To see the recap from a previous Housing Forum, select from the links below.

2010
Q2 June 2, 2010 - The Role of Single Family Mortgage Finance in Stabilizing Metro
Q1 March 3, 2010 - Distressed Properties in Metro Atlanta: Suffering the Consequences and Formulating Responses

2009
Q4: December 2, 2009 - After the Deluge: Housing Challenges for Local Governments  in the Post-Foreclosure Era
Q3: September 2, 2009 - Linking Transportation, Land Use and Housing
Q2: June 3, 2009 - Housing Recovery 
Q1: March 4, 2009 - Neighborhood Stabilization Program               

 

Q2 Meeting Date: June 2, 2010
Topic: The Role of Single Family Mortgage Finance in Stabilizing Metro

RECAP
 The June 2nd forum, moderated by Bill Bolling and attended by over 100 people, featured the following panelists discussing the issue of single family mortgage availability for metro neighborhoods, and what role this plays in neighborhood stabilization: Catherine “Candy” Lasher, Fannie Mae; Brigitte Killings, Bank of America; Jeanne Goldie, Wells Fargo; Debra Robinson, FHA.

Highlights of their comments and some of the subsequent discussion points include:

Candy Lasher (Fannie Mae)
• A strong pickup will not happen until the existing inventory of loans and foreclosures are worked off.
• Fannie Mae’s Economics Department expects purchase originations to increase, and refinance initiations to slowly decrease. Origination market in 2010 is expected to be over $1Trillion.
• Home sales surged during the homebuyer’s credit, but this was temporary.
• Home sales are expected to increase 5.5% in 2010.
• Home prices may decline slightly further before stabilizing. Home price declines have become a story of geographies versus the national story it was, as declines are now continuing in certain areas but not everywhere.
• Mortgage interest rates are expected to rise modestly over 2010.
• Candy reiterated to the attendees that Fannie is in the secondary mortgage market, and does not provide directly to homebuyers. Fannie keeps the market liquid by providing financing after the fact. This is done two ways: by buying whole loans for cash from lenders, that Fannie then holds or repackages, or by issuing mortgage backed securities and provide credit guarantee to large lenders.
• Lenders have found themselves unable to sustain lending activities, and Fannie Mae has done a lot during this cycle to provide the tools, resources and capabilities to some of the financial challenged lenders. Fannie Mae wants to keep them active and lending in communities.
• Fannie Mae has developed a unique partnership with Freddie Mac. These two agencies have normally been competitors, but under the new direction of their regulator the two agencies are partnering on new data standards relative to loan data and the verification process that would help ensure lenders have better certainty around loans. This new tool will help guarantee loans made are good loans and will ring out fraud.
• Fannie Mae’s role has not really changed. While policies have been adjusted and where resources are allocated and directed have shifted, Fannie’s overall place within the secondary mortgage market will not change.
• Fannie Mae recently conducted a national housing survey to try to assess potential borrower attitudes. (survey can be accessed on their website).
o The survey found that 2/3 of Americans still prefer owning over renting
o The survey also found that people are more cautious about homeownership and what that entails.
o 60% of respondents felt they would face a harder time getting mortgage.
• The purchase money market is still challenged.
• There is a larger focus on sustainability – not just a focus on getting people in homes, but getting people in homes to stay. Also concerned with sustainability for entities such as Fannie Mae; Fannie Mae is trying to ultimately attract private capital back into the mortgage market. Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie are in the secondary market – they need robust secondary market in investment. This will require a rebuilding of confidence in the quality of loans.
• Fannie Mae’s underwriting system has a 620 minimum credit score right now. In order to do a high LTV low down payment mortgage, Fannie and Freddie have to have mortgage insurance for anything over 80 percent LTV. There is an absence of robust activity in lower credit scores and high LTV lending.
• Fannie is trying to promote the notion of primary residences. Fannie’s First Look Program, which reserves the first 15 days of a foreclosed property listing for owner occupants, has been successful.
• Foreclosure disposition – 70 percent went to owner occupancy or public entities. But at the same time, private capital is needed in this business. There are good investor groups around, and these should be supported. Fannie does do a lot of due diligence on investors who want to buy blocks of homes overall they feel this has been fairly successful, and a lot of the resulting investors are mission driven.


