Listen to LEDC today on NPR’s Tell Me More with Michel Martin!

Airing today at 2 pm EST on NPR (88.5 FM), LEDC’s Regional Director of Homeownership Manuel Ochoa is a guest on NPR’s Tell Me More with Michel Martin!

Yesterday, Latino Decisions and impreMedia released data from a new survey focused on how the national housing crisis has impacted the Latino population. The April survey is the second of a series of six monthly tracking polls in 2011.

LEDC’s Manuel Ochoa will speak to how Latinos renters and homeowners have been impacted by the housing crisis in the Washington region.

To read more about the survey findings, click here.

To listen online to NPR’s Tell me More, click here.

 

WAMU 88.5 – Coalition Works To Support Overwhelmed Foreclosure Counselors

Many local foreclosure counselors say they are overwhelmed by their caseloads. A coalition is working to put more counselors in housing offices to help provide some relief.

The Capital Area Foreclosure Network says more counselors are needed to answer an increase in caseloads, noting more than 148,000 mortgages in the region were delinquent or in foreclosure at the end of last year.

The coalition, led by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, also plans to boost funding to those foreclosure counseling services already in operation to help struggling homeowners.

To listen to the audio clip, click here.

 

Fielding the Foreclosure Firestorm

If you want a glimpse into the Washington region’s foreclosure landscape this weekend, look no further than tomorrow’s annual Montgomery County Housing Fair.

The fair, a joint effort among the County and community organizations, banks, and nonprofits like the Latino Economic Development Corporation (LEDC), will provide information to county residents on foreclosure prevention, renters’ rights, financial education, and job readiness.

As lenders increase the number of home repossessions and scam artists continue to prey upon the vulnerable, the foreclosure crisis has recently taken twists and turns that raise the stakes for effective action in the region. The DC Office of the Attorney General announced on September 21st a Superior Court enforcement action against an individual charged with violating consumer protection law after scamming homeowners in the District. A new mediation law in Maryland designed to slow foreclosures has seen little traction. In the last two weeks, loan servicers Ally Financial and JP Morgan announced they were halting foreclosures in numerous states amid allegations that foreclosures were advanced through the judicial process with improperly signed court documents.

 

The Fight for an Affordable Continuum of Housing

For months on end, news headlines and economic trends have sparked emotional debate among residents, public officials, and policymakers over the changing landscape of our local communities here in the Washington region.

“Homeowners seek help navigating crisis.” “Fewer D.C. affordable housing options left as city rents rise.” “Is permanent supportive housing the answer to homelessness?”

Amid these challenges, another set of headlines show what is possible when groups of people come together to address these problems.

“2-year tenants’ strike at Marbury Plaza ends with plan for $5 million in repairs.” “Town Hall airs tenant concerns.” “Deauville Residents Buy Burnt-Out D.C. Building, Rename it Oscar Romero Apartments.”

In the name of participatory communities that are inclusive and just, the Latino Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) is joining the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development (CNHED) at its Continuum of Housing Campaign Rally tomorrow night at the First Trinity Lutheran Church at 309 E St NW from 6-8 pm.

The campaign, launched in July, is an effort to ensure that all DC residents have decent, quality housing at a price they can afford. The rally will highlight community voices calling for more affordable housing in the District across the housing continuum, including supportive housing, rental housing, and homeownership.

 

A New Home Away From Home

As the nation recognized June as National Homeownership Month, new homeowners Laura Bowman Pimentel and her husband Wellington are now enjoying the home and community that both in years past feared they might never have been able to provide for their now two-year-old son Benjamin.

Having grown up in a small, insular town in the suburbs of Pennsylvania, Laura moved to the District of Columbia in 2001 before traveling to the Dominican Republic in 2003 as a Peace Corps volunteer. There she met Wellington, who had grown up in the socially rich but poor region of Azua in the southwestern Dominican Republic.

For Laura, their new home represents the realization of a dream after difficult moments of economic hardship that tested her faith in her ability to provide Benjamin with the type of childhood that she had wanted to give to him. For Wellington, a recently arrived immigrant who felt the acute burden of social isolation after moving with Laura from the Dominican Republic in 2005, their new home in the United States represents something he hadn’t actually ever imagined was possible.

 

WAMU 88.5 – Foreclosure Process Needs Reform (Commentary)

This commentary by LEDC’s Regional Director of Homeownership Manuel Ochoa was aired this morning on WAMU 88.5.

Ignore the white noise surrounding the “Making Home Affordable” program and you might come across a man named Jose Ugarte.

The day Jose and his family saved their home was the day they realized they had kept the memories of their first home intact. His son Marcelo, now 26, remembers painting the fireplace wall crimson red as a child. His teenage daughter Natalie remembers her first sleepover with friends. Over the course of 10 years, each member of Jose’s family could see themselves in their Silver Spring, Maryland home.

“This home is like a nest,” Jose once said. “Every person puts things here and there, with care and feeling.  You have your children under your wings, and you protect them.”

To listen to the full commentary, click here.

 

National Journal Online – HAMPered progress (Video)

Since early last year, the Obama administration has sought ways to help struggling homeowners.

“We are putting in place a loan modification program working with banks , working with services, that will allow other folks who are closer to losing their home in a stronger position,” said President Barack Obama on April 13, 2009.

But many borrowers are turning to experienced counselors to translate the policy.

To watch the full video, click here. (Best viewing with most up-to-date versions of Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer.)