2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many thanks go to the community partners that participated in Foreclosure Response, without whom this work would not have taken place. In addition, the project was made possible by the financial support of the Grand Rapids Community Foundation and Dyer-Ives Foundation, as well as the City of Grand Rapids, Kent County, Steelcase Foundation, Slemons Foundation, and West Michigan Community Reinvestment Act Association.
The before and after photographs of rehabilitated houses were provided courtesy of LeeKitson Homes. The Grand Rapids Press granted permission to include Katy Batdorff’s photo of door-to-door work in the Oakdale neighborhood from an article published in 2008, “Foreclosure Response hits the streets to fight blight from vacant homes.”
FORECLOSURE RESPONSE PARTNERS
Aberdeen Reformed Church
•
ACCESS of West MI
•
Area Community Service
Employment & Training Council (ACSET)
•
Adelante High School
•
Baxter Community
Center
•
Bank of Holland
•
Berean Baptist Church
•
Black Hills Citizens for a Better
Community
•
Chase Bank
•
Chemical Bank
•
Choice One Bank
•
City of GR
Community Development
•
City of Kentwood Community Development
•
City of
Kentwood Planning Department
•
City of Wyoming Community Development
•
City of
Wyoming Planning and Development
•
Comerica Bank
•
Community Rebuilders
•
Creston Christian Reformed Church
•
Creston Neighborhood Association
•
Dyer-Ives Foundation
•
Eastown Community Association
•
Fair Housing Center of West
Michigan
•
Fifth Third Bank
•
Flagstar Bank
•
Founders Bank and Trust
•
Fourth
Reformed Church
•
Garfield Park Neighborhood Association
•
GR Area Center for
Ecumenism
•
GR Area Coalition to End Homelessness
•
GR Area Realtors
•
GR
Community Foundation
•
GR Housing Commission
•
GR Legal News
•
GR Public
Schools
•
GR Urban League
•
Great Lakes Capital Fund
•
Greenridge Realty
•
GVSU
Community Research Institute
•
Habitat for Humanity of Kent County
•
Heart of West
Michigan United Way
•
Home Repair Services
•
Huntington Bank
•
Inner City
Christian Federation
•
Keller Williams Realty
•
Kent County Community Development
•
Kent County Dept. of Human Services
•
Kent County Essential Needs Task Force
•
Kent County Register of Deeds
•
Kent County Tax Credit Coalition
•
Kluczynski,
Girtz, and Vogelzang
•
LeeKitson Homes
•
LINC Community Revitalization
•
Local
Initiatives Support Corp.
•
Legal Aid of Western Michigan
•
Mercantile Bank
•
MI
Dept. of Human Services
•
Midtown Neighborhood Association
•
National City
•
network 180
•
New Development Corp.
•
Oakdale Neighbors
•
Option 1 Credit
Union
•
Plainfield United Methodist Church
•
Riverside Christian Reformed Church
•
Salvation Army Booth Family Services
•
Second Congregational Church
•
Slemons
Foundation
•
South East Community Association
•
South West Area Neighbors
•
Steelcase Foundation
•
Steepletown Neighborhood Services
•
United Growth for
4
F
oreclosure Response (FR) was formed in July 2008 to connect residents with community resources and advocate for change to stop foreclosures in Kent County. The project is widely regarded as a success, fueled by the collective impact of stakeholders working in partnership, the commitment of primary funders, and energetic professional staff support. This report highlights the successes, lessons learned and emerging issues worthy of continued serious attention as the FR project in its initial form concluded (fall 2011), and the expressed need for key components of the work continues.In 2008 Kent County experienced 3,5171
residential foreclosures – the largest yearly total ever – and the Response was launched. Despite accurate projections by the Ford Foundation as the situation evolved, the level of local devastation caused by the housing market crash seemed unfathomable. Fortunately, with access to high quality, local data, community leaders recognized that this foreclosure crisis necessitated a coordinated, metro-wide response.
