The letter stated “These programs are effective tools in creating affordable housing supply and are funded by a de minimis fee on new business, currently 4.2 basis points, and not through federal appropriations. They have broad bipartisan support and failure to continue to fund them will result in an even greater need for government spending to address the shortage of affordable housing in the future.”
“The Capital Magnet Fund provides essential equity capital that non-profit developers and lenders often cannot find elsewhere — funding to do pre-development work, create revolving loan funds, establish loan loss reserves and provide loan guarantees — all critical pieces of affordable housing and community development.” David M. Dworkin
David Dworkin, president and CEO of National Housing Conference, agrees. “There are a couple of reasons why it does not make much sense as a blanket proposal,” he said. Dworkin is worried that low- and moderate-income families could get displaced in scenarios such as the one Lawrence describes.
“The National Housing Conference submitted comments seeking more reporting requirements “to avoid the potential for fraud and displacement that would ultimately increase the cost of the initiative and turn [OZs] into a costly tax shelter.”
“While none of the 1,175 rental contracts that were not renewed by HUD due to the shutdown were likely to affect low-income tenants, according to the National Housing Conference (NHC), this could have changed if the shutdown extended past February. NHC said that HUD staff was working with landlords across the country to ensure this does not happen. Additionally, contracts were being paid with available funds, and landlords were being told to use their reserves to cover operating expenses.”
“Your mortgage company or landlord may not even know you’re a federal worker…for mortgage holders you need to call and send a letter to your mortgage servicer,” David M. Dworkin shared. “Make a photo copy of your government id, so they know it’s legit you’re a federal employee. Photo copy the email you may have gotten from your supervisor explaining what you’re supposed to do. That stuff is very important part of the record for the lender, and it will make it easier for them to help you.”
“Every day the stalemate continues, pressure increases on both the White House and Congress to reach a settlement,” said David M. Dworkin, President and CEO of NHC. “So there is no guarantee that the government will still be shut down in February, but we are in uncharted water and anything is possible.”
“We need to be careful not to scare senior citizens for instance into thinking they’re going to be kicked out of their homes.” – David M. Dworkin
“Homeownership rates remain down, especially for millennials, who while they were late to home-buying, lead all other generations in a desire to be homeowners. Rents are unaffordable for half of all Americans.” – David M. Dworkin
“As rents rise, of course, you end up with constraints all along the housing continuum, which is one of the reason why we’ve had housing evictions rise in the rental markets and homelessness rise.” – David M. Dworkin
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