Debra Robinson (FHA Homeownership Center)
• FHA has increased the up-front mortgage premium, and is reducing the maximum seller contribution from 6 to 3%.
• FHA has many of the same partners it had before this crisis but is now working closely with NSP recipients as well, to help facilitate purchases of REOs.
• FHA’s role has remained the same – the agency has always required documentation, etc. to provide loans to low and moderate borrowers.
• FHA’s increase mortgage premium has enabled the insurance of more loans.
• Credit scores that the agency is seeing now are much higher.
• By 2011 the number of approved HUD lenders will have decreased substantially.
• FHA has and will always have a focus on homeowner retention and loss mitigation. FHA will continue to tweak that program, and is working with people that are eminently in danger (loss job, etc) of losing their home. Prior to this, the mortgage had to be in default before FHA would use loss mitigation tools.
• FHA told attendees that vacant properties that come through HUD’s inventory are advertised to people who will be owner occupiers. FHA is mandated to advertise to owner occupied purchasers, but they still have an overarching requirement to occupy them and put back on tax roll; they cannot keep on the market indefinitely, and therefore cannot guarantee that an investor is not purchasing the homes.

Jeanne Goldie (Wells Fargo)
• Wells is partnering with non-profits and housing counseling agencies; they are also sitting down with borrowers on case by case basis to work out what options are available. They have established locations in both North and South Fulton County where homeowners who are in trouble can come in and work with a loan modification counselor.
• There is a video on Wells Fargo’s website that will explain to potential borrowers what documents and forms they need to bring when going to meet with a loan provider. Many times people do not show up prepared to qualify for a loan.
• The new motto is restore, renew, rebuild. Wells has been partnering with counties, cities and communities around NSP funding to help leverage and expand their received funding.
• In terms of loans – 253 separate policy changes were made in less than a year; embodies a constantly changing market.
• While it may appear that there is not much lending activity, Wells insisted they are lending. 47 percent of loans made have been made to low and moderate income borrowers. Loans are happening – but in a different manner than previous years.
• Wells has formed deeper partnerships as a result of the recession. When considering a block of foreclosed homes, Wells tries to look at how to best affect that entire block, and not just focus on one home (although this makes a difference as well). Striving to find creative solutions that link all the pieces. Everyone has to do more with less; there is less money out there – less grant money, less loan money.

Brigitte Killings (Bank of America)
• Before the recession Bank of America looked at partnerships more as sponsorships; they would give money, and everyone went their own way and did their own thing. Now these are deeper relationships, and organizations are working together to find solutions.
• Bank of America is working closely with homebuyers and educators/counselors – this has existed in past years, but is more prominent now. Bank of America says that a lot of what has happened has been a result of lack of education, and they are trying to fill this void and offer counseling and educational programs. Many real estate professionals are also searching for more training.
• As far as FHA loans go, Bank of America is not credit score driven, but is risk tiered base. It depends on the whole credit portfolio as to whether one qualifies for a FHA loan.
• In order to get owner-occupiers into vacant homes, there has to be education. While both Bank of America and Wells Fargo offer 203K loans, vacant homes can look “scary” to a buyer. The buyers need to be educated on how this house can become a home (before and after pictures, what the 203K loan can be used for, etc).
• There are individuals who are not credit ready – but this does not mean they will never be able to purchase a home, just means that they are not ready now. There are several home buyer agencies they can take advantage of if they are serious about home ownership. If someone is serious about homeownership, it can be done. They (BoA) are trying to not say flat-out “no”, and instead trying to say “not now”. But they must make sure they are putting clients in homes to stay.


