Merrimack Valley. Local CDCs Working to Reduce Foreclosures and Pick up the Pieces. Deeds, Mortgages, Foreclosures and Orders of Notice Recorded

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1 Merrimack Valley University f Massachusetts Lwell Vlume 4, Issue 7 July 2011 MIDDLESEX NORTH REGISTRY OF DEEDS husingreprt An e-publicatin f UMass Lwell and the Middlesex Nrth Registry f Deeds Lcal CDCs Wrking t Reduce Freclsures and Pick up the Pieces...1 Mid-Year Real Estate Reprt...2 First Time Hme Buyer Seminar...3 Lcal CDCs Wrking t Reduce Freclsures and Pick up the Pieces By Emily Vidrine As the freclsure crisis rlls nward, varius respnses have emerged bth n the natinal and lcal level. The federal gvernment and state gvernments have financially supprted freclsure preventin and redevelpment f freclsed and abandned buildings; intermediary nnprfits such as NeighbrWrks have wrked t supprt capacity building f husing rganizatins, freclsure cunseling, and ther cmmunity develpment gals; and n-line cmmunities as well as grassrts grups have resisted wrngful evictins, fught fr new legislatin, and put the sptlight n bad banking practices. Other respnders t the freclsure crisis are Cmmunity Develpment Crpratins (CDCs), wh are wrking at bth ends f the freclsure pipeline, preventing the nes they can and picking up the pieces f the rest. A recent piece f research that I cnducted highlights the lcally-based respnses f CDCs in eastern Massachusetts.1 CDCs emerged all ver the U.S. as nnprfit rganizatins in the 1960s and 1970s. They serve mainly lw-incme and pr ppulatins, and their fcus has been n affrdable husing (92% in the nrtheast regin f the U.S.2) as well as ther areas like cmmercial and industrial develpment, business develpment, jb creatin, and cmmunity building. In respnse t the freclsure crisis in Massachusetts, CDCs have fcused mainly n purchase and rehabilitatin f freclsed prperties and n freclsure preventin. I had the pprtunity t interview three CDCs in the area. Calitin fr a Better Acre (CBA) in Lwell, MA has fcused mainly n freclsure preventin and redevelpment f freclsed prperties as a means f reducing the negative impacts f freclsure in the Lwell cmmunity. Deeds, Mrtgages, Freclsures and Orders f Ntice Recrded June 2010 and June 2011 cmpared Haverhill Lawrence Lwell Methuen June-10 June-11 June-10 June-11 June-10 June-11 June-10 June-11 Deeds Mrtgages Freclsure Deeds Orders f Ntice

2 Merrimack Valley Husing Reprt 2 Free freclsure cunseling services are prvided thrugh the Hme Preservatin Calitin, a federally funded partnership between Cmmunity Teamwrk Inc. and CBA. At the ther end f the freclsure pipeline, CBA has wrked tirelessly t redevelp freclsed prperties int affrdable husing using federal funding made available thrugh the Neighbrhd Stabilizatin Prgram. Lawrence Cmmunity Wrks (LCW) in Lawrence, MA has respnded similarly t CBA. The rganizatin prvides free freclsure cunseling and has fcused n the redevelpment f freclsed prperties as a pst-freclsure strategy. Chelsea Neighbrhd Develpers (CND) in Chelsea, MA has fcused intensely n redevelpment f freclsed prperties in respnse t the crisis. CND s strategy is t shw lng-term investment in the cmmunity by purchasing, redevelping, and maintaining lng-term wnership f its prperties. CND has bserved that a certain level f cmmunity investment in a neighbrhd has habitually led t ther cmmunity members als investing in their hmes and neighbrhds, leading t an verall imprvement in the lcal husing market. Thugh the cnnectin t freclsures is less direct, ther effrts put frth by CDCs such as cmmunity building, hmewner educatin, and ther real estate develpment prjects als help supprt healthy husing markets. 1. Vidrine, E. (2011). Cmmunity Based Respnses t the Freclsure Crisis: A Fcus n Cmmunity Develpment Crpratins in Massachusetts. MV_Husing/dcs/Vidrine2011CmmBasedRespnses.pdf 2. Natinal Cngress fr Cmmunity Ecnmic Develpment (2005). Reaching New Heights: Trends and Achievements f Cmmunity-Based Develpment Organizatins. 5th Natinal Cmmunity Develpment Census. dcuments/nccedcensus2005finalreprt.pdf Fr mre n freclsures and affrdable husing in the regin, visit Resurces.html. Mid-Year Real Estate Reprt By Richard P. Hwe Jr. Early July prvides us with a gd pprtunity t cnsider mid-year husing statistics fr the Greater Lwell regin. When cmpared t the first six mnths f 2010, January thrugh June f 2011 gives a mixed message. Fr the entire registry district (cnsisting f Billerica, Carlisle, Chelmsfrd, Dracut, Dunstable, Lwell, Tewksbury, Tyngsbrugh, Westfrd and Wilmingtn), the number f deeds recrded during the first half f 2011 was dwn by 11% when cmpared t the same perid in 2010 (2399 in 2011 v 2698 in 2010) and the number f mrtgages recrded was dwn 3% (5210 in 2011 v 5374 in 2010). On a better nte, the number f freclsure deeds recrded was dwn 41% (202 in 2011 v 345 in 2010) and the number f rders f ntice was dwn by 40% (393 in 2011 v 655 in 2010). Because the city f Lwell is demgraphically unique in the Middlesex Nrth District, its statistics shuld be examined separately. With a drp f 19%, deeds frm Lwell were dwn at a greater rate than fr the district as a whle. In the first half f 2011, there were 692 Lwell deeds recrded; fr the same perid in 2010 there were 853. Mrtgages were dwn by 6% fr the city, with 1049 in 2011 cmpared t 1120 in The drp in city freclsures, hwever, exceeded the district-wide decline. Freclsure deeds were dwn 44% (107 in 2011 v 190 in 2010) and rders f ntice were dwn 46% (168 in 2011 v 314 in 2010). While it is useful t make these mnth-t-mnth cmparisns, they can be smewhat arbitrary. Freclsures this mnth might be substantial, but if freclsures in the same mnth a year ag were astrnmical, this year s statistics wuld shw a steep decline in freclsures, perhaps giving a false sense that things are better than they really are.

