Report, November 30, 2010 Special to the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service Dallas is the latest Texas city to discover a major problem in implementing ambitious plans to house the homeless: where to place them? Finding locations near public transit and jobs – and near neighborhoods willing to accommodate the poor, has also [...]
Read moreBo McCarver’s weekly news compilation, 11-24-2010
November 24, 2010
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Tuesday Report, Nov. 23, 2010 Special to the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service Attorneys general from all 50 states have filed class action suits against major mortgage holders for using sloppy and fraudulent documents to press foreclosures. As national foreclosures rates drop, Texas rises: one in ten mortgage holders are now threatened with foreclosure. [...]
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- 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
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Bo’s housing news clips: National home foreclosures and Galveston housing woes are top stories in recent weeks
