Faith Schwartz, the executive director of HOPE NOW, talks about the organizations success so far this year. She says that the numbers for June are “the best ever,” explaining that 181,000 loans were worked out in that month alone. Schwartz also says that a total of 1.9 million foreclosures were prevented and that HOPE NOW will continue to work to reach and help more at risk homeowners. (0:43)
Charles Calomiris who is currently serving as a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute believes that the current foreclosure crisis might go until 2009. Calomiris added that he feels we have a couple of rough years ahead but that he is optimistic about the economy. (0:27)
By watching the news most Americans believe that there is a real crisis in the foreclosure market. This is not the held belief though of Charles Calomiris who is currently serving as a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). (more…)
The HOPENOW Alliance sponsored a conference call discussing the ways they have helped “distressed homeowners” keep their houses and start to bring about the end of the foreclosure crisis.
The call described the new agreement HOPENOW has implemented to help distressed families. This agreement will hopefully “streamline help”- making monetary assistance come faster to families in need. The new agreement will also hopefully alert more at risk homeowners before they find themselves in financial trouble.
Leaders of the Alliance emphasized the progress their program has had, and the steps they are making to improve their efforts. They said they are still trying to make borrowers more open to discussing financing options with the people loaning them money.
At a Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis on neighborhoods, Maryland Councilmember Nancy Floreen says that foreclosed property “sends a message” to the rest of the community that they “don’t need to try,” and that if they’re “on the edge, why not do it to?” She said it causes others in surrounding homes to wonder why they should improve the “quality of life within a community” by cleaning up graffiti, mowing lawns, repairing broken steps, and other maintenance issues. (0:50)
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities held a conference call to compare the House and Senate housing relief tax packages. Aviva Aron-Dine, Barbara Sard, and Robert Greenstein, executive director of CBPP spoke during the briefing. (47:32)