Other Issues Raised:
• Several attendees were concerned with what protections are available to renters who are in homes that are entering into foreclosure. (An audience member informed the attendees that there is a law which provides protection – through leases will survive a foreclosure - meaning the tenant could stay at least until the end of the lease, and that month-to-month tenants would be entitled to 90 days notice before having to move out)
• There was discussion about the disconnect in getting the word out about the loan modification, homeownership counseling, loss mitigation services that all panelists spoke of providing. Attendees suggested putting fliers in utility bills; having places of worship spread the word; sponsoring a booth at neighborhood or city events; and going to meet with city or county managers to be sure they know what is offered – as these staff persons are usually one of the first that are made aware if a home in their community is going into foreclosure.
• Overall it was heard from the panelists that lenders still want to provide money, but the requirements are different and constantly changing. There is a good amount of counseling, training and education that is available – but the message has a hard time getting out. There are no easy answers out of this situation. All panelists stressed that if a homeowner is in trouble, they should immediately contact their loan provider to see what can be worked out.
 

Q1 Meeting Date: March 3, 2010
Topic: Distressed Properties in Metro Atlanta: Suffering the Consequences and Formulating Responses

AJC COVERAGE OF THE FORUM
Rebuilding foreclosed communities a tough task; By Michelle E. Shaw, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Turning around neighborhoods ravaged by foreclosures will take a group effort, a panel of housing experts said Wednesday. Figuring out who will step up and where the money will come from is the next piece of the puzzle, they said, but there is no shortage of neighborhoods that need the help. MORE

RECAP
The March 3rd forum, moderated by Bill Bolling and attended by over 100 people, featured the following panelists discussing the issue of distressed property acquisition and management in the Atlanta region, and what this means for communities: John O'Callaghan, ANDP; Darrin Hall, Sustainable Neighborhood Development Strategies; John Hunt, Smart Numbers; Vaughn Irons, APD Solutions.

Highlights of their individual comments and some of the subsequent discussion points include:

John Hunt (Smart Numbers)
• Historically, Atlanta home sales prices have appreciated at a rate of 3 percent per year. Between 2003 – 2007 lot prices went up 11-17% every year, pushing new prices up too rapidly.
• 2002 was the last normal year in Atlanta, after this new home prices raced ahead in price, far above resale. The Atlanta housing market experienced double-digit appreciation ---- a situation compounded by subprime lending. Resales were at half of new home prices.
• The end of 2009 saw some strength in resale prices and new corrections, although a complete reset is needed.
• The year ended with a relationship to new closings and resale closings at 4.5 resale: 1 new home
• The year-to-year price change to resale homes and new home sales shows year-to-year compounded negatives. But resales at the end of 2009 were positive for the first time since 2006, and new home sales will continue to correct.
• Demand increased at the end of the fourth quarter; new sales are beginning to increase as prices decrease.
• The demand curve for housing in Metro Atlanta is a perfect bell curve – the sales of new more expensive homes is very low (because of no demand), and there are not many sales of homes priced at $100,000 and under (because of no supply).
• The good news: lot prices have corrected back to 2002 levels (after doubling between 03-07); new house specs are beginning to burn off; and there is some reduction in overall housing inventory.

Darrin Hall (Sustainable Neighborhood Development Strategies)
• Atlanta is one of three civic sites (New Haven and Baltimore being the other two) – a place where the Annie E. Casey Foundation has a long term commitment to improving the futures of at-risk children. The Foundation has focused on NPU V, because of the high concentrations of vulnerable children in this area.
• In 2006, Casey purchased 31 acres of land along the southern border of the Pittsburgh neighborhood, in NPU V.
• Pittsburgh was a victim of the perfect storm of unbridled development, mortgage fraud and predatory lending. When the foundation realized how bad this neighborhood was being effected by foreclosures (Pittsburgh is more than 40 percent vacant, is home to 6 percent of the city’s foreclosures, and of the 1,152 parcels in the neighborhood, more than 500 have been foreclosed) the Foundation begin working with community partners to craft a response. This lead to the Preservation of Pittsburgh Plan.
• Sustainable Neighborhood Development Strategies is the master developer set up to implement the plan.
• The properties being acquired in the neighborhood are being banked in the Fulton County/City of Atlanta Land Bank, which allows the organization to control the properties without having to pay taxes on them, while they work to create and implement a strategic, well thought out plan in the community. SNDS also received a $2 M. NSP contract from the City of Atlanta.
• SNDSI takes a holistic approach – all the produced housing is green, earth craft and affordable, people in the community are being hired to do the work.
• Through the Preservation of Pittsburgh Plan – which involves a strategic program of property acquisition through foreclosure purchase, market purchase, bulk REO purchase and donation of bank-owned assets – Casey is taking a new approach for philanthropy with respect to community development and the current foreclosure crisis.
• In order to achieve neighborhood level transformation, relationships, heavy capital, a strong campaign to get the message out and a multi-disciplinary approach including jobs, schools, houses, etc. would be needed. Just focusing on the sale of a house will not solve this issue.