To maximize successful local efforts, the Grand Rapids Community Foundation and the Dyer-Ives Foundation provided funds to establish Foreclosure Response as a quick, short-term (two year) project
narrowly focused on addressing housing and economic loss. FR quickly amassed 70 local stakeholders to utilize data resources describing the severity of the foreclosure crisis and local demographics, and identify
activities to mitigate its damaging effects. Partners included an array of sectors: for-profit and nonprofit housing developers, the property industry, neighborhood associations, community and faith-based organizations, public interest groups, governments, lenders, resources for data, funding, and legal expertise. The efforts of FR focused on building awareness of the foreclosure crisis using data and personal stories, advocating policy changes to protect consumers, facilitating communication across various efforts, connecting residents with a variety of high-quality counseling resources and promoting strategic rebuilding of affected neighborhoods.
Foreclosure Response used a systematic, data-driven approach to identify ameliorating activities falling into one or more categories of prevention, intervention, stabilization and reinvestment. Generally, prevention and intervention actions served individuals and families to avoid foreclosure. Stabilization and reinvestment efforts were aimed toward restoring neighborhoods/communities and promoting sustainability. Residential foreclosures contribute to many interrelated problems, like lowering housing values and increasing vacant properties that affect the overall health of the housing market. As a fundamental concept, FR’s work also focused on the intersections between affordable housing, homelessness and foreclosures.
Additional support for the project came from the City of Grand Rapids, Kent County, the Steelcase Foundation, the Slemons Foundation, and the West Michigan Community Reinvestment Act Association.
Foreclosure Response was directed by an oversight committee and staffed by a coordinator. The Fair Housing Center of West Michigan served as fiduciary agent. The successes of FR were due, in large part, to the strength, credibility and commitment of its partners, and the spirit of cooperation which characterized their collective efforts.
The work
focuses on the
intersections
between
affordable
housing,
homelessness
& foreclosures.
1 Kent County residential foreclosure data, Community Research Institute, Johnson Center at GVSU, Grand Rapids, MI.
DEVELOPMENT
As housing counselors began meeting in 2007 to address a significant increase in requests for foreclosure avoidance counseling, it became evident that effective action required professional staff, data, and coordination of effort. Grand Valley State University’s Community Research Institute was retained to analyze foreclosure-related data, quickly publishing “Sold Short: Residential Foreclosures in Kent County,
2004—2007.” 2
(http://goo.gl/GTFco)
The report identified a rising rate of foreclosures beginning in 2004 and made a strong case for a broad-based response to the problem. Foreclosure Response was organized in July 2008. Originally
conceived as a two-year project, FR was extended for a third year due to a solid track record of accomplishment along with continued need in the community. Bolstered by a compelling report from the Dyer-Ives Foundation, “The Foreclosure Crisis in Kent County: A Call for a
Comprehensive Response”3
(http://goo.gl/nKzCe) released in early 2009, FR leveraged support from stakeholders and funding sources. Operationally, stakeholders quickly developed a presence through logo, website and media branding, and bi-monthly meetings to: • Develop a comprehensive plan to address foreclosure through deliberate prevention, intervention, stabilization and neighborhood revitalization strategies. This multi-pronged plan was published as
“A Comprehensive Response Plan Addressing the Foreclosure Crisis,”
(http://goo.gl/f3tBP) and served to guide the work of the Response and frame its evaluation throughout its three-year tenure.
• Increase coordination of housing-related services, promoting bi-lingual resources for counseling, financial assistance and legal representation via community education and outreach efforts.
• Advocate for state, local and federal policies to prevent foreclosures and mitigate their detrimental effects on households, neighborhoods and local governments.
SCOPE
Since foreclosures began to increase significantly in 2004, more than 19,000 residential foreclosures have occurred in Kent County, peaking in 2008 when foreclosures averaged ten per day. As the most recent data affirms, the rate continues to be high. Cumulatively, almost eleven percent of residential properties in Kent County have been foreclosed during the period 2004 through 20114
.
Before and
after photos
of a home
that was
rehabilitated
through the
Neighborhood
Stabilization
Program.
2 Chartkoff, S. B. & Rotondaro, G. (2008). Sold Short: Residential Foreclosures in Kent County 2004-2007. Grand Rapids, MI: Community Research Institute, Johnson Center at GVSU.
3 Clune, D. & Hosey, J. (2009). The Foreclosure Crisis in Kent County: A Call for a Comprehensive Response. Dyer-Ives Foundation, Grand Rapids, MI. 4 Kent County residential foreclosure data, Community Research Institute, Johnson Center at GVSU, Grand Rapids, MI.
