Advocating for additional NSP funding. In February of 2009, President Obama singed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Included in this stimulus bill was an additional $2 billion for a second round of NSP. NSP2 funds will be distributed via competition to state and local government, as well as non-profit, applicants. In addition, Chairman Barney Frank introduced the TARP for Main Street Bill in June 2009, which proposes an additional $1.5 billion for a third allocation of NSP.
Improving NSP regulations. Enterprise has been an active member of the National Foreclosure Response and Neighborhood Stabilization Taskforce. Convened in November 2007, the National Foreclosure Prevention and Neighborhood Stabilization Task Force is a cross-industry group of local and national organizations working to address the impacts of the foreclosure crisis on communities and to advocate for more effective federal foreclosure programs.
Forming the National Community Stabilization Trust. Enterprise formed the National Community Stabilization Trust (Stabilization Trust) in partnership with NeighborWorks America, Housing Partnership Network, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, National Council of La Raza, and the National Urban League to address the challenges local governments, nonprofits and mission-driven for-profit entities faced trying to access bank Real Estate Owned (REO) properties in their communities.
The Stabilization Trust offers two primary services: 1) facilitating the transfer of properties from servicers and 2) providing financing that otherwise would not be available for acquiring and rehabilitating properties. The Stabilization Trust is currently active in over 40 communities with a goal of 100 cities by the end of 2009.
- Improving REO disposition processes. Enterprise worked directly with HUD, financial institutions and mortgage servicers through the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s REO working committee. With a focus on improving rules and regulations related to REO properties and neighborhood stabilization, we provided HUD with feedback from local practitioners on the rules governing NSP. We helped develop a pricing system for REO properties to reconcile financial institutions’ fiduciary responsibilities to maximize investor return with the need for local community stabilization programs to obtain properties at a workable price.
Maximizing the impact of Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds. Enterprise has worked with local government and nonprofit partners, on both rounds of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, to craft their plans for the $6 billion in funds made available through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. Our involvement in the crafting of these plans has increased the focus of these programs, and allowed for best practices to be more quickly put into wide-spread use.
Sharing knowledge with the field. In April, 2009, Enterprise issued an in-depth report titled “The Challenged of Foreclosed Properties: An analysis of state and local plans to use the Neighborhood Stabilization Program”. The report is a national snapshot of how NSP funds will be used and distills information from 87 NSP action plans to provide a statistical overview of how localities are planning to use their funds. The report is also a compilation of promising program approaches, which were identified so that they can be shared with localities to build better local programs.
|