Vaughn Irons (APD Solutions)
• APD Solutions is a neighborhood revitalization firm that manages 12 NSPs across the country – including in Atlanta, Chattanooga, Illinois, South Florida and Texas.
• APD Solution’s two-fold approach: design and implement innovative program initiatives, provide technical assistance/compliance/oversight for federal, state or local housing programs and structure alliances that provide needed resources for our clients; real estate services –provide real estate services for local governments, lenders, institutional investors and community stakeholders handling their acquisition, asset management, property management, due diligence and disposition needs.
• They offer an economy of scale to the process by buying properties on a national level in bulk which allows them to receive pricing advantages. They have raised the necessary capital to enable them to close properties in as little as 15 days and beat investors to the closing table.
• Per Irons, NSP is designed to stimulate the market; it was not designed to do it all. Planning will have to be a part of any endgame; all real estate is affected by planning. The Pittsburgh model is the way to achieve this. The silo effect will have to be overcome in order for everyone to work together in an effective manner; people need to know what’s going on beyond their own interests.

John O'Callaghan, Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership (ANDP)
• The ANDP Board has decided to shift ANDP’s primary focus to addressing the impact of the foreclosure crisis on neighborhoods and their residents.
• ANDP recently finished work with RCLCO that examined the changes in tax assessor appraised values from 2008 to 2009 to determine whether or not the county assessor offices had changed values to the degree warranted by the home value price drops experienced in 2008. Resulting from this, taxes in the Pittsburgh neighborhood have lowered 27%.
• ANDP operates a small loan fund, and luckily banks have stayed behind the company.
• There is a lagging market for rehabbed homes, whose prices are higher than a foreclosed home. Financing is the missing link needed to help create this market. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac need to stay in these neighborhoods in order to see success. The only way to recover from these losses will be if lenders offer first mortgage financing.
• Disposition strategies for NSP homes will be very difficult without first mortgage financing.
•Offering a first-mortgage product for NSP homes is a low-risk proposition for the lender. The borrower is receiving a 20 percent soft-second (eliminating MI) and the borrower is required to attend 15 hours of homeownership counseling, mitigating the risk further.
• While the NSP process is difficult, it is working. The two main challenges – obligating funds before the deadline, and getting people into the homes. Private investors also present a challenge, as they are the competition now. Many are buying cheaply, not rehabbing to code, not willing to invest in the community, and then charging high rents for maximum profit. There needs to be positive incentives for good investors and new homeowners, and negative incentives for bad investors who leave properties vacant and boarded up.
• Hopefully moving forward, NSP and other dollars will create a market for nice rehabs. This would attract other banks, and loans would perform. Banks would see this is working, property values would begin to increase to normal levels, and banks would loosen their credit.