6
The number of vacant properties has also increased significantly. Vacancies lower nearby property values, reduce the tax base, stress government and non-profit services, and contribute to crime and neighborhood blight. According to the U.S. Census, vacant residential properties increased from 11,000 (2000) to 19,662 in 2010 — a 77% increase. To address the increase, strict vacant property policies have been adopted by Wyoming, an adjacent suburb, and in Grand Rapids, where changes followed a two-year, neighborhood-based advocacy effort. Kentwood, another inner ring suburb, is examining changes to their policy and enforcement efforts to counter the negative effects of vacancies. The foreclosure crisis has also resulted in a growing number of single family homes being converted from traditional owner-occupancy to rental units, too often by inexperienced and/or unscrupulous owners. From 2006 to 2009 the number of families renting single-family homes jumped by 70% in Grand Rapids, from 4,658 to 7,7715
. This significant increase illuminated the need to address public policy relative to consistent inspection standards for all rental
properties and generated a major, successful advocacy effort.
IMPACT
Helping Families Avoid Foreclosure
More than 1,700 distressed homeowners avoided foreclosure in recent years with the help of local non-profit housing agencies. Trained counselors worked with families to navigate the system and negotiate with their mortgage lenders. Outreach and education efforts by FR built trust and connected homeowners with high-quality no-cost counseling. This work included extensive communication with residents through door-to-door contact and neighborhood meetings, reaching thousands of households. Organized events drew broad-based media attention. Response team members, especially neighborhood associations, were key to spreading the word and helping families avoid scam artists and their questionable, high-cost foreclosure avoidance assistance.
When these collective efforts resulted in overwhelming numbers of homeowners seeking housing counseling services, Response partners made the case for increased agency funding. A coordinated in-take and scheduling system was instituted between LINC Community Revitalization and Home Repair Services during the 2+ years when outreach efforts caused a significant increase in counseling request. Due to their participation in FR, Home Repair Services was able to leverage significant grant funds to continue outreach efforts and maintain counseling services.
Providing Accessible, Quality Data
High quality, local data was made available to the whole community at no cost through the website www.ForeclosureResponseKent.org. Data was provided by the Community Research Institute (CRI) at GVSU’s Johnson Center for Philanthropy, working closely with the Kent County Bureau of Equalization.
From 2006 to
2009 the number
of families renting
single-family homes
jumped by
70%
in Grand Rapids,
from 4,658 to 7,771.
5 American Community Survey (2010). State & County Quickfacts: Grand Rapids city, MI. Retrieved November 1, 2010 from http://factfinder.census.gov
This project elevated a data sharing relationship that continues to provide new opportunities for ongoing understanding of the metro-wide housing market. Early in the project, data work was funded by the Grand Rapids Community Foundation and Dyer-Ives Foundation. Subsequent resources from the County of Kent and the City of Grand Rapids allowed data efforts to expand in scope and now, with County support, continue through May 2015.
Access to comprehensive housing data allows organizations to better target outreach, education, and advocacy efforts, as well as develop the resources necessary to demonstrate and quantify need at specific neighborhood levels. Housing coalition groups used data to make compelling cases to the community that adjustments to local housing policies were warranted. Taken together, the data work has served to highlight the critical role housing plays in economic development, the health and education of our children, and neighborhood stability.
Data also played an essential role in communicating the magnitude of the problem. It would have been very difficult to elevate this disaster to the now commonly used phrase, “foreclosure crisis” without timely, local information stating that, “One in six homes in Grand Rapids and one in nine homes in Kent County have been foreclosed since 2004” put a face on the housing crisis that, along with personal stories, made an impact on partners and the public alike. Due to the successes linked to FR data, CRI has educated state partners and other communities nationally on use of data to better understand the impact of foreclosure on a particular locale.
Data Reveals Effects of Real Estate Owned and Vacant Properties
The foreclosure crisis has caused many previously occupied homes to become vacant, significantly changing the social and structural fabric
of many neighborhoods, lowering property values, and adding stress to many municipal systems. The 2010 U.S. Census counted more than 19,662 vacant homes in Kent County, a 61% increase from the 2000 Census.
