You really find out what people are made of when times get tough. This has been proven to us once again by the generous folks at Chicago Title, who recently donated over $50,000 to CHW with one objective; helping a lot of people. Thanks to their interest in giving back and some hard work by Anne Wilson and her staff, dozens of families are better off today than they were a few weeks ago.

Read the whole story…

Meet Irma Bravo, Homeowner

Bravo translates from Italian as brave, and small wonder. Homeowner and CHW client Irma Bravo had to be brave to deal with the nightmare visited on her by Saxon Mortgage when they promised to lower her escalating interest rates, then reneged on their promise. Twice! Counseling Supervisor Ali Tarzi heard the story, got angry, and fixed a problem that never should have even existed. Is it coincidental that Bravo translates from Spanish as fierce?

Meet Irma for yourself…

More Funding Woes

This past week over a hundred housing advocates across California converged on the State Capitol to help SB 1220 clear both the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee and the Senate Governance and Finance Committee. It is now scheduled for the Senate Appropriations Committee, and if it clears by May 25 could be voted on the Senate floor. The legislation could mean up to $1 billion annually for affordable housing, and it needs your help to pass.

Read about the law, contact your state senator.

So when they found themselves looking for an affordable housing organization to which they could donate just north of $50,000, it made perfect sense they’d turn to Community HousingWorks.

Brad Hobson, who runs the company’s San Diego operation, explains: “We’d done business with and for Community HousingWorks over the past five years and always found them to be a GREAT operation. The high quality of the people, services, and commitment are all consistent with our views, and we’ve always known that a promise made is a promise kept whenever CHW is involved.”

Working with Local and National Accounts VP Cameron Aldrich, Hobson reached out to Anne Wilson of CHW and told her “We want to help a lot of people.” It didn’t take Anne long to set the wheels in motion, ensuring dozens of families would quickly benefit from Chicago Title’s generosity.

Says Brad of the experience; “We were thrilled to have the opportunity to donate to such a great organization. We’ve watched them for years and waited for the right moment to come along for us to get involved. It’s wonderful knowing so many local families will get a leg up from our unexpected windfall and a lot of hard work by Anne and her team.”

As rates boosted from 5.2% to 11.25%, Irma found herself unable to make timely payments and getting further behind each month. “I talked to Saxon Mortgage about lowering the interest rate, but they refused,” she recalls. Irma was devastated as she saw her dream of homeownership slipping away.

The nightmare continued for two years, punctuated by bouts of tears and prayer. But it wasn’t until an acquaintance from the San Diego Union Tribune told her about Community HousingWorks that the situation began to change. “I give all the credit to Ali Tarzi and his staff at CHW” she says, speaking of the CHW counselor who mediated on her behalf with the lender.

Saxon promised to modify her contract, and Irma began making her revised payments. Sadly, the mortgage companies have no incentive to treat customers fairly, and Irma’s problems weren’t over yet. Each month her balance grew, and Saxon’s answer was that it would take a few months to adjust to the new loan.

“After a year, the additional unpaid balance had reached almost $45,000!” she recalls. Saxon denied receiving her paperwork, which they’d signed…then said they’d never received. TWICE! “I started getting default letters!”

“Mr. Tarzi went back to bat for me,” Irma says. “He went through a lot of headaches dealing with Saxon, going WAY above and beyond!” This time the assistance he provided had its planned outcome as the loan modification was again put into place.

Only this time the fix was permanent.

Says Irma Bravo today; “Keeping my house with a low interest rate and an affordable payment is my dream come true. I wouldn’t ever be able to do it without the help of CHW. I owe them my whole life. Thank you.”

Then HUD announced planned cuts to public housing and Section 8 in the 2013 federal budget.

That’s why we’ve been supporting SB 1220 – a bill to create a permanent funding source for affordable housing in California. And we’re asking for your help in getting it passed.

On Friday, May 25th, the Senate Appropriations Committee will vote on this critically important piece of legislation.

We urge you to contact Senators Christine Kehoe and Mark Wyland today. NOW!

Encourage them to support this bill. Even something as simple as “Vote YES on SB 1220″ with your name and address will do.

Once passed, SB 1220 should generate between $400 million and $1 billion annually, all intended for affordable housing. It will make all the difference in hundreds of lives, and restore a semblance of stability to affordable housing financing.

San Diego’s senators need to know your thoughts. Remind them that no child should be forced to live on the streets.

Tell them today to vote “Yes”.

SAN DIEGO — Rolling Hills Ranch looks like a pretty plush neighborhood. Three thousand square-foot stucco homes line the winding streets, and they’re framed by a panorama of nearby mountains. But like a lot of Chula Vista neighborhoods developed in the past decade, its new homes went to market near the height of the housing bubble. Now homeowners here are underwater, owing more than their homes are actually worth.

