Neighborhood Partnerships

On Wednesday, April 11, Governor Kitzhaber signed into law SB 1552, which provides homeowners facing foreclosure with new tools.  This monumental legislation will address the overwhelming tide of foreclosures and financial insecurity which has been threatening to permanently undermine the foundations of our state.

The legislation is just the first step – from April 11, we have ninety-one days to implement the law and re-imagine the current system to best make all these pieces work together for the benefit of homeowners and Oregon communities. While the task is large, the Housing Alliance and advocates are confident we can do it and that we can make it work well for homeowners.

To help inform our partners and move us forward, the Housing Alliance will be sending out periodic email updates, in addition to convening regular meetings.  Please feel free to share our email updates about progress on implementation, or contact us with questions.

Today, too many Oregonians are facing the uncertainty of foreclosure or of owing more on their home than it’s worth.  One in five is underwater, while one in eleven is either in default or is 30 days late on their mortgage payments.  The law being put into effect by SB 1552 plus funds from the national Attorneys General settlement will make a huge positive impact for these homeowners.  The law will provide access to accurate information and will help equip homeowners to make good decisions about their future.  Together, the policy changes plus the monetary resources will create a complete system to protect homeowners from bad practices, give them access to needed resources, information, and assistance, and stop allowing foreclosures to wreak havoc on our economy.

What will the law do?   The basics are that it gives homeowners facing foreclosure the right to mediation, access to better information and protection from “dual track” processing.  Here are some more details:

1. Mediation:  The law requires lenders to meet with homeowners who are underwater or in default with a third party mediator.  For homeowners who are underwater, it must be upon the borrower’s request.  For homeowners in default, lenders must mediate with borrowers prior to starting the foreclosure process unless the borrower chooses to opt out of the process.
• Authority to Negotiate: At mediation, banks must send someone to mediation who has the authority to accept or reject proposals for foreclosure avoidance.
• Lenders and borrowers will share cost for mediation, with borrowers’ costs being capped at $200 and waived if needed.
• Mediators must issue a certificate of compliance to the bank before they can proceed with a foreclosure filing.
2. Counseling: The law requires that homeowners need to receive housing counseling prior to proceeding with mediation. The law does provide an exemption in cases where a homeowner can’t get an appointment with a counselor within thirty days.
3. Advanced Notification Rules: The law sets up timelines for notices of mediation, sale, and foreclosure.  Lenders must follow these timelines to legally foreclose on a homeowner.  It also provides rules for proper notice for homeowners about sale dates.
4. Ends dual-track processes:  The law prohibits all lenders from “dual tracking” homeowners – renegotiating loan terms while also pursuing foreclosure.

Those are the basics of the law. You can read more here.

So now what? Advocates are working to help implement this law in a way that envisions a whole system and uses national Attorneys General settlement dollars to fill gaps in our current system. The goal is to have the system as up to speed as possible by the effective date of the law, July 12, 2012.

We are working hard to ensure all homeowners will be able to access the information and resources they need, when they need it. This system could include:

1. Coordinated, strategic outreach to homeowners to inform them about their options and help them access the services they need.
2. Counseling to homeowners through certified foreclosure counselors.  This could start as a group session in which homeowners learn more about the basics of foreclosure and their rights and responsibilities. From there, it could expand to include one on one counseling sessions and assistance preparing for mediation.
3. Mediation with their lender and a neutral third party mediator.  The law guarantees access to mediation unless the borrower waives it.  We’re working to create a system to help homeowners understand what mediation is and its benefits, and to help them access it smoothly and in a timely fashion.  Mediation can help homeowners understand and realize their options – whether that’s staying in their home, selling through a short-sale, or another option that best meets their needs.
4. Legal assistance for homeowners with lower incomes who need legal advice for more complicated circumstances.
5. Connecting homeowners to other available assistance programs, and onngoing evaluation about what is working for Oregon homeowners and communities

The new foreclosure law has the potential to positively impact thousands of homeowners across Oregon, and help stop the negative effects of foreclosure on our communities, our economy, and our state.  Together, we can create a system that fully utilizes the policy changes and settlement dollars to benefit homeowners in need of assistance.

What if we told you there was something you could do to improve your health and your community at the same time? And that it was as simple as voting?