Vacant homes that are Real Estate Owned (REO) properties are those repossessed and/or transferred from a homeowner back to the credit lender or trustee identified as owner of record in official Kent County property records. Mortgage holders include banks and other types of financial institutions, real estate companies, housing investors and Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
In May 2012, CRI published “Real Estate Owned Foreclosed Homes: Preliminary Report,” (http://goo.gl/Em0mF) describing the extent of local REO properties as a critical piece of understanding local housing dynamics. This data includes 2,009 properties in Kent County that attained and remained in REO status since 2004 through April 30, 2012. The number of REOs can change daily based on new REO properties entering the system and those that are sold, re-inhabited, or no longer categorized as REO.
The 2010 U.S.
Census counted
more than 19,662
vacant homes in
Kent County, a
61%
increase from the
2000 Census.
8
According to the county’s records, the majority of these properties are bank owned (37%) followed by investor properties (26%), and GSEs (22%). Fourteen percent (14%) of the properties could not be assigned a REO category because the owner of record was not identified in the county’s data.
This data is driving new efforts to determine how properties might be re-used, rehabbed and/or re-occupied.
Advocacy Efforts
Collaborating through the FR Advocacy Committee was critical to organizing a rapid response to statewide legislative challenges. Working collectively with the Michigan Foreclosure Task Force, the ability to quickly mobilize was key to influencing very important, positive, state legislation. As a result, more homeowners at risk of foreclosure were able to keep their homes.
The FR Advocacy Committee held periodic meetings with congressional staff in Washington DC to provide local district information and updates, and to advocate for needed federal legislation. But the bulk of the advocacy work focused on state and local officials, and government staff. On a statewide level, the Response advocated for critical legislation that was enacted requiring specified and timely communication between distressed homeowners (or their housing counselor) and the mortgagor (or designated agent). According to housing counselors in Kent County and across Michigan, the “90 Day Pre-Foreclosure Law” made it possible for many
homeowners to avoid foreclosure by having the mandated time and opportunity to negotiate with their lenders.
Collaboration
Collective impact strategies were central to the effective work of Foreclosure Response. A total of 70 stakeholder groups, including government, community and faith-based organizations, lenders, property industry, nonprofit agencies, private sector, and data, legal and funding resources were involved, each in their own area of
expertise. This project exhibited the characteristics of collective impact that included having a common agenda, common progress measures, mutually reinforcing activities, communications, and a backbone organization supporting collaborations across this broad spectrum of stakeholders. (For more information about 'collective impact' see the Stanford Social Innovation Review http://goo.gl/Y9Jlc).
Impressive
transformation
from blighted
to beautiful.
The common agenda:
• Engage the community through education around issues related to foreclosure. • Mitigate losses to the community caused by high foreclosure rates.
• Coordinate long term advocacy efforts including the prevention of predatory/deceptive lending and additional foreclosures.
Foreclosure Response’s collective impact model was particularly successful in engaging local and statewide media. Until late 2008, scant media coverage was given to local foreclosures despite the high numbers. The combination of a large number of influential affiliates, access to high quality, local data, and specific outreach to the media had a profound effect. Within months after FR began, the Grand Rapids Press ran a front page story highlighting the crisis by focusing on a woman laid off from her job, diagnosed soon after with breast cancer, and fighting to save her home.
Media coverage increased exponentially as the foreclosure crisis stayed in the news for the next 2½ years. Human interest stories
supported with troubling but accurate information enabled FR partners to make the case to the greater community that this was indeed a crisis that warranted attention and resources.
Leveraging Funding
In March 2009, settlement funds from the multi-state Countrywide Mortgage lawsuit were allocated to Michigan along with several other states. The Attorney General distributed $250,000 to the City of Grand Rapids, which was directed to housing counseling services, and $500,000 to Kent County. Although Kent County funds were initially earmarked for the development of Millennium and Crescent Parks, a strong, unified community sentiment amplified by FR ultimately resulted in these resources being redirected to the Heart of West
Michigan United Way to fund services/projects specifically addressing foreclosures and affected households and neighborhoods.
Two 1-year funding rounds enabled the distribution of $500,000 to support counseling, prevention and legal intervention efforts as well as unique projects designed to further neighborhood stabilization and reinvestment. For example, the Grand Rapids Area Coalition to End
Homelessness created a housing advocate position that enabled long term market improvements through local policy change. It is unlikely that any of these allocations would have occurred without the collective power, track record and specific work of Foreclosure Response.
