CORRECTED: Oregon NSP1 Report Through September.

Correction:
Original title showed through "December", has been changed to correctly read September.
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Report is HERE. It shows:

1. Increase of 12 rehab unit achieved during month, now up to 56 vs goal of 137.
2. Compared to units goal of 480, total achievement to date is 99 units. (21%).
3. Compared to beneficiaries goal of 260, total achievement to date is 60 households. (23%). 
4. Report shows beneficiary goal DECLINING from 275 reported in August to 260 in September with declines in acquisition (6) and rehab (9) sub categories.
5. 40% of beneficiaries are reported as below 50% MFI.
6. "Expenditures" now up to 70% of budget.

Link to my prior post on Oregon performance at end of August is HERE.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

HUD Getting Busy on NSP3, Finally.

From NSP Resource Exchange website:

• HUD will be offering a webinar on October 19th at 2:00 PM EDT that will summarize and answer questions on both the NSP3 Program and the alternative requirements and regulatory waivers offered under the new Federal Register notice. Learn more.

• During the week of October 18, HUD will issue a new Federal Register notice on the NSP3 allocation method, waivers granted, alternative requirements applied, and statutory program requirements. An advance copy of the Notice is available. Read it now.

FR Notice is 91 pages.....Oregon allocation is $5 million.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

NSP1 Oregon August Report Shows Continued Spending, NO Increase Reported in Units or Households Served.

I previously posted HERE about NSP 1 spending and goal achievement as of the end of July.  In that post I said that the JULY report showed:

• 92% of funding had been "committed" and 43% had been "expended"
• 18% of the 471 unit goal had been achieved and only 22% of the 267 household beneficiary goal had been accomplished.
  

The end of August report is now out HERE, and it shows that:

• Funding "committed" had increased to 98.9%, while "expenditures" increased to 58.2%.
• There was NO reported increase in the unit or beneficiary served goal achievement.

I suspect this may be a reporting problem, with attention focused on getting money spent before upcoming deadlines.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Oregon Gets $5 Million For NSP3; No Guidance Yet.

HUD PR is HERE. Allocation table by state is HERE.

No policy guidance on use of NSP3, nor the data supporting the allocation is posted as of 10 AM PDT. Expect it will follow at some point.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

HUD NSP3 Response Worth a Laugh.

I recently submitted a question to Hqs HUD NSP staff in which I pointed out that legislation required HUD to publish the allocation formula within 30 days of enactment on July 21st, which would have meant publication by August 20th. 

The response I received made me laugh out loud:

The bill required that the Department establish a formula “not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment”, which the department has established.

The response goes on to say:

In the upcoming weeks, HUD will be releasing notices regarding NSP 3. These notices will include a formula allocation that describes how funds will be allocated as well as a program description that provides detailed information about the program guidelines.

So... while HUD could apparently "establish" the deadline date [aka count 30 days on a calendar from the day the President signed the bill into law], it could not actually meet the deadline.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

HUD Kumbaya With Lenders to Offer Foreclosures to NSP Grantees First; Discount Likely Modest, Perhaps "Wimpy"?

HUD PR is HERE. Gist: 

The National First Look Program will allow NSP grantees the exclusive opportunity to purchase available REO properties located within the defined boundaries of NSP target areas. NSP grantees will be immediately notified when a property becomes available and will have 24-48 hours to express interest in pursuing a specific property. Furthermore, these institutions will provide NSP purchasers with the opportunity to purchase REO properties at a discount their appraised value, reflecting the cost savings of a quick sale. NSP grantees may acquire these properties with the assistance of NSP funds for any eligible use.

However I did NOT see any details about AMOUNT of discount that NSP might expect; my prior post HERE pointed out that HUD was offering what I called a "wimpy" 10% discount for its FHA repos.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Oregon Second Qtr NSP1 Performance Report Posted, Includes Sub Grantee Information.