Increased civic engagement, including voting, is linked to all sorts of positive outcomes including an increased sense of being able to influence our own lives and outcomes – including our health. However too many people in our community don’t participate in voting or other forms of civic engagement. The majority of people who aren’t registered or don’t vote regularly are women, people of color, people with low incomes, or young people. In 2008, only 6 out of 10 eligible voters under age 30 voted.

Neighborhood Partnerships and the Housing Alliance are interested in helping to change that, along with many other allies and partners across the state who are working to help make sure that everyone who is eligible to vote can vote. When more people participate in our political process and civic life, we have a healthier, richer community. (Check out a great video from our partners at Oregon Voice.)

Civic engagement is about creating and sustaining a healthy democracy. Voting is one of our rights, responsibilities and privileges. Helping make sure people who are eligible to vote can vote is hugely important and it’s important for the communities we serve.

• Women, People of Color, Low Income Communities, and Young People are all less likely to vote.
• Civic engagement provides opportunities to invite the people we serve to take part in a positive and important process.
• Elected officials pay attention to who votes and who doesn’t vote.

Civic engagement puts our communities’ needs into the forefront of the political process.

As a 501(c)(3) organization, there is a lot you can do to help engage people in our democracy. You can register people to vote. You can help educate our community about issues such as affordable housing. You can encourage people to vote. You can even take a position on statewide ballot initiatives. (Check out this fact sheet.)

Over the course of the next six months, Neighborhood Partnerships and the Housing Alliance will be working with our partners to try out some strategies to register and educate voters. If you’re interested in participating in or learning more about our non-partisan civic engagement efforts, contact Alison.

The following article appeared in the March 2nd edition of Street Roots newspaper.

We can turn this house of cards into a real home
By Alison McIntosh, Contributing Columnist

It’s the 28th of February, and the Legislature is still at work in Salem for this short February session. This month has been hard, with the Legislature dealing with both a difficult budget and complicated policy issues in an election year. The Legislature has acted in several significant ways to protect our communities and prioritize people’s needs, and the end result isn’t as bad as we feared it might be.

Many last minute items are still in process in Salem, and unfortunately some critically important work may be left undone. The budget however is widely considered as of today to be a done deal and while not as bad as we feared the news is still not good for those Oregonians most affected by the recession. Our safety net in Oregon feels much like a house of cards – it can provide some basic assistance to some people that need it, but it cannot adequately provide safety and meet basic needs for everyone. And for those with ongoing and significant needs, it may fail altogether.

Programs that provide emergency rent assistance and funding for shelters across the state (Emergency Housing Assistance and the State Homeless Assistance Program) experienced additional cuts of 3.5%. While this may seem like a small cut, these resources were already inadequate. Too many of our neighbors and families in need of rent assistance will be turned away from help. Programs to protect children and families continue to erode through additional cuts to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, program. The impact of the cuts will be that those who have left TANF for work but need to return to the program may be asked to wait longer to return, and there were cuts to the portion of the program serving immigrants and refugees. People leaving TANF for work will also no longer receive a small subsidy designed to help them sustain their new employment. In slightly better news, many of the programs protecting seniors and people with disabilities were protected for now from further cuts.

While the state budget has huge impacts on our lives as Oregonians, we also are affected by federal budget and local budgets. These budgets all help to build, or erode the house that protects us in good times and bad. It seems like this news is getting worse as well – federal cuts proposed to housing assistance; local cuts proposed to transit services; and agencies and churches that seek to help are operating beyond capacity. How much longer can we hold together this house of cards?

While I know the cuts to local, state and federal budgets will continue to deeply and negatively affect Oregonians across the state, I believe it’s safe to hope the state budget will not get worse. It’s time to start thinking and working towards rebuilding a better future – one that isn’t a house of cards.

It’s time to see our state as a place of opportunity for everyone, one with strong communities where we pull together to overcome hardship and protect those most vulnerable among us. It’s time to commit to the idea that we live in a society where we are all in it together, where our fates are linked and we rise and fall as one.

If we believe these things, then we can begin to rebuild our house of cards into one with real walls, doors and a roof. One with strong supports for people who need it, one with a roof over everyone’s heads, and one with clear pathways to opportunity.

