Link Between Homelessness and Foreclosure

Last night I had the opportunity to meet with Sue Watlov Phillips, the Executive Director of Elim Transitional Housing in Minneapolis and co-author of a new report on the link between foreclosures and homelessness.

Sue has recently returned from Washington, D.C. where she presented the findings of the report "Foreclosure to Homelessness 2009 - The Forgotten Victims of the Subprime Crisis" to leaders in Washington. The complete report can be found here.

The report was created using surveys completed between January 15th and February 21st by more than 175 organizations throughout the country that provide services to people experiencing homelessness. The report has determined that the nation’s homeless population has been directly impacted by foreclosure. More importantly, homelessness is likely to increase along with the number of foreclosures.

Nearly 80% of the respondents reported that at least some of their clients became homeless due to foreclosure.

Other facts from the findings include:

• Those experiencing homelessness due to foreclosure tended to be renters – not owners.
• Most of those facing homelessness because of foreclosure, whether renters or owners, did not seek legal advice in foreclosure proceedings.
• The most common living situations among those made homeless by foreclosure included staying with family or friends and emergency shelters.

The 40-page report was released by the National Coalition for Homelessness in partnership with National Health Care for the Homeless Council (NHCHC), the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHC), the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty (NLCHP), the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and the National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness (NPACH).

Sue was also excited to share how the NLIHC and NHLP have created a toolkit for renters facing eviction due to foreclosure. The toolkit is available on the National Low-Income Housing Coalition website.

The toolkit includes a copy of the new federal law - which, with Sue's help, we are studying to see how, if at all, it affects Minnesota tenants. Minnesota law may actually give tenants MORE time than the Federal version - and Sue will be sharing her findings with us shortly.

The toolkit also includes explanations of the federal law's provisions, a question and answer document for tenants, sample letters to send to landlords, judges and public housing agencies and a webinar explaining the new law.

If you're a renter in Minnesota, and your landlord is facing foreclosure, DON'T PANIC. Minnesota State law protects you (assuming you've signed a lease) and there are local, non-profit tenant advocacy organizations that can work with you in YOUR situation. For more information, visit our website at: http://hocmn.org/renters.cfm

Renters in Foreclosure: KARE-11 Report

As we've posted about before (Here and Here, for example)... some of the people that are being affected by the current foreclosure situation in Minnesota have NEVER bought a home. Over and over again the Center hears about RENTERS that are affected by the fact that the property they are renting has fallen into foreclosure.

KARE-11 News has featured the story of a Minnesota renter that was forced to move due to the fact that her landlord had fallen into foreclosure.

Many times renters in a foreclosure situation don’t know where to turn for quality, trustworthy information. In the KARE-11 report, Matt Eichenlaub, Attorney for HomeLine and a friend of the Center, dispels some of the rumors regarding renters rights in a foreclosure situation.

There is additional information for renters, including how to contact HomeLine, at the Center’s website here.

If above embedded video isn't working... you can visit the KARE-11 site, here.

Renter's Rights in Foreclosure

The Minnesota Home Ownership Center is actively involved in all aspects of Foreclosure Prevention and Foreclosure recovery in Minnesota.

As we've mentioned before (here and here) some of the people hardest hit by foreclosure in Minnesota are TENANTS / RENTERS who find themselves in a situation that is out of their control.

Minnesota has been on the forefront of defending and improving tenant’s rights in a foreclosure.

Larry McDonough, Managing Attorney for the Housing Unit of the Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis has had an article published in the March-April “Clearinghouse Review” (Journal of Poverty Law and Policy – Volume 42) that carefully outlines the work that has been done in Minnesota. (Subscription required to view article). For additional information about the article, contact Larry McDonough at Legal aid.

If you are a TENANT and your LANDLORD is facing foreclosure… there are helps and assistance available to you. For more information, click here.

Working with clients in foreclosure

On Tuesday, March 10th, the Minnesota Home Ownership Center, in partnership with United Way Twin Cities and several other organizations hosted a webinar for social service professionals working with clients - either homeowners or renters - who are worried about their house payment, are are being affected by a foreclosure.

The audio and PowerPoint presentation from the webinar, along with additional information about participants and an overview of the presentation are available at the Center's website:

http://www.hocmn.org/ForeclosureClients.cfm

Resources for Renters in Foreclosure

Yesterday, MPR ran a story on a number of investor owned properties that have fallen in to foreclosure on the North side of Minneapolis.

These properties that have gone into foreclosure highlight another group of people affected by foreclosure through no fault of their own: renters.

The Minnesota Home Ownership Center's network of foreclosure prevention specialists can ONLY assist homeowners whose primary residence (no investment or second properties) is in foreclosure. But that doesn't mean that renters in a foreclosure situation are left to fend for themselves... There is a network of organizations that can assist!

Here's some important contact information if you are renting a property - and your landlord is unable to make the mortgage payments:

If you live in the city of Minneapolis, Contact:
Legal Aid of Minneapolis . . . . . 612-334-5970

If you live in Ramsey, Washington, Dakota, Scott or Carver Counties, Contact:
Southern MN Regional Legal Services. . . . . 651-222-4731

If you live in Southern Minnesota, Including Albert Lee, Mankato & Rochester, Contact:
Southern MN Regional Legal Services. . . . . 888-575-2954

If you live elsewhere in the State of Minnesota, Contact:
HomeLINE. . . . . 866-866-3546


Here are some additional resources you may find helpful:

The Family Housing Fund has published a brochure to help renters whose landlords are in foreclosure: Tenants and Foreclosure: Know Your Next Move

HousingLink has created a page with information for renters in a foreclosure situation, as well as a number of helpful links to additional services: http://www.housinglink.org/Renter_Foreclosure.htm

Another document, produced by the Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis, gives an overview of renter's rights and responsibilities during a foreclosure: When Your Landlord Loses the Building: Mortgage Foreclosure