Chula Vista Councilman Rudy Ramirez says the large number of empty, foreclosed homes here allowed a scam artist to forge their titles, and actually rent them out. The neighbors were not happy.

“People were complaining about, you know, loud parties,” he said. “In a lot of cases these were not outstanding citizens. This must have been, in some ways, folks that couldn’t get housing anywhere else because of their rental history.”

The continued drag on the housing market is the bug in the salad of our economic recovery. The number of San Diego homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth may be as high as 50 percent, depending on who you ask.
Many homeowners who face foreclosure are beginning to lose patience, as the housing recession just won’t let up and they seem they seem to remain hopelessly behind in their effort to win equity.

Ali Tarzi counsels underwater San Diego homeowners for Community Housing Works. He says these days getting an interest rate reduction, to lower monthly payments, isn’t enough for many people, and the prospect of abandoning the house is looking more and more attractive.

“In today’s environment is it feasible to keep my home?” he said, posing a common question among people who owe much more than their homes are worth. “Is it feasible to stay in my property long-term, knowing that I’ll never get my equity back, knowing that the rental market may be much more affordable than this huge upside-down mortgage I’m paying?”

Tarzi, and many others, say resolving the home price recession must involve forgiveness of principal on the loan. Matt Battiata, president of Battiata Real Estate Group, questions whether that is a realistic goal. But he admits that modified loans, with lower interest rates have been very hard to get. And even when a homeowner convinces a bank to approve one, they often wonder why they bothered.

“They spend a year trying to get a loan modification, and they’re told at the end of the process, ‘Hey, great news! You’re going to get a loan mod. We’re dropping your payment by $200 a month.’ And they’re incredulous. What do you think $200 is going to do for me?” said Battiata.

Banks take losses on homes all the time, when homes go to foreclosure. But while foreclosures and short sales may be the cost of doing business, loan mods or forgiving loan principal are different. Battiata said banks fear that if they modify loans or forgive principal, everybody is going to want same deal.

If principal forgiveness is the real answer, the question comes up: Who’s going to lose out? Tim Sullivan, with John Burns Real Estate Consulting, says the arrow points to the banks.

“That’s really where the focus becomes,” he said. “The banks are the mortgage holders. And they are ultimately the ones that would have to take the haircut.”

But Beth Mills, with the California Bankers Association, said bankers are in no hurry to visit the barber.

“Some banks will on a case-by-case basis look at principal reductions to see if that’s in the best interest of the borrower and the lender, but it probably wouldn’t be the first solution they would look to,” said Mills.

There are some people who have gotten some relief.  Mark Turner is homeowner in his 40s with a goatee beard and a sunny nature. He must have needed that good cheer for what he went though. He bought a house in Spring Valley for $660,000 that’s now worth $425,000. He’s underwater despite having put all of his savings, $150,000 down. A couple years ago, he lost his job and couldn’t keep up with his mortgage payments.

“I got notices of default. I got foreclosure notices. I even got an auction sale date, when they were actually going to sell the house,” he said.

But he got another job, and he got some help from home counselors linked to the Department of Urban Development (HUD). They convinced the bank to reduce Turner’s mortgage payments to $3,100 a month, down from $4,700. Still, I asked Turner why he didn’t walk away from the house. He got no principal forgiveness. He still has a mountain of mortgage debt and the unlikelihood he will ever pay off his home.

“I’ll give a couple of reasons why I didn’t do that,” he responded. “First, this is the first time I’d bought a home. Second, my parents never, ever bought a home, neither did my siblings. And I have a family, a wife and kids.”

Turner remains optimistic that someday he’ll be able to sell his home and buy something more affordable.

“I feel that this is just the best place for us to be. I just want to ride this wave out and hopefully, the economy will get better and things will turn around, is my outlook,” he said.

In Chula Vista, an estimated 8 percent of new homes sold in the last decade have been lost to foreclosure. All people agree, it’s in the best interest of everyone to keep people in their homes. Foreclosures make banks to lose money; they drag down real estate prices and ruin credit ratings. But trick is deciding how you prevent foreclosures, and whose ox will get gored.

Home mortgage counselor Ali Tarzi shares some of Mark Turner’s optimism. The Obama administration has agreed to increase financial incentives for banks to reduce principal. Tarzi adds that the multi-state home-mortgage settlement provides not only money for loan forgiveness, but also an enforcement mechanism to hold over banks.