How do we get there from here? First, let’s remember that the Representatives and Senators who make these decisions in the State Legislature are our elected officials. We ask them to do the hard work of balancing the budget and making choices – so let’s get involved. Let’s thank them for their hard work and sit down to talk about what we would like our state to look like in the future. Let’s start a dialogue about how we transform the house of cards we have into the real house that we want.

The Housing Alliance brings together advocates, local governments, housing authorities, community development corporations, environmentalists, service providers, business interests, and all others dedicated to increasing the resources available to meet our housing needs to support a common statewide legislative and policy agenda. Alison McIntosh is a Policy Manager with Neighborhood Partnerships.

http://streetroots.wordpress.com/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 1, 2012

For More Information:
Janet Byrd
(503) 516-4698

Ryan Fisher
(503) 807-7525

Oregon Homeowners will Suffer While they Wait for Foreclosure Relief

With the short February session winding down, advocates today believe that all hope of passing foreclosure reform is lost. Two bills, SB1552 and SB1564 would have brought significant relief to homeowners across Oregon who are at risk of foreclosure. SB1552 and SB1564 were passed with large, bi-partisan majorities by the Senate, but stalled in the House.

“The overwhelming tide of foreclosures and financial security are threatening to permanently undermine the foundations of our state. We needed our Legislators to make decisions to protect Oregonians, and take action to rebuild our state,” said Janet Byrd, Chair of the Housing Alliance. “These bills would have been decisive action to stop the havoc and despair caused by foreclosures.”

SB1552 and SB1564 would have provided homeowners with timely and accurate information about their choices to allow them to make informed decisions. The bills would have also guaranteed fair dealing by the banks, and would have equipped homeowners to make good decisions based on good information. Together with the national settlement resources, these changes would have significantly and positively affected Oregonians at risk of foreclosure.

“Without these protections, we will continue to see homeowners act in good faith on information provided to them, only to learn that the sands have shifted,” continued Byrd. “We still have choices to make that can help Oregon homeowners. Now is the time for Legislators and others to come to the table and figure out a way forward using the Attorney General settlement dollars to positively impact the lives of Oregon homeowners. We need to use this precious resource wisely.”

While the Housing Alliance knows that homeowners and communities will suffer as they wait until the next Legislative session for decisive action, we continue to be hopeful that the bi-partisan agreement by the Legislature to put funds from the Attorney General settlement into uses that will help support homeowners will continue. These resources can make a significant difference for Oregon homeowners.

“While the path ahead is difficult, we continue to believe that Oregonians working together can find solutions to the foreclosure crisis,” said Byrd. “We can make the right choice to best protect and ensure the future we all want.”

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One in eleven homeowners in Oregon is either in foreclosure or has a mortgage 30 or more days in default. One in five homeowners are underwater on their mortgages owing more than the home is worth.

Homeowners are suffering from the resulting stress and uncertainty, their neighbors are feeling the impacts of vacant homes, and our communities and economies are bearing the costs.

Homeowners need decisive action so that they take steps to re-build their lives, and communities need decisive action to re-build Oregon. Oregonians are counting on the Legislature to:

• Guarantee a fair chance: Protect homeowners from the “dual track”, by requiring that banks not foreclose on homeowners who are in the process of modifying their mortgage. Pass SB 1564.

• Guarantee good information: Require banks to offer a meeting with homeowners, before a neutral third party mediator, before foreclosure begins. Pass SB 1552A.

• Invest Wisely: Use the funds coming in to Oregon as part of the Attorneys General settlement with five national banks to help all homeowners who are in foreclosure, in default, or who owe more than their homes are worth.

Last week, NP’s Janet Byrd co-authored an op-ed abut the Foreclosure crisis and important action by the Legislature. The good news is SB 1552 and SB 1564 passed the Senate! Now they move on to the House, and we meed your help. Its time to call your Representative and ask them to help make sure these important bills are heard in Committee and moved to the House floor.

Those who say we’ve done enough on foreclosure are wrong – Oregonians are still suffering and these bills would make a significant different in people’s lives. These bills would provide homeowners with timely and accurate information about their choices and ensure a fair and reliable process prior to foreclosure. Please tell your Representative that our communities cannot wait until 2013 for decisive action, and to please vote yes on SB 1552 and SB 1564. The foreclosure crisis will continue to drag down our families and our economy until action is taken by the Legislature to provide homeowners access to good information and guarantees of fair dealing.