Issues raised during the discussion period:
• The shadow inventory (loans that are delinquent or in early stages of foreclosure process) is an enormous concern. (See Amherst Mortgage Insight: Housing Overhang/Shadow Inventory document)
• The lack of knowledge in the community about the NSP program is a big challenge to the program’s success. We need to get the word out in the community.
• We need follow-up meetings to raise best practices in NSP execution, marketing, etc….
• To get consumers off the sidelines, they need to know they are receiving a huge value/ “getting a deal”.
• In DeKalb, NSP will acquire, rehab and reoccupy 180 homes of 18,000 foreclosed properties. NSP is not enough to turn the tide. But, if NSP and other public dollars create a market for nice, rehabbed homes, in turn creating a market for first mortgage financing then banks may begin to loosen credit standards, allowing more homeowners to get into the market.
• We need visionary leadership to get it done.
 

Q4 Meeting Date: December 2, 2009
Topic: After the Deluge: Housing Challenges for Local Governments in the Post-Foreclosure Era
Downloads Available: Ray Christman's presentation (PPT); Chris Morris' presentation (PDF)


Housing Challenges - What to expect in 2010 and beyond?
Ray Christman, Director of the Livable Communities Coalition and Chair of Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing, will provide an update on the region's housing issues from his perspective. Ray is the former President and CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta. The national recession, housing foreclosures and changing demographics have created new challenges for the region and local governments. What has the past 2 years taught us? What can we expect to occur in 2010?

Housing's Role in a Sustainable Future
Can citizens, local government officials and the private sector meet the challenges of a troubled economy, foreclosures and together forge a hopeful future? What actions are needed with regard to public investments, redevelopment, neighborhood stabilization and cooperation? Can we leverage assets and work across city and county boundaries to meet the fiscal or social challenges of 2010? A panel of local experts will add their own thoughts for the future of housing, foreclosures and residential development in the Atlanta region.

Chris Morris, Executive Director, DeKalb County Community Development
Lyn Menne, Decatur Assistant City Manager, Community & Economic Development
The Honorable Tonya Peterson, Mayor of the City of Lithonia
Patrick Ejike, Director, DeKalb Planning and Development

(Check back for meeting recap soon)

Q3 Meeting Date: September 2, 2009
Topic: The new Federal paradigm - Linking transportation, land use and housing
Downloads Available:  Presentation from James Coreless

Moderator:
Bill Bolling, Atlanta Community Food Bank,
Framing the Federal Issues on Transportation, Land Use and Housing:
James Corless, Director, T4 America
Response Panelists:
-Jim Durrett, Livable Communities Coalition
-Catherine Ross, Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development (CQGRD)
-Sam Williams, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce

Is there a new Federal paradigm linking transportation, land use and housing policy? A number of recent regional and national events suggest a seismic shift in the understanding of and connection of these inextricably linked topics. Consider the following:

>>> On February 19th, President Obama announced creation of the Office of Urban Affairs. During his speech he stated: "About 80 percent of Americans live in urban areas, and the economic health and social vitality of our urban communities are critically important to the prosperity and quality of life for Americans." On July 13th, the President announced that in the coming month's administration officials will visit cities and metropolitan areas across the country to engage local communities. Federal officials will also review the most innovative ideas that amplify the notions of integrated policy-making and regional collaboration.

>>> During the past year substantial activity has occurred by government organizations and non-profits to guide the direction of the next federal transportation reauthorization bill. A national coalition known as "T4 America" is a primary effort of many organizations working to better align federal transportation policy for housing, land use and urban needs. For more details visit www.t4america.org

The September 2nd Atlanta Regional Housing Forum will discuss the events outlined above and focus on what the changes to federal policy on transportation, land use and housing mean for Georgia. For many years Atlanta Regional Commission, local governments and other organizations have worked to improve planning and transportation implementation through integrated actions to link transportation, land use and housing.

The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce Quality Growth Task Force and the recent "IT3" study completed by Georgia DOT and GRTA also demonstrates the need for more integrated transportation investments with land use and housing. Now federal agencies are leading to integrate metropolitan growth policy. How should the State of Georgia position itself to take advantage of the new interest and resources in this new "paradigm" for transportation investments and housing development?


