Housing Archives - Page 9 of 9 - Americans for Financial Reform

News Release: AFR Ed Fund Criticizes HUD Proposal for Thwarting Fair Housing Goals

If the proposed rule went into effect, HUD’s assessment of whether localities were meeting their AFFH obligations would not include consideration of race, religion, national origin, families with children, or other protected classes that the Fair Housing Act was intended to shield from discrimination. The proposed rule eliminates the community participation process, which was proven to be extremely effective in helping communities develop meaningful fair housing goals, and does not even have a requirement that state and local governments conduct a fair housing analysis for their communities at all.

Letter to Regulators: Coalition letter to CFPB on mortgage data disclosure (HMDA)

A coalition of 27 civil rights, community, consumer and other groups challenges CFPB’s consideration of reducing home lending disclosure, a critical tool to stop lending discrimination and hold banks accountable for their record of lending to communities of color and lower income neighborhoods.

News Release: HUD Proposing to Roll Back Civil Rights Protections in Housing

“HUD’s proposed rule makes it virtually impossible for a disparate impact claim to stand in court,” says Linda Jun, senior policy counsel for Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund. “By raising the threshold for disparate impact, the new rule creates a nearly unsurmountable bar for plaintiffs to prove discriminatory outcomes and makes it much easier for defendants to shield themselves from any responsibility for discrimination.”

Fact Sheet: Wall Street Private Equity Landlords Snapping Up Apartment Buildings

Private equity owns over a million U.S. apartment units. Tenants pay a price when corporate landlords buy their buildings. In some cases, private equity buyers have pushed out lower-income tenants – through rent hikes, eviction threats, and more – to flip buildings into high-rent properties to sell for big profits.

Fact Sheet: Continuing Threat of Private Equity Investment in Single Family Rentals

Wall Street private equity funds are continuing to snap up homes to pad their expanding portfolio of rental properties. Institutional investors own nearly a quarter million single-family rental homes. Wall Street landlords often hike rents, avoid repairs, gouge tenants with fees, and are more likely to evict tenants.

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Letters to Regulators: Letter to the OCC, FRB, and FDIC Opposing the Proposed Threshold Increase

AFREF joined a letter to the OCC, FRB, and FDIC opposing the proposed threshold increase.

Joint Letter: AFR and 16 Organizations Oppose HR 2570 — A Bill Promoting Predatory Mortgage Lending

H.R. 2570 would open the door to predatory mortgage lending by making it easier for lenders to steer homeowners into high-cost, abusive deals on certain mortgages, especially on home equity lines of credit and construction loans

Letter to Regulator: AFR, 86 organizations call for FHFA to make mortgages more accessible to people with limited English proficiency

“As dominant actors in the mortgage industry with a statutory duty to facilitate underserved communities’ access to homeownership, we welcome the FHFA, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae’s consideration of steps to expand access to the mortgage market.”

Fair Housing Letter to Mortgage Settlement Monitor

March 27, 2013 Joseph A. Smith Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight 301 Fayetteville St., Suite 1801 Raleigh, NC 27601 Members of the Monitoring Committee Via electronic mail Dear Mr. Smith and Members of the Monitoring Committee: We write to follow up on your interim report

Comments on Wells Fargo CRA Exam: Servicing and Mortgage Problems

AFR joins 10 housing groups in asking OCC to downgrade Wells Fargo for its harmful mortgage and loan servicing practices.