The following article appeared in Saturday’s Oregonian. NP’s Janet Byrd and Israel Bayer of Street Roots and Bill Hall, a Lincoln County Commissioner co-authored this op-ed about the importance of addressing housing issues during the current legislative session. You can view it online here.

Legislative session: Housing, homelessness issues should be on agenda

Published: Saturday, February 11, 2012, 4:00 AM

By Israel Bayer, Janet Byrd and Bill Hall

The Oregon Legislature got some good news for our communities this week. Lawmakers heard from forecasters that the economy is beginning to stabilize and show some signs of recovery, and that state revenues have leveled off after many quarters of continued downturn and loss.

Now is not the time for us to relax, and neither can our lawmakers. The list of bad news continues to be long: Our neighbors, friends, schoolchildren and grandparents still need our help. The ripple effects of the economic devastation have touched all of us personally and all of the systems we have created as a community. Our schools, our nonprofit service providers, our churches and faith institutions are struggling to meet the needs they see. Homelessness is at a peak, rental housing is in short supply, rents are too high for average workers to afford, and foreclosures are ravaging communities from the coast to the eastern border.

The overwhelming tide of foreclosures and financial uncertainty threatens to permanently undermine the foundations of our state. We need our legislators to make decisions that put more Oregonians on a pathway toward prosperity. We need our lawmakers to look long-term and take action to rebuild Oregon now, before they leave Salem at the end of February. The good news is that the Legislature can act to rebuild our foundations and put us back on solid footing. The decisions we make now will shape our state for years to come. We can and must create an Oregon that offers opportunity for all its residents.

The Housing Alliance, a statewide coalition of housing providers, advocates, local jurisdictions and others concerned with the availability of affordable housing, is asking the Legislature to act on the 2012 Housing Opportunity Agenda. The agenda identifies a range of solutions with modest price tags and far-reaching impact.

Two items on the agenda can’t be left undone.

First, the Legislature should reverse cuts to programs that are the first line of defense against hunger and homelessness. Because of the way that state budgets work, programs that provide access to emergency food and emergency housing and that help to prevent the dislocation of more households are being cut at the time when the need for them is the greatest. Just a few million dollars here would help protect households in every corner of the state. As we make choices to help our state move along the path to an economic recovery, we can’t leave Oregonians most affected by the recession behind.

Second, the Legislature has the ability to act to protect homeowners affected by foreclosure. Our communities cannot wait until 2013 for decisive action while foreclosures wreak havoc and despair among families and communities across the state. Two bills moving in the Oregon Senate, SB1552 and SB1564, would provide homeowners with timely and accurate information about their choices and allow them to make informed decisions. And resources that Oregon will receive from the recent settlement with national lenders can be put to work to maximize the impact of the private and federal programs and resources that have been directed toward homeowner relief. The foreclosure crisis will continue to drag down our communities and our economy until action is taken by the Legislature to provide homeowners access to good information and guarantees of fair dealing.

While the path ahead is difficult, we know that there are solutions. We can make the right choices to best protect and ensure the future we all want: a future in which all Oregonians have access to opportunity and pathways out of poverty. February is the time to make these choices.

Israel Bayer is the executive director of Street Roots. Janet Byrd is the executive director of Neighborhood Partnerships and convenes the Housing Alliance. Bill Hall is a Lincoln County commissioner.

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Want to know more?

How can you help? Call your Senator or Representative and ask them to vote yes on the two bills moving in the Senate, SB 1552 and SB 1564. Those who say we’ve done enough on foreclosure are wrong – Oregonians are still suffering and these bills would make a significant different in people’s lives. These bills would provide homeowners with timely and accurate information about their choices and ensure a fair and reliable process prior to foreclosure. Please tell your Senator that our communities cannot wait until 2013 for decisive action, and to please vote yes on SB 1552 and SB 1564. The foreclosure crisis will continue to drag down our families and our economy until action is taken by the Legislature to provide homeowners access to good information and guarantees of fair dealing.