70 pages total, the report HERE provides substantial detail about progress made during quarter that ended June 30th, INCLUDING sub grantee information broken out by activity--that local detail begins on page 6 of the report.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

NSP Allocations Should be Coming SOON; Oregon Minimum is $5 Million.

NSP3 allocations should be arriving SOON since House Financial reform bill provisions HERE required publication within 30 days of enactment, which occurred on July 21. That assumes of course that HUD meets the statutory deadline. 

Oregon should receive a minimum of $5 million in this allocation.

My most recent NSP3 post HERE pointed out that rental housing development was an eligible use under NSP 3, and could be also for unobligated or unexpended NSP 1 or 2 funds. 

Seems logical that HUD will need to issue some guidance to clarify eligible uses and processes to reprogram NSP 1 and NSP 2 funds.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Oregon NSP Report Through July Shows Progress in Spending But Unit/Beneficiary Goal Achievement is Lagging, Especially Land Banking.

New HUD report on Oregon NSP 1 peformance through July is HERE.  Report shows that 92% of FUNDING has been "committed" and 43% has been "expended".  

However, table on page 4 shows that only 18% of the 471 unit goal has been accomplished and only 22% of the 267 household beneficiary goal has been accomplished.

I prepared this table showing a breakout by planned activity:

Activity	Unit Goal	Unit Achieved	% of UNIT Goal Achieved	Beneficiary Goal	Beneficiary Achieved	% of Beneficiary Goal Achieved
Total	471	87	18%	267	60	22%
Acquisition	18	0	0%	8	0	0%
Clearance	0	0	N/A	0	0	N/A
Homeownership	185	43	23%	185	43	23%
Land Banking	120	0	0%	0	0	N/A
Public Facilities / Economic Dev	1	0	0%	0	0	N/A
Residential New Construction	10	0	0%	0	0	N/A
Residential Rehab	137	44	32%	74	17	23%
Other	0	0	N/A	0	0	N/A

Land Banking Progress Would Improve Goal Accomplishment % Substantially. Since there is zero accomplishments yet for the 120 unit land banking goal, appears that even modest increases would substantially boost OHCS overall goal accomplishment. 

OHCS IS exceeding the 25% low income beneficiary set aside, achieving 40%.  

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Clear Language in Financial Service Reform Allows/Prioritizes Use of NSP Funding for Affordable Rental Housing Development.

In a prior post HERE I pointed out that the Financial Services bill had a provision that no longer required the purchase of foreclosed or abandoned homes in order to meet the 25% low income set aside for the NSP 3 program, or for unobligated or unexpended funding in NSP 1 and 2.  This opens the door in my mind to using those funds for rental assistance. 

I found one additional reference in the bill that signals CLEARLY that NSP money CAN be used to assist in rental development. Section 1497(a)(3)(D) reads:

"each ..government receiving grant amounts shall establish procedures to create preferences for the development of affordable rental housing for properties assisted with amounts under this Section."

Note that affordable rental development is not only ELIGIBLE, it MUST be prioritized by state and local government recipients.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

HUD Offers FHA Repos at Discount to NSP Participants, But Discount is Wimpy 10%.

PR is HERE. 

No idea why it took so long to adopt such a modest discount program; Advance FR notice HERE takes 19 pages to explain how program will operate. 

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

NSP Snapshot Report for Oregon, End of May.

Report is HERE. 

Report shows that statewide 43% ($8.3 million) of funds were committed as of end of May, but continues to show only ONE family had received assistance.

However, I recently saw news story HERE indicating that Gresham, a sub grantee, had completed obligating 100% of their funding ($431k), after expanding eligible areas and the amount per purchaser from $10,000 to $25,000. Story says that 20 homes were sold. 

I expect that other sub grantees are rushing to commit there funds and would expect an end of June report to show a substantial increase in obligations AND the number of families served.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

HUD Signals Foreclosure Moves Ahead Including Projected $1 Billion Recapture of NSP 1 Funding.