Kent County Land Bank
Understanding the benefits of a land bank and driven by a sense of urgency, FR partners were successful in urging the Kent County Land Bank Authority to become operational in 2010. This was an important step toward putting vacant properties back into productive use.
The combination
of a large number
of influential
affiliates, access
to high quality,
local data, and
specific outreach
to the media had
a profound effect.
10
The land bank now has an Executive Director and two support staff. Recent successes include:
• Taking deed to the abandoned Sparta Foundry and attracting a company to build a new factory that will generate more than 100 jobs.
• Receiving donation of six REO (bank-owned) blighted properties that are being redeveloped. • Securing a $400,000 investment loan from the Grand Rapids Community Foundation that will allow the land bank to purchase a significant number of tax foreclosed properties from the 2012 tax foreclosure list.
• Working to develop a cutting-edge mortgage foreclosure prevention program called “Home Saver” that has the potential to greatly reduce the number of foreclosures in Kent County. • Creating a partnership with Bethany Youth Services and Youth Build
to develop multi-unit housing for young adults transitioning out of foster care.
Land banks have gained popularity nationwide for their positive impact on reducing blight and enabling the re-use of vacant residential and commercial properties to drive neighborhood and business district revitalization. Instead of selling foreclosed properties at auction, the County can hold them in the land bank and maintain them until they are transferred to developers to be rehabilitated and sold. Numerous incentives are available including title clearance, forgiveness of back taxes and liens, holding properties tax free during development, access to brownfield tax credits for all properties that are not contaminated, options for Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and the ability to assemble properties for large scale development. This vital tool shows promise for future success in alleviating the detrimental effects that vacant properties have on neighborhoods.
Fostering New Housing Coalitions
Based on best practices identified by FR, two new housing coalitions formed to address major foreclosure-related problems. Supported by data describing more than 9,000 foreclosures and dramatic increases in single family rentals, twenty-five nonprofit and for-profit organizations came together to strengthen the housing code in Grand Rapids. Through their efforts, changes were adopted in October 2011 to enhance the vacant property ordinance by requiring all vacant properties to be registered, and also to require that single family rental homes
are inspected and certified as meeting the requirements of the housing code. These ordinance changes are designed to result in better monitoring of the vacancies that diminish property values and destabilize neighborhoods, and also ensure that tenants and their neighbors are not subjected to unsafe, substandard rental housing.
The 2010
U.S. Census
counted more
than 19,662
vacant homes
in Kent County,
a increase
from the 2000
Census.
Recognizing foreclosure-related changes in neighborhood dynamics and the increased demand for rental property, the Kent County Renters’ Alliance, with its 20 partner groups formed to:
• Address the huge number of evictions in Kent County (approximately 10,000 in 2010).
• Fill gaps in services for renters, e.g., access to free legal advice. • Organize tenants to develop a platform of advocacy for changes to improve the rent experience.
• Improve community understanding that a broad array of housing choices leads to economic development and vitality for a diverse population of homeowners and renters.
Funding was secured for a two year pilot project from the Dyer-Ives Foundation, Slemons Foundation, Steelcase Foundation and the Grand Rapids Community Foundation. Much like the streamlined and effective FR model, the Renters’ Alliance operates through a local fiduciary agency, with a staff person, oversight committee and regular partner meetings.
Government and Housing Industry Participation and Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP)
Foreclosure Response was instrumental in making the housing industry aware of federal monies to address foreclosures and related negative impacts on both central city and outlying neighborhoods. Through regular, periodic communication, Response partners were able to keep abreast of multiple revenue streams and the varying status and use of each separate resource.
Information sharing amongst all stakeholder groups, including for-profit
businesses, was key to effective communication and identifying a range of issues and possible solutions pertinent to all sectors. Through the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, vacant and foreclosed properties are being rehabilitated into quality, affordable housing units, limiting the detrimental effects of the foreclosure crisis and increasing affordable housing opportunities. Rehabilitation standards include a high energy efficiency component to control utility costs and maintain affordability over the long term.
Entitlement jurisdictions in Grand Rapids, Kent County and Wyoming received a total allocation of almost $29 million. By the end of August 2011, slightly more than $2.8 million in proceeds from property
sales had already been returned to programs for future use. Notably, although each of three consecutive phases of NSP has had a slightly different focus, the partnerships built between municipalities and developers with NSP resources have been one of the programs greatest local outcomes.