“So I can tell you that for the first time in a long time, I am optimistic about these changes,” he said.
But the downward pressure of distressed properties on San Diego home prices will take years to resolve. The question is whether it’ll be resolved through more foreclosures, or homeowners and banks striking some kind of a deal.

http://www.kpbs.org/news/2012/mar/14/underwater-homeowners-start-lost-patience/

By Lily Leung

Borrowers on the brink of losing their homes or are in need of advice often face unhelpful lender reps, or worse yet, unscrupulous companies who take up-front fees, promise housing relief and ultimately deliver nothing.
So, where can frustrated homeowners in San Diego County turn for information that’s spot-on, frank, and best of all, free?

The little-known answer is home counselors who are certified by HUD, the country’s housing agency. The typical clients who receive services approved by HUD — Housing and Urban Development — are low- to moderate-income homeowners who struggle to make their mortgage payments or want to buy their first homes.  But as the housing crisis drags on and more government aid becomes available, the share of higher-earning residents turning to counselors for help has risen, based on San Diego-area data and anecdotes from housing officials.

“We’re seeing more doctors, more engineers, people who are underwater,” said Appaswamy “Vino” Pajanor, president and executive director of Housing Opportunities Collaborative, among a dozen agencies that provide HUD-approved home counseling in San Diego County.
Still, folks of all income levels tend to resist turning to these agencies because of the stigma attached to free services funded by the government. Other times, they simply don’t know the help is available.
“That’s especially the case for people who have been fully independent all their lives,” said Ali Tarzi, counseling supervisor at local non-profit Community Housing Works. “To them, it’s like admitting defeat. I think we should look at it as a wealth of resources available to empower a family.”

Here are seven common myths about HUD-approved counselors busted by the U-T San Diego to give you an idea of the benefits and limits of their services:

Myth 1: Counseling agencies help only low-income residents.
Fact 1: They actually help people of all income levels. More than 20 percent of the households helped by Community Housing Works in 2010 made more than $76,100, which is considered moderate to high income in San Diego County. Last year, that percentage rose to 24 percent. “There are absolutely no income requirements,” Tarzi said. “Anyone can qualify.” The highest-

Myth 2: If the help is free, then the services I’ll get will be sub-par.
Fact 2: All of the home counselors of HUD-approved agencies are trained to understand the ins and outs of the housing market and government programs aimed at preventing foreclosures. Also, many of the counselors are former workers in the real estate sector, and thus, are familiar with what banks are seeking. Faith Espejo, education and counseling manager at the Housing Opportunities Collaborative, was previously a banker for more than 20 years. Also, HUD-approved agencies have direct connections to lenders and other resources that can expedite urgent cases.

Myth 3: If I pay hundreds of dollars for services to fight foreclosure, then I’ll get hundreds-of-dollars worth of quality help.
Fact 3: Companies that guarantee you a loan modification or foreclosure services if you pay them up-front are scams. They’re also illegal in California.
Roughly three in four people who come to the Housing Opportunities Collaborative for help have been at least approached by schemers who provide false hopes, from cleaning up your credit to helping you qualify for government programs, said Pajanor, with Housing Opportunities Collaborative.

Myth 4: Counselors certified by HUD assist only first-time homebuyers figure out their monthly budgets before buying.
Fact 4: They do much more. Most of the people who receive help need help figuring out whether their home is worth keeping. Some simply want advice in situations that include divorce.
How it usually works: A struggling homeowner calls one of these agencies and is interviewed to determine if face-to-face counseling is needed. If that’s the case, then the homeowner would come in and go through a more thorough questioning that covers finances and desired goals. Counselors then give their recommendations on proposed next steps.
The length of time of counseling process varies by case. “We make sure the homeowners are informed, so that if they lose their homes, they’re prepared,” Pajanor said. Homeowners also can get help at free foreclosure clinics that happen across the county. Important to note: Home counselors who are certified by HUD cannot operate on their own; they must work for an agency that’s also given HUD’s approval.

Myth 5: Once a sit-down is secured, I can let the counselor handle everything.
Fact 5: They can’t do everything and need your constant participation. HUD-approved housing agencies have small staffs and limited funding from the U.S. government. That’s why local agencies rely heavily on volunteers, from pro bono attorneys to real estate professionals.

Myth 6: I should only turn to HUD-approved counseling if I’m facing foreclosure.
Fact 6: You don’t need a hardship. Homeowners can be evaluated to see if they’re eligible for government programs, such as the Home Affordable Refinance Program, which reduces monthly mortgage payments even for borrowers who are underwater on their loans. Another popular program is Keep Your Home California, which helps homeowners catch up on mortgage payments, relocate after a short sale, or cut their principals.