Interesting press release HERE. Some key excerpts:

The Administration also announced plans to reallocate funds awarded through NSP1 that have not yet been committed to specific projects, in order to drive more funding to hardest hit communities....[The] Administration plans to work with Congress on new foreclosure counseling efforts to help homeowners facing foreclosure stay in their homes

Both the reallocation of NSP1 funds and a third round through NSP3 would help to expand efforts to clear blighted properties...HUD plans to explore with Congress a number of technical changes that could improve the flexibility and impact of the NSP program if a third round of funding can be secured. HUD will also work with Congress to help local grantees access more of the administrative capacity needed for effective implementation and, as part of this effort, to secure additional funds for technical assistance (TA) as well.

Local communities would design and set their own program targets, but HUD would provide options for implementation. To ensure best use of taxpayer dollars, grantees would, based on NSP1 performance, either be required to:

    * Work with a subgrantee – an entity that is granted the legal obligations and authority to implement NSP on behalf of the grantee;
    * Sign a Technical Assistance agreement with HUD; or,
    * Work in a consortium with a high capacity lead grantee.

In order to reallocate NSP1 funding, HUD would follow guidelines set forth in HERA, which says that states and units of general local government have no more than 18 months to dedicate NSP1 funds to specific projects. The Department estimates that 70% of the $3.9 billion in NSP1 funds would be obligated by the 18-month deadline this fall, in September and October 2010, for a recapture of approximately $1 billion. Following a 30 day review period, funds that grantees have not yet committed to specific projects will be reallocated either to new grantees or as additional funds for first round grantees.

[My prior post showing the April status of NSP 1 funds report for Oregon is HERE].

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Oregon NSP 1 Grantee Report Through April 2010.

Thanks to a tip, hot off the press HERE is the State of Oregon NSP 1 status report as of May 1, 2010. Report shows:

• Through April only 1 home , 1 household served vs goal of 629 homes and 471 households.
• $6,863,565 obligated, and $4,775,001 committed out of $19.6 Millon NSP 1 grant.
  

(No idea why last few pages of the report are blank, that's they way HUD posted it),

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

City of Portland Makes Neighborhood Stabilization Grant Announcements.

Portland Housing Bureau PR is HERE. Two grantees will share $2.1 million; PR says 8 applications were received in response to RFP, totaling $7.1 million):

Two programs received $2.1 million in funding. Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East was awarded $1.275 million to acquire foreclosed land for 45 new homes to be built in outer Southeast Portland. A total of $791,969 was awarded to a partnership between Proud Ground and the Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA Family Center) to acquire and repair homes in neighborhoods with high rates of poverty, foreclosure, and at risk homes.

(Solicitation/RFP used to invite applications for this program is HERE).

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

OHCS Publishes NSP Substantial Amendment for Comment, Expanding Eligible Census Tracts.

On the heels of the recent Notice from HUD advising of the ability of some NSP1 grantees (including Oregon) to expand the areas eligible for NSP1 funding, OHCS has published a Subtantial Amendment Notice HERE advising of a planned expansion of eligible areas for Oregon. The revised areas would cover 47% of the census tracts in the state.

Another change in the substantial amendment would remove the requirement for a "soft second" loan, substituting any form of assistance permitted by the NSP program.

Comments will be accepted through COB April 23rd.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

HUD Formally Publishes NSP Changes in FR: Oregon Substantial Amendment Could Expand Eligible Areas?

HUD has formalized the definitional changes for the NSP program (see prior post HERE) via a Notice publication in the Federal Register HERE.

The Notice also alerts that a statutory change for NSP 1 grantees receiving the minimum amount (including Oregon) permits those states to reallocate funding to additional areas IF the do so via a substantial amendment. Language from the notice says this statutory change:

