Congresswoman Waters Fights Problem of Foreclosed Homes
April 14th, 2009 by 
Joseph Smith
U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan was accompanied by California Congresswoman Maxine Waters when he went to Los Angeles to take a look at some of the city’s housing foreclosures.
Los Angeles contributed thousands of foreclosed homes to total California foreclosures, making California one of the nation’s top three states in foreclosure rates in 2008 and in the first two months of 2009.
Donovan visited Los Angeles primarily to evaluate the impact of foreclosed homes on neighborhoods and to look at some of the foreclosed homes that will be purchased and rehabilitated by the city government under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.
In 2008, Congresswoman Waters, head of the Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittee, led congressional efforts to create NSP, which was later approved and funded under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. NSP was funded with nearly $4 billion, specifically to aid efforts by states, cities and counties to rehabilitate neighborhoods battered by foreclosed homes.
Again in 2009, Waters campaigned and got support for her proposal to add another $2 billion funding for NSP through an inclusion in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was made into law in February.
From the first NSP allocations, the state of California and its local governments received $530 million, with almost $33 million for Los Angeles and almost $17 million for Los Angeles County.
For the second round of funding, HUD will be accepting funding applications from state governments, local governments and nonprofits in May.
One of the foreclosed homes on East 90th Street became imprinted in pictures when it became the location of a news conference held by the group of HUD Secretary Donovan, Congressman Waters and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The foreclosure property, a single-family home, illustrated the kind of foreclosed homes that the city will buy, repair and resell or rent out.
The city government has hired Restore Neighborhoods, a community-based development enterprise, to find, buy and repair foreclosed homes that later will be sold or rented out to moderate-income families that will occupy the restored homes and not to investors who would just resell them with high margins.
In her speech, Congressman Waters thanked HUD Secretary Donovan for his efforts in helping Los Angeles, which holds about one-fourth of all California foreclosures. She also cited the partnerships created by Obama’s administration, Congress and local governments in solving the problem of foreclosed homes.
