Monarch Housing’s Blog!

The bill will take effect October 1, 2008!

Includes significant tax credit changes!

Includes new CDBG funding!

Includes assistance for the homeless!

As we reported yesterday Congress has approved H.R. 3221, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. The President having rescinded his veto threat is expected sign the bill this week. This is the most significant and far reaching housing legislation since 1989. The bill will take effect October 1, 2008.

The details of the bill and its impact are now becoming clear. The National Low-Income Housing Coalition has prepared a concise and detailed review. This document can be read by clicking here.

Of special significance are three areas.

Homeless assistance. The bill increases the authorization level for McKinney-Vento homeless assistance programs by $30 million. These grant funds will be used to provide emergency assistance for homeless children and youths and their families who have become homeless due to foreclosures, whether they were renting or owning their homes. The grants would be made by HUD to state educational agencies that would then make sub-grants to local educational entities.

Low Income Housing Tax Credits and Tax-Exempt Bonds. The bill contains several provisions related to the coordination of HUD’s and Rural Housing Service’s programs’ coordination with the low income housing tax credit and changes to the low income housing tax credit program itself. The bill will temporarily increase, by 10%, the amount of low income housing tax credits to states for 2008 and 2009. The bill also includes an additional $11 billion in tax-exempt mortgage revenue bond authority for the next two years. To read about all of the changes click here.

Stabilizing Neighborhoods Hurt by the Foreclosure Crisis. H.R. 3221 appropriates a one-time $3.9 billion in emergency assistance to states and units of general local government. Read the rest of this entry »

Lautenberg and Mendendez vote in favor!

Foreclosures up 140% in NJ!

NJ is now 12th highest in foreclosures!

On July 26, 2008, the Senate approved bill by a vote of 72 to 12 H.R. 3221, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. The President having rescinded his veto threat is expected sign the bill this week. This is the most significant and far reaching housing legislation since 1989. For more details click here.

In New Jersey according to an article in the Star-Ledger entitled “Foreclosure rate up 140% in the State: Dramatic increase from April to June” by Beth Fitzgerald [Email address: bfitzgerald #AT# starledger.com - replace #AT# with @ ], “the number of foreclosure filings in New Jersey jumped 140 percent from April to June to more than 17,000, according to RealtyTrac, a California firm that monitors foreclosures. The state now has the 12th-highest rate of foreclosure filings nationally, RealtyTrac said, up from 16th in the first quarter of the year.”

To read the full article click here. Some of the key points in the article were:

According to the latest figures from the state Office of Foreclosure, there were 47,668 New Jersey foreclosure filings in the year ended June 30 - up from 26,132 the previous year.

And according to the RealtyTrac data, the number of homes actually lost to bank repossession jumped sharply in the state, from 1,117 in the first quarter to 1,862 in the second quarter.

In addition, “the rate of foreclosure filings rose from one out of every 265 households during the first quarter to one out of every 201 households in the latest quarter. The national rate is one filing for every 171 households.”

The foreclosure rate, according to RealtyTrac, by county in order of highest to lowest foreclosure rates are:

Union 1 in 103
Passaic 1 in 106
Essex 1 in 142
Gloucester 1 in 155
Read the rest of this entry »