“Participation in
Foreclosure Response was
very beneficial for me
and LeeKitson Builders.
The building industry has
undergone tremendous
change. Participating in
the Response opened our
eyes to the affordable
housing business and
showed us how we might
be able to transition
our business from new
home construction to
affordable housing
development. Hopefully,
our experience as a NSP
developer brought a
for-profit perspective to the
discussions that all found
helpful.”
– Alan Kitson, LeeKitson Builders
12 NSP Summary
The Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), was created to rehab vacant and foreclosed residential properties into quality, affordable housing units as a way to limit the detrimental effects of the foreclosure crisis. Each of three allocations has had a different focus and are described as reported August 31, 2011 by jurisdiction. Totals may not aggregate properly due to timing of allocations, receipt of funds, program income return and expenditures.
For more information: http://goo.gl/yvbZD
Allocations
Kent County
City of
Wyoming
City of Grand
Rapids
Total
NSP 1
$3,912,796
$1,350,000
$6,187,686
$11,450,482
NSP 2
$0
$0
$15,849,269
$15,849,269
NSP 3
$0
$0
$1,378,788
$1,378,788
Total allocations
$3,912,796
$1,350,000
$23,415,743
$28,678,539
Property sale funds
returned
$1,552,247
$463,254
$786,481
$2,801,982
Property sale funds
projected
$75,000
$0
$335,000
$410,000
Funds expended
$5,465,043
$1,545,806
$7,094,585
$14,105,434
Funds unspent
$720,016
$267,448
$16,632,493
$17,619,957
Properties
Acquired
37
18
89
144
Sold to homebuyers
27
8
42
77
Sold as rental or
lease-to-own (11 units
total)
7
0
0
7
Currently for sale (10
purchase agreements
executed)
1
7
11
19
Rehabilitation not
complete
2
3
36
41
Neighborhood Engagement
Several organized neighborhoods (18) conducted or participated in education efforts connecting neighbors with housing counseling services and enlisting them in EYES WIDE OPEN, a project of neighbors volunteering to monitor vacant properties near their homes and report any problems to the authorities. Numerous articles were published in newsletters, organization boards and committees included FR announcements on meeting agendas, informative flyers were distributed door-to-door, and many neighborhood organizations joined the housing policy coalition and/or the Kent County Renters’ Alliance. All of these efforts deserve applause, especially those organizations that recruited neighbors to participate in a wide variety of educational, advocacy, leadership development and organizing efforts.
The Legal Response
Residential foreclosures increased the need for legal services to assist both homeowners facing foreclosure and tenants facing eviction due to foreclosure of a rental unit. Legal Aid of Western Michigan responded effectively, aided in part by additional capacity made possible through Countrywide settlement funds.
Homeowners received various services ranging from one-time
consultation or document review, to legal representation in court. In the eighteen months from January 2009 to July 2011, 340 homeowners in Kent County received help from Legal Aid with two-thirds (231, or 68%) of owners successfully avoiding foreclosure.
Renters are protected under a federal law requiring that ‘bona fide’ tenants be allowed to stay in their domicile for at least three months after the property is foreclosed. FR publicized this new and important law, passed in May 2009, to connect distressed renters with Legal Aid services. From April 2010 to July 2011, a number of distressed tenants facing evictions from foreclosed properties received legal assistance and were able to stay in their rental homes.
LESSONS LEARNED
Collective Impact ModelNot only were most projects goals met, but the innovative FR model was proven to be both highly cost-effective and able to support quick and action-oriented Response. The streamlined process involved a small, highly-engaged oversight committee and single staff person to coordinate FR activities. It is noteworthy that the success of the Response was contingent on the determination and cooperation of the 70 stakeholder groups, as neither the committee nor the staff had any authority over partners. As fiduciary agent, the Fair Housing Center of West Michigan was efficient and flexible in its administration, thereby enabling management of the effort without the time constraints involved in establishing a new 501(c)(3) organization.
All of these efforts
deserve applause,
especially those
organizations that
recruited neighbors
to participate in
a wide variety
of educational,
advocacy,
leadership
development and
organizing efforts.
