Braving America without a home has always been hard. Now it’s becoming a crime. A recent survey of 234 cities by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty found that on nearly every front, municipalities are cracking down on the homeless: 24% prohibit begging, 22% prohibit loitering and 16% say it’s illegal to sleep in public places.

Full Article here: http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/story/2012-02-14/homelessness-poverty-criminalize/53094736/1. 

Peculiar Problem in the District as well, where homelessness is up 20%:  http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2012/02/22/homeless-families-up-20-percent/

In a recent Washington Post Article “In D.C. loan program, mortgage defaults abound”, the District’s homegrown down payment loan program, HPAP, was painted a massive failure that purposely sets low-income residents up for failure.  This couldn’t be further from the truth. The article takes the facts about high delinquency rates out of the context, comparing the rates for small down payment loans (historically and expectedly high compared to first trust delinquency rates), as its evidence that the program is a ‘wasteland’ and the District is putting families in ‘loans buyers can’t afford’.  However the true measure of the program, a1.8% foreclosure rate, gets dismissed.

Ms. Cenziper isolates a few instances where purchasers paid too much for their homes and are facing problems staying current on their mortgages.  Ms. Cenziper contacted Manna in her research and the following was shared to her, none of which appears in her article.  A typical HPAP recipient goes through an intake session, a home purchase counseling program, two levels of underwriting for credit and income worthiness, and the professionalism of the program management.  The end result is a buyer educated on the risks and responsibilities of being a homeowner.

Manna has been producing affordable homeownership housing for almost 30 years now and we know what a ‘Wasteland’ looks like.  The down payment loan program provides a responsible, successful approach for lending money that is repaid and recycled.

Sensationalizing the facts to fit the headline contributes to the misinformation about affordable homeownership housing.  With a less than 2% foreclosure rate, it’s hard to make sense of the article.   The program has successfully contributed to assisting thousands of low and moderate income people become homeowners in the District.  This should be celebrated instead of scapegoated.

WAMU reporter Elahe Izadi wrote today about the situation of affordable condo owners who were integrated into market-rate condo buildings and the current issue of escalating condo fees that are making their units unaffordable, and the City-imposed resale and rental restrictions that are locking some of these owners in their units. One thing not covered in the article are solutions that have been presented to the City Council, which include:

1.      Allowing ADU owners to resell to buyers in higher income categories

2.      Allowing ADU owners to rent out their units at a price that covers the monthly costs of the unit.

3.      Creating an Excessive Condo Fee Loan program by utilizing the restricted equity of the ADU units

While it is understandable that the City, as Councilmember Jim Graham says in the WAMU article, “need[s] to understand how widespread [high condo fees are], what kind of impact this is having on people,” the City also needs to work quickly to help owners who are at a breaking point and owners who will get there soon. This is not what the City intended, this issue is only going to get worse, and the City can work efficiently and speedily to address it.

The Continuum of Housing, a campaign of the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Development, encompasses a full range of housing options, from supportive housing for the homeless to affordable homeownership and everything in-between. As the market does not provide the type of housing needed at a cost that many can afford, the campaign brings together nonprofits and others along the Continuum to work together and with the DC Government to ensure city housing policies and funding priorities that provide housing options for all DC residents, offering people support and stability as they live and work in the city and helping people to climb up the economic ladder and out of poverty and dependence. Listen below to  long-time DC resident, Billy Hart, share his Continuum of Housing story and join us at the December 10th Housing for All/Continuum rally at the MLK Library from 12-2pm to support an inclusive and prosperous city.

Video created by HAT.