Myth 7: Going to a counselor should be a last resort.
Fact 7: It should be a struggling homeowner’s first step, counselors say. Many times, borrowers come for help when it’s too late, or almost too late. “Normally, we see clients who already haven’t been paying (their mortgage) for a year,” said Espejo, with the Housing Opportunities Collaborative.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/apr/06/hud-counseling-agencies/

Everyday Energy recently hosted an Introduction to Solar Photovoltaic Installation course for residents of Los Robles Apartments, an affordable housing community owned by Community Housing Works.

Everyday Energy (everydayenergy.us) recently hosted an Introduction to Solar Photovoltaic Installation course for residents of Los Robles Apartments, an affordable housing community owned by Community Housing Works.

This two-day training is part of Everyday Energy’s ongoing partnerships with their affordable housing clients to create training programs that help those hit hardest by the bad economy.

“We have partnered with our clients to create solar training programs that provide residents with employable skills in a growing industry, plus we are able to train and recruit new employees to work for our company,” said Scott Sarem, CEO of Everyday Energy.

This introductory course provided participants with the general knowledge needed to work as Solar PV Installation Assistants and laborers and included both classroom and hands-on training. A heavy emphasis was placed on the basics of electricity, energy production, and safety. During the course, students practiced carrying solar panels, setting-up and climbing ladders and participated in a safety meeting.

As a result of this training, Everyday Energy hired three of the course participants to join their installation crew. Course participants are scheduled to begin work this week at Los Robles Apartments in Vista, CA.

“This project will produce 263,000 kWh of electricity annually and is especially significant to our newest crew members that live at Los Robles Apartments. They will be able to truly benefit from their installation work and share those benefits with their families and neighbors,” said Chris Taylor, COO of Everyday Energy.

Everyday Energy
Based in Oceanside, Calif., Everyday Energy specializes in photovoltaic solar and energy efficiency projects for the Multi-family housing and multi-tenant commercial projects. Everyday Energy has designed, financed, and installed the most Multi-family Affordable Solar Housing (MASH) projects of any company in California.

To learn more about our Everyday Energy please contact Scott Sarem at scott@everydayenergy.us

The state Supreme Court Monsantos decision in December, 2011 dissolved redevelopment agencies and as one part of that, immediately wiped out over half of the annual capital used to create affordable housing statewide. So, the short answer – if CHW were a carpenter, this elimination would be like losing our future supply of hammers.

Luckily, CHW has accumulated diverse tools, and our immediate future as an organization is stable. We have a two-year pipeline of exciting affordable apartment projects, and growing home buying products and services. But our hopes as a community — of ending downtown homelessness or veteran homelessness, of stabilizing our lower income school kids or struggling seniors – have taken a deep body blow.

CHW will need the help of all people of good will to keep our communities from going backwards. We need your charitable support to keep creating apartment options for the poorest among us during this interim period. And, we need your political support over the next year to replace this huge missing piece of government funding.

That’s why I’m so excited to tell you that in late February, California State Senator Mark DeSaulnier and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, along with principal co-author – our very own Assemblymember Toni Atkins – introduced the Housing Opportunity and Market Stabilization (HOMeS) Act.

Funded through a $75 document recording fee on real-estate transactions, this bill would produce between $400 million and $1 billion per year for housing that is affordable to working families, people experiencing homelessness, seniors on fixed incomes, and others needing a safe and affordable home.

Added taxes are a big step to ask of our state, and we’ll need your help in the coming months to win the two-thirds support required to pass this bill or its successor. So please keep in touch with the campaign at Housing California, and keep your letter-writing fingers at the ready!

Running Readers pairs one volunteer with 4-6 children, typically in reading circles that group together Grades K/1 or Grades 2/3. Volunteer reading coaches sign up for a three month commitment of 1.5 hours spread over one or two days weekly. Parents commit to chip in with library visits, read alouds at home, and community Family Nights of reading theater, crafts and silliness for the whole family.

“Our coaches work with kids to make reading an enjoyable experience, making literature fun through read alouds and other activities,” says CHW Literacy Program Specialist Anissa Bailey. She adds “Even as you read this we’ve got this evidence-based program running in six Learning Centers in Poway, Lakeside and Carlsbad.”

CHW envisions the Running Readers program at all 15 CHW learning centers as soon as time and budgets permit.

“Reading at grade level by third grade is the key to every kind of future success”, notes CHW head Sue Reynolds. “And our volunteers love plugging into a well-designed program that is full of laughter and helps change kids’ possibilities forever. “

Anyone interested in volunteering or donating to our book fund should contact Anissa Bailey (abailey@chworks.org) at 760.432.6878 ext. 5476 for more information. And yes, our young Readers are so bubbling over with energy that they are also Running. A lot.