Q2 Meeting Date: June 3, 2009
Topic: Housing Rebound:  What's the Plan
Downloads Available: The Housing Report (Q1 2009)
Related Links:  See Below

The June 3 housing forum, moderated by Bill Bolling and attended by more than 200 people, featured the following panelists discussing the current state of housing and what the future may hold:  Patricia Hoban Moore, U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD); Tom Cunningham, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta; Craig Shoemaker, SunTrust; and Egbert Perry, Integral Group. 

 Highlights of their individual comments and some of the subsequent discussion points include:
 

 Tom Cunningham (Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank)

• The current housing slump is unique because it can be attributed in part to financial activities that have nothing to do with housing. 
• One of the critical problems contributing to the global financial crisis is a fundamental lack of understanding about derivative and other “financial engineering” instruments and how they work in times of stress.  These instruments evolved outside of a traditional regulatory framework which contributes to the confusion.
• The financial markets froze largely due to counter-party risk. 
• The recovery process will be long and will not occur until the financial engineering issues are better understood and confidence is restored.

 Craig Shoemaker (SunTrust)

• Atlanta is poised for growth.  There will always be a need for housing in Atlanta.
• Interest rates are likely to remain low (in the 5s) for the foreseeable future
• Due to the inventory issue, sales are still outpacing starts
• Lending practices are going “back to basics”
• Current credit restrictions will be not be relaxed anytime soon
• Financial instruments are not well understood, and there’s not going to be any new or innovative financial instruments (like as ARM’s or Interest-Only mortgages) introduced in the market so traditional financing will be the only option. 

 Patricia Hoban Moore (HUD)

• FHA has expanded to represent 35 percent of the market in Atlanta. Previously, FHA was the “loan of last resort” operating under antiquated, non-automated models. 
• Many sub-prime loan recipients could have qualified for FHA loans initially.
• Under the new administration, HUD (Secretary Shaun Donovan) is finally at the table and engaged in discussions with Treasury and the FDIC leadership.
• 75 percent of the $13.6 billion in HUD-related stimulus funding was out the door within 10 days of its original allocation.
• State and local governments are empowered to decide how they will use their HUD stimulus money within the program’s guidelines and restraints.
• Upcoming "Housing Party" events was referenced. For more details, visit the following link. http://www.hud.gov/webcasts/recovery/schedule.cfm

 Egbert Perry (Integral Group)

• There is no such thing as an economic recovery without housing.
• Job loss is one of, if not the biggest, problem affecting the economy.  Job loss must stop before housing will recover.
• Commercial loans are the next biggest problem- banks are less likely to lend for major developments and are instead holding on the cash.
• 70% of this country’s economy is consumer activity (buying of goods); perhaps an indication that we should be doing more production and less consumption.
• Only 30 percent of existing ARM loans have already reset indicating that the problem in front of us looms large. 
• The renewal of urban centers is being set back as property taxes decline and budgets are slashed.  The related cuts in municipal services will have a destabilizing consequence.
• The absorption of excess single and multi-family inventory will be critical to future recovery.
• The greatest transfer of wealth is occurring now as homeowners are stripped of their equity; this wealth is shifting from homeowners to sovereign wealth funds.
• The current crisis has forced us to adjust our sights and change our tastes.  Our lifestyles to date are not sustainable. 
• The best developments going forward will be green, urban, mixed use and mixed income with a transit-oriented focus.  Target areas that are ready to be progressive (urban centers); focus development, with high quality products, in these areas.

 

Q1 Meeting Date: March 4, 2009
Topic: NSP Update from HUD, DCA and regional jurisdictions
Downloads Available: PowerPoint Presentation (8 mb), Handouts (1.5 mb)
Related Links:  See Below

Moderator John O’Callaghan (ANDP) welcomed participants to the first combined housing forum meeting and provided an introduction to the NSP program to set the context for the forum discussion.

Brian Williamson (Georgia DCA) presented foreclosure trends that DCA is tracking on notice of trustee sales and real estate owned properties.   He also provided details on DCA’s local government NSP allocations.  Brian indicated that ARRA (the stimulus package) makes some amendments to HERA (the housing legislation) related to NSP including some modifications of NSP eligible activities and elimination of the reinvestment clause requirement.   

