Today’s Good News: States, Cities Take On Housing Crisis
As you know, the housing bubble has burst, and millions of people are left holding the bag with mortgage loans they can’t pay. While the media focuses on the crisis from the banks’ perspective, state governments are focusing on saving homes and neighborhoods for human beings.
Progressive States Network highlights several tactics states and cities are using to help both their citizens and themselves.
- Moratoriums on Foreclosures. I think you’ll see more and longer moratoriums, as everyone realizes that creating millions of new homeless people isn’t really going to help anything. Mass. is requiring a 90-day delay; NY is proposing a year moratorium; a coalition of community groups in Cleveland is asking for a 60-day delay on auction sales and a halt to evictions.
- Rentals. Evictions create not only homeless people but vacant properties. The Center for Economic and Policy Research proposes allowing people the chance to stay in their homes as renters; Massachusetts allows this.
- You Foreclose It, You Maintain It. Cities are reeling under the sudden burden of maintaining vacant homes and yards. Buffalo and New York City hold banks responsible for maintenance of homes they’ve foreclosed on. NY’s system fines banks for failing on maintenance, and the fines give them leverage to keep a bank from buying or selling more properties or evicting more people.
- Baltimore and Cleveland have sued the banks for creating general mayhem (I’m paraphrasing); other cities are considering a similar course. NY and Baltimore have set up foreclosure hotlines and done advertising to let people know about how they can find help to save their homes.
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