Transcript Promoting Sustainable Homeownership in Latino Communities

State Responses to the
Foreclosure Crisis
The National Hispanic Caucus of
State Legislators
Housing Symposium
Graciela Aponte
Wealth-Building Legislative Analyst
National Council of La Raza
National Council of La Raza
The National Council of La Raza (NCLR)—the largest
national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy
organization in the United States—works to improve
opportunities for Hispanic Americans.
Through its network of nearly 300 affiliated communitybased organizations, NCLR reaches millions of
Hispanics each year in 37 states, Puerto Rico, and the
District of Columbia.
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NCLR Homeownership
Network (NHN)
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The network includes 50 community-based housing
counseling agencies in 23 states.
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NHN organizations serve more than 30,000 families.
Last year, more than 3,000 of those families
became homeowners.
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NHN organizations have provided foreclosure
counseling to more than 5,000 families since
October 2007.
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Overview
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Barriers to Accessing Prime Products
Foreclosures in the Latino Community
Impact of Foreclosures on States
NCLR Home Rescue Campaign
Case Study: Ohio Foreclosure Prevention Task
Force
Recommendations
NCLR Publications
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Barriers to Accessing Prime
Products
Informational challenges
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Lack of homebuyer and consumer information
Product complexity
Predatory lending
Systemic challenges
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Credit scoring
Automated underwriting
Referral systems
Compensation
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Foreclosures in the Latino
Community
As a result, borrowers face a number of
consequences:
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Abusive lending practices
Foreclosure
Loss of wealth
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Foreclosures in the Latino
Community
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Of the loans made to Latinos in 2005 and 2006,
one in 12 will end in foreclosure.
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1.8 million foreclosures overall are predicted for
2008 alone.
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The height of the crisis for Latinos will not come
until 2009–2010, when Option ARMs and
interest-only loans are scheduled to reset.
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Impact of Foreclosures on States
Top States Facing Declines in House Values and Local Tax
Bases Due to Subprime Foreclosures
Number of Neighboring
Homes Experiencing
Devaluation
United States
California
New York
Florida
Illinois
New Jersey
Maryland
40,621,895
7,505,584
3,552,642
3,667,230
2,536,938
1,781,424
1,220,574
Decrease in House
Values/Tax Base from
Foreclosure Effect
($ in millions)
201,533
60,631
36,841
20,281
15,440
11,070
6,863
Source: Keith Ernst, Wei Li, and Ellen Schloemer, Subprime Spillover (Washington, DC:
Center for Responsible Lending, 2007).
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NCLR Home Rescue Campaign
NCLR launched the Home Rescue Campaign to help
community-based organizations and Affiliates address
the rising rates of foreclosures. The campaign
features:
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Grant funding for foreclosure prevention counseling
A Home Rescue fair pilot program
An NCLR Toolkit—Community Responses to the
Foreclosure Crisis
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Community Responses to the
Foreclosure Crisis: An NCLR
Tool Kit
NCLR hosted a working meeting with national
organizations, service providers, industry
professionals, and funders.
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Participants identified gaps in services and tools that
community groups needed to better serve their clients.
Innovative outreach and service strategies were
reviewed.
Recommendations were formulated.
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Community Responses to the
Foreclosure Crisis: An NCLR
Tool Kit

Community Responses to the Foreclosure Crisis was
created to provide community organizations with tools
and strategies that could be implemented immediately
and without new funding.
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Any local organization, church, or district office can
use this tool kit to develop its own response to
foreclosures in your area.
Tool Kit Contents
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Getting Started
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First Responder
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Community Collaborator
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Direct Service Provider
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Advocacy
Getting Started
Know Your Community
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Identify community leaders, service providers, and
existing community responses.
Understand the experiences and needs of foreclosure
victims.
Identify gaps in service.
Build Community Awareness
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Contact reporters from local media that cover housing or
community programs
Create a Public Service Announcement (PSA).
Talk to your community leaders.
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First Responder
Know Your Strengths
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Understand the needs of clients, list and prioritize them.
Decide what you can contribute.
Create Your Network
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Get involved in a local coalition, working group, or task
force.
Ensure that the local network meets your clients’ needs.
Offer your services.
Identify who is missing.
Develop a referral network.
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Community Collaborator
Who is a Community Collaborator?
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A community collaborator is a community leader,
community-based organization, local government
agency, public official, or community partnership that can
organize outreach events for the community.
What is a Home Rescue fair?
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A Home Rescue fair is an outreach event that provides
pro bono legal advice, housing counseling, and loan
negotiation to assist families who are struggling with their
mortgage payments identify resources and assistance.
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Direct Service Provider
Foreclosure Prevention Counseling—Housing
Counselor Will:
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Review financial information
Discuss foreclosure prevention options
Work with family to submit a budget, hardship letter, and
a request for a loan modification, deed-in-lieu, or
forbearance to the lender
Follow up with lender and family
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Advocacy
Types of Advocacy
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Administrative
Service
Legislative
Examples of Advocacy Activities
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Contact elected officials
Testify at public hearings
Write a letter to the editor
Organize a rally
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Case Study: Ohio Foreclosure
Prevention Task Force
Homes on the Hill Community Development
Corporation, an NHN member, participated in the task
force that helped Ohio develop and enhance its
foreclosure prevention programs by:
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Demanding more flexible underwriting requirements so
that more families can qualify for state refinancing
programs and avoid foreclosure
Conducting Borrower Outreach Days to facilitate
communication between borrowers and lenders
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Case Study: Ohio Foreclosure
Prevention Task Force
(continued)
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Recruiting more than 1,000 attorneys to provide free
legal assistance to families
Establishing a state hotline that families can call to
connect with a pro bono attorney
Creating a new public awareness campaign, Save the
Dream, to link Ohioans with local, state, and federal
foreclosure prevention resources
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Case Study: Ohio Foreclosure
Prevention Task Force
The task force included representation from local,
state, and federal governments; lenders; and nonprofit
organizations. The task force offered 27
recommendations grouped into the following
categories:
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Encouraging borrowers to get help early
Expanding housing counseling and intervention services
Working with lenders and servicers to maximize
alternatives to foreclosure
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Recommendations
Priorities for the Latino community
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Require loan servicers to provide loss mitigation to
struggling homeowners.
Defer foreclosures while families are in the loss
mitigation process.
Provide protections for renters and victims of predatory
lending.
Offer assistance to families facing homelessness due to
foreclosure.
Increase resources for local foreclosure programs and
funding to develop and return abandoned homes to the
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affordable rental and sale markets.
Case Study: Ohio Foreclosure
Prevention Task Force
(continued)
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Provide options for homeowners to refinance or
restructure their mortgages.
Improve Ohio's foreclosure process.
Strengthen protections for homeowners.
Help communities recover from the aftermath of
foreclosures.
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NCLR Publications
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Community Responses to the Foreclosure Crisis: An
NCLR Tool Kit
Saving Homes, Saving Communities: Latino Brokers
Speak Out on Hispanic Homeownership
American Dream to American Reality: Creating a Fair
Housing System that Works for Latinos
Jeopardizing Hispanic Homeownership: Predatory
Practices in the Homebuying Market
Increasing Hispanic Homeownership: Strategies for
Programs and Public Policy
For a complete list of publications, congressional testimony, and
regulatory commentary, visit www.nclr.org/wealthbuilding.
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