DCA will conduct a workshop for direct formula NSP recipients on April 14 (tentatively at the Loudermilk Center).

Mary Presley (HUD Regional Office) joined Brian in answering questions from forum participants.  Mary also announced that the 10 Georgia jurisdictions receiving direct NSP allocations from HUD will receive funds this week (March 2nd)  --- receipt of funds will start the 18-month clock during which NSP funds must be obligated.  Funds awarded must be obligated before the end of the 18-months period. Obligated funds require an action that ‘binds’ result.

Regarding NSP2, the second round of NSP funding recently authorized, local governments and/or non-profits can apply for funding. It is anticipated that the Federal notice will be published on May 2. On the question of accountability, Mary reminded attendees that the contractor with HUD is accountable for appropriate use of funds.

Related Links:
HUD:  http://www.hud.gov/
DCA:  http://www.dca.ga.gov/communities/CDBG/programs/nsp.asp

Local government representatives provided updates on their NSP plans and answered questions from forum participants.  (In order of presentation)

Cobb County - Allyson Price 
Related Link: Cobb County NSP Information

• Cobb’s NSP focus will be exclusively on single family residential real estate

• They have completed their RFP process and identified attorneys, appraisers and two asset management firms.
• Cobb’s NSP marketing efforts have yielded inquiries from 71 prospective buyers.  Nine buyers are currently in process.”
• Cobb plans to offer $10,000 in down payment assistance to NSP buyers.
• Cobb will initially focus on purchase transactions only (no lease purchase at this time).
• See Available Downloads above for details.

Fulton County - Richard Heermans
Related Link: Fulton County NSP Information

• Fulton filed a joint application with the City of Roswell
• Their plans include potential demolition of a 72-unit blighted condo development
• Fulton would like to work with the City of Atlanta/Fulton Land Bank Authority
• South Fulton is their focus area due to concentration of foreclosures
• Fulton’s RFP will be out by end of March/early April
• Fulton will consider lease purchase to ensure that homes don’t sit vacant
• See Available Downloads above for details.

Hall County - Randy Knighton

• Hall has identified subdivisions with high foreclosure rates
• They will consider lease purchase if homes don’t sell after 90 days
• Counseling will be offered in English and Spanish to serve Hall’s significant Hispanic population
• Hall will begin their RFP process soon.
• See Available Downloads above for details.

City of Atlanta - Valerie Fountaine
Related Link:  City of Atlanta NSP Information

• Atlanta’s NSP plans include focus on green rehab
• NSP buyers can layer other sources of home buyer subsidy
• See Available Downloads above for details.

Douglas County - Amy Brumelow
Related Link: Douglas County NSP Information

• Douglas applied for $3.8 million in NSP funds
• They will release their RFP later this month
• Douglas has identified three geographic focus areas within the County (Hwy 92 corridor; Lithia Springs; Hwy 5 corridor)
• They are in the process of identifying properties for acquisition
• See Available Downloads above for details.

Newnan/Coweta County Habitat for Humanity - Leslie Merriman

• NSP partnership with Habitat chapter
• Coweta County has applied for $2.1 million in NSP funds
• See Available Downloads above for details.

DeKalb County - Allen Mitchell
Related Link: DeKalb County NSP Information

• DeKalb has applied for $18.5 million in NSP funds
• DeKalb is issuing four RFPs for:  (1) Unincorporated DeKalb; (2) DeKalb municipalities; (3) multifamily development serving under 50 percent AMI; and (4) NSP special needs

City of Covington

• Covington has formed partnership with Builder of Hope (nonprofit out of North Carolina)
• They are targeting the Jefferson Village subdivision
• See Available Downloads above for details.

Newton County
Related Link: Newton County NSP Information

• Newton has submitted three NSP project ideas to DCA. 
• Their priority project is to turn undeveloped subdivision land into a public park to support surrounding housing
• Newton’s foreclosed housing stock is relatively new requiring little if no rehab.
• See Available Downloads above for details.

 

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