now allows states to re-program NSP funds to additional
areas with homeowners at risk of foreclosure or in foreclosure without
regard to the percentage of home foreclosures in such areas if they
have fulfilled the requirements of section 2301(c)(2) of HERA. Eligible
states, those that only received $19.6 million in NSP funds, that wish
to take advantage of this option, must provide a substantial amendment to their NSP plan. The amendment must contain several elements, including the state's explanation of how it has fulfilled the
requirement of section 2301(c)(2), distributing funds in a manner that
gives priority to areas with greatest need, as outlined in the NSP
plan.
A state may define program terms under the authority of 24 CFR
570.481(a) and will be required to define certain terms if it chooses
to submit a substantial amendment. States will be given maximum
feasible deference in accordance with 24 CFR 570.480(c) in matters
related to the administration of their programs.
This amendment will not be subject to HUD approval, unlike the NSP
plan. States that plan to amend their NSP plan must follow the
alternative requirements found in section II.B.4.b. of the October 6,
2008, (73 FR 58330) notice as amended by the June 19, 2009, notice (74
FR 29223). The state will submit a copy of the substantial amendment to
the HUD field office when the citizen participation is complete.
Although the amendment is not subject to approval, HUD will monitor
grantees to ensure proper implementation of the substantial amendment pursuant to section 105 of HFSHA.

At the Housing Council meeting last week there was some discussion about reallocating NSP funding to insure timely expenditure. This new announcement MAY increase the flexibility that Oregon has to reallocate those funds, IF a substantial amendment is posted for public comment and approved by OHCS.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

New HUD NSP Rules Broaden "Foreclosed" and "Abandoned" Definitions.

Palm Street Post story HERE.

HUD PR is HERE.

(Would look for formal notice soon in NSP policy section HERE).

From HUD PR:

New "Foreclosed" definition:

The property is at least 60 days delinquent on its mortgage and the owner has been notified; or the property owner is 90 days or more delinquent on tax payments; or under state or local law, foreclosure proceedings have been initiated or completed; or foreclosure proceedings have been completed and title has been transferred to an intermediary aggregator or servicer that is not an NSP grantee, subrecipient, developer, or end user.

New "Abandoned" Definition:

HUD is expanding the definition of an abandoned property to include homes where no mortgage or tax payments have been made by the property owner for at least 90 days or a code enforcement inspection has determined that the property is not habitable and the owner has taken no corrective actions within 90 days of notification of the deficiencies.

Changes are immediately effective.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Update 3, Developing: Oregon Getting $88 Million in Housing Foreclosure Help.

Update 3: OHCS has received at least $114 Million in federal foreclosure related funding, latest allocation increases funding by 233%.
Oregonian story HERE has some OHCS quotes.

Also, some additional perspective from me: Two other prior foreclosure related (NSP) grants to OHCS totalled $26.429 million, so $88 million in additional foreclosure funding is an INCREASE of 233% from previously awarded totals to date, bringing total foreclosure related funding through OHCS to at least $114.429 Million.
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Update 2: In mid February, Michigan was awarded funds in round 1 of this effort. In the PR on its web site HERE, the Michigan HFA outlines their planning process which would see publication of their draft plan for public comment in early April with submission due to Treasury by mid April.

Applying similar time frames to Oregon would suggest an application deadline to Treasury by the end of June, with a draft out for public comment by mid June.
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Update 1: Some local media stories in last couple of hours: OPB and Portland Business Journal

Senator Merkley press release is HERE.

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CBS news has story HERE.

Treasury PR with some details HERE.

PR makes clear that OHCS will have to submit plan to use available funds:

Treasury will announce rules governing the submission of program designs by HFAs within two weeks and will provide a period thereafter for HFAs to submit their program designs in order to receive funding. These rules will be substantially similar to the rules previously released by Treasury for the first HFA Hardest Hit Fund, and will include a proposal submission timeline for this second HFA Hardest Hit Fund.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Oregon NSP Progress Reports Now On Line.

HUD has begun to post quarterly progress reports for NSP (Neighborhood Stabilization Program) grantees on the web page HERE.

• OHCS NSP 1 grantee reports are available HERE, with the latest report available from 4th quarter, 2009.
• The OHCS NSP 2 grantee report page is HERE, but no reports have yet been filed.

(The OHCS NSP web page is HERE).

Hat tip to Ellen Johnson, from Legal Aid Services of Oregon for finding these reports.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.