14 Best Practices
Foreclosure Response examined success stories and best practices of other distressed communities via conferences, networking, research articles, and data utilization. While the list of national best practices was extensive and required that the Response view these options through a local lens particularly regarding state laws, the research hastened the pace and increased the number of creative solutions included in the Comprehensive Response Plan.
Communication, Communication, Communication
Having a vehicle for communication and access to quality data rank as the two aspects of FR that community partners want most to continue. Regular communication through FR meetings as well as email, newsletters and side-bar conversations spurred ideas, fostered collaboration, and provided vital information. Because of the housing market crash and resulting foreclosure crisis, it was and remains imperative to stay updated on current data, emerging issues, new best practices, and programs available that provide resources. Communication remains available at
www.ForeclosureResponseKent.org, created immediately after the project began in 2008 and continuing for the foreseeable future. This no-cost access includes local, state and national news articles, reports and research, and county-wide foreclosure data by local jurisdiction and at specific neighborhood levels. The website counts approximately 300 hits per month, with 90% being new users. Many Response affiliates are linked to the website, and Kent County’s www.accesskent.com website refers about 30% of all viewers. Fortunately, the County recognized the need early on in the project to cross-post, greatly increasing site traffic.
THE ROAD AHEAD
From three years of intensive work, those engaged with Foreclosure Response learned that high-impact efforts must be driven by high quality data, frequent analysis of emerging best practices, along with a solid foundation of credible, effective partners and must include consistent, broad-based community engagement aligned toward shared goals.
The Comprehensive Response Plan points stakeholders toward systemic improvements designed to build and sustain the overall quality of neighborhoods and foster economic development, and offers a convenient, mutually agreed-upon framework for periodic evaluation.
Thanks to funding from Kent County and the Dyer-Ives Foundation, the Community Research Institute has resumed providing publicly accessible, high quality, local data and analysis of critical
foreclosure-related trends. Access to such data will enable organizations, government entities and the private sector to identify foreclosure ‘hot spots’ and prioritize
hardest hit geographic areas. This data will also be utilized to strengthen grant proposals to leverage funds for future projects related to key housing issues. Foreclosure Response partners and funders look forward to different forms of continuing engagement around this issue, and replication of the collective impact strategies utilized. Despite closing the short-term FR project after three years, the community’s work continues, due in part to on-going data and communication efforts, but also as a result of the visible success of past efforts on individuals, families, neighborhoods and communities.
Recommendations for needed change continue to percolate from stakeholders and their experiences, based on best practices and taking unique, local factors into account. The recently launched Kent County Renters’ Alliance intends to be a driving force in policy development that specifically relates to renters. The broader goal of creating solutions that address the intersecting issues of affordable housing, homelessness and foreclosures requires substantial, focused community involvement in order to have collective impact.
EMERGING ISSUES
• Unless there is significant economic recovery coupled with the capacity and willingness of financial institutions to modify vast numbers of loans, residential foreclosure numbers will continue to plague the community.
• Housing is becoming less affordable even for the average median income family in Kent County. Hopefully, more vacant REO properties held by banks and mortgage holders will be donated to the Kent County land bank. The Land Bank can transfer these properties with a clear title and at very low cost to housing development entities that provide rental, lease-to-own and homeownership programs across the county, increasing the supply and variety of affordable housing options.
• In March 2012, a federal judge ruled in favor of Oakland County in the first lawsuit in the nation filed to recover millions in unpaid real estate transfer taxes from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Ingham County has filed a similar suit that also includes Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Trott and Trott and others. According to the Detroit News, (http://goo.gl/la/8U) Oakland County Treasurer Andy Meisner estimated the damages to Oakland County are between $3 and $4 million, and another $11-$20 million for the State. Although Kent County has yet to calculate its potential transfer tax loss on more than 7,200 properties
(presumably within the six year statute of limitations), or take legal action similar to that of Oakland County, such action may well point to significant resources to address persistent foreclosure costs in the county, and across Michigan.
How the community addresses these issues and others as they emerge will have tremendous impact on the health of the county’s housing market, the sustainability of rising urban suburban
neighborhoods, and the economic well-being of Kent County residents. The use of existing tools, expertise and relationships can positively affect the future of the entire community.
One of the
2,970 doors
visited to educate
residents about
the foreclosure
crisis, community
resources
available and
opportunities to
help stabilize
neighborhoods.
