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Oakland Tackles Foreclosed Homes With Federal and State Money

Oakland has been granted an allocation of $8.2 million from the U.S. Federal Housing and Economic Recovery Act to rehabilitate foreclosed houses in the city, but it must
submit specific proposals by December 1 on how to help residents at risk of foreclosures and on how to handle foreclosed homes in order to receive the rehabilitation money.

Oakland, which is tenth in a list of cities with the highest foreclosure rates in the U.S., is also competing with other top ten foreclosure cities, such as Stockton, Sacramento, Bakersfield and Fresno, for funds from the state’s Dept. of Housing and Community Development’s $145 million housing rehabilitation budget.

The department will prioritize cities with the largest percentage of foreclosed homes, the largest percentage of houses financed by sub-prime loans and the highest escalating rate for adjustable-rate sub-prime loans. According to research company DataQuick, Oakland has 2,000 properties already foreclosed by banks.

An advocacy organization for low-income families, named Association of Community Organizing for Reform Now (ACORN) and headed by Beverly Williams, has been working with city executives and banks to modify sub-prime loans and convert them into the more affordable and flexible conventional loans. The group has also partnered with the nonprofit Urban Strategies Council to rehabilitate vacant houses and restore blighted communities.

Williams said that it has been very distressing to see lots of vacant houses and people squatting in abandoned properties. She said that on the area covered by 78th Avenue to 89th Avenue alone, there are over 150 deserted homes.

ACORN leaders have also talked with Governor Schwarzenegger and asked him to sign SB1137, which orders mortgage companies to negotiate with borrowers before foreclosing, allows tenants to remain in foreclosed properties for a time as they look for somewhere else to stay, commands property owners to maintain their foreclosure properties to prevent vandalism and squatting and imposes fines on lenders that refuse to comply with housing rehabilitation measures.

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• Nonprofit Developers Will Have First Look at Foreclosed Properties
• Aurora Finalizes Plans for the $4.5 Million HUD Foreclosure Funds
• Sunshine State Will Receive Federal Money to Handle Foreclosures
• Difficult Times Ahead Due to Increased Home Foreclosures