The Oregon Legislature came into session just over one week ago, on February 1. Things are moving at breakneck speed as Legislators hope to be done by the end of February. With such a short session, most action is focused on rebalancing the state budget. We’re advocating for Legislators to also focus on protecting Oregonians most affected by the economic downturn and also by foreclosures.

On the Housing Opportunity Agenda for 2012 is:

• Protecting Basic Services for Oregonians
• Preserve Existing Affordable Housing
• Ensure Effective Recordation of Affordable Housing Covenants
• Protect Homeowners Facing Foreclosure
• Support the extension of the Farmworker Housing Tax Credit
• Protect Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
• Fix problems with the Senior & Disabled Property Tax Deferral Program

Things will continue to move at lightning speed in Salem. If you’re interested in what’s happening, you can join the Housing Alliance or email Alison with questions. If you’re interested in visiting your legislator to talk about housing needs in your community, please let us know.

Neighborhood Partnerships is excited to announce that we will launch a mini Advocate’s College in Corvallis on Tuesday, March 20 and Monday, April 23. This is a shorter, less intensive version, but the same topics will be covered. Neighborhood Partnerships will offer this unique training opportunity to up to fifteen participants. We have several goals for this work.

• First and foremost, our goal is to support established leaders and communications professionals who are working to create an Oregon which offers its diversity of residents opportunities to thrive, pathways out of poverty and disenfranchisement and adequately supported public systems and structures as shared tools for these goals.
• Second, we want to train and support an emerging cadre of leaders and communicators as they work on issues and in cross-issue coalitions to develop messages and materials that resonate and move an advocacy agenda. We will select participants who have a clear issue focus and advocacy or campaign plan, a commitment to strategic communications, and a recognition that building public support for governmental action and resources is an underlying priority.

Participants will be selected based on their (and their organizations’) commitment to:

• advancing defined policy changes through a deliberate communication strategy
• block off time for this training and for development of communications materials
• grass roots or direct engagement in Oregon communities and in coalition efforts, and
• commitment to development of / use of a strong shared theme which reinforces the need for effective public structures and adequate and reasonable revenues

To apply, please fill out the application. It is due at Neighborhood Partnerships on or before March 1, 2012, and applications will be accepted until all spots are filled. Our application and pre training questionnaire are designed to help us select the cohort most able to put these skills into use and to tailor our sessions to support their progress.

If you have any questions about the application process, please email Janet.

Oregonians facing the loss of their homes need clear and accurate information about their rights, obligations and the foreclosure process. Where possible, alternatives to foreclosure ought to be fairly considered. When there is no viable alternative, the foreclosure process ought to be conducted with adequate notice and transparent process. The Housing Alliance has adopted the following principles:

1. Mediation to stop preventable foreclosures – Mediation should be required before finalization of a foreclosure, to provide homeowners and lenders the opportunity to make timely decisions regarding alternatives to foreclosure.
2. Dual-track protection – Homeowners should be protected from foreclosure during the time they are actively engaged in loan modification or loss mitigation negotiations. Loss mitigation negotiations ought to be fair and transparent.
3. Servicer standards – Loan servicers should adhere to basic minimum standards of good faith and fair dealing, and should be held accountable for violations of those standards.

To lend your voice to this effort, please contact Janet Byrd at jbyrd@neighborhoodpartnerships.org. We’ll let you know of hearings and other advocacy opportunities as they arise in February. In the meantime, contact your legislator to let them know these issues matter to you, and that you want to see action in February.

On January 11th, Neighborhood Partnerships continued our work with Patrick Bresette of the Public Works Project (link: http://sites.google.com/site/demospublicworks/). He spoke about the role of the Occupy movement, and how it’s changed the national debate around inequality. He also shared research and insights from working across the country in support of efforts to build and maintain strong communities that meet the needs of all residents. While in Oregon, Patrick also spent another day with us during the second session of the Advocate’s College.

You can download the presentation from that evening here. You can also visit the Public Works website where you can download other presentations, research, or view webinars, including the most recent “From Occupation to Reclamation”.

Thanks are also due to NW Natural for their generous donation of the space and their assistance in hosting a small reception following the event. Stay tuned to our blog or newsletter for more opportunities as we move this work forward.

Take a look at some photos from the event on our Facebook page.