3 Merrimack Valley Husing Reprt 3 T prvide a better sense f the flw f real estate related dcuments, I have prvided the fllwing tw charts: ne is fr deeds; the ther fr rders f ntice. Bth shw recrdings f these dcuments n a mnthly basis fr the past eighteen mnths. The deeds chart shws a slight imprvement in vlume during the perid cvered with a series f shrt-lived peaks and valleys interspersed. The rder f ntice chart shws a smewhat dwnward trend in new freclsures, but that gradual decline was brken twice by rapid spikes in new freclsure filings, nce in the early fall f 2011 and again in the early spring f S we have the same numbers yielding tw different cnclusins abut the state f the real estate market depending n hw they are rganized. The lessn, I suppse, is t lk at numbers in multiple ways, nt just in the manner that prvides the result the viewer finds mst desirus. DEEDS - Middlesex Nrth, January 2010 t June Jan10 Feb10 Mar10 Apr10 May10Jun10 Jul10 Aug10 Sep10 Oct10 Nv10Dec10 Jan11 Feb11 Mar11 Apr11 May11Jun11 ORDERS OF NOTICE - Middlesex Nrth, January 2010 t June Jan10 Feb10 Mar10 Apr10 May10Jun10 Jul10 Aug10 Sep10 Oct10 Nv10Dec10 Jan11 Feb11 Mar11 Apr11 May11Jun11

4 Merrimack Valley Husing Reprt 4 First Time Hmebuyer Seminar By Cathy Dyl Buying a hme is a majr cmpnent f the American Dream. It s als a cmplicated and nerve racking prcess. As a result, the Steps t Hmewnership seminar was established abut 20 years ag t educate first time hme buyers n the entire hme buying prcess frm start t finish. The seminars prmte respnsible and affrdable hmewnership. We believe that a well-infrmed hme buyer becmes a successful hme wner! The seminars are taught by experienced prfessinals in their respective fields. This includes a Mrtgage Lan Officer, Realtr, Lawyer, Hme Inspectr, Credit & Budgeting Cunselr and representatives frm affrdable husing agencies/nn-prfits. These vlunteer speakers understand that this is a frum t educate and nt an pprtunity t slicit business. The seminar usually cnsists f 4 separate classes that ttal 10 hurs f instructin. The curriculum includes the fllwing tpics: Affrding yur hme Making sure yu keep yur hme Chsing the right Realtr Understanding legal issues Dwn payment and clsing cst assistance Getting a hme inspectin Understanding yur mrtgage ptins Winning a husing lttery The Steps t Hmewnership seminars are certified by the Massachusetts Hmewnership Cllabrative. Certificates are issued t each student wh cmpletes the seminar. The certificate is required fr hme buyers wh btain certain first time hme buyer mrtgages and cmmunity dwn payment assistance. The seminars are given every mnth in varying lcatins n the Nrth Shre and Greater Lwell area. They are held during evening hurs and are pened t all. There are n tests r ther qualificatins fr prspective students wh wuld like t attend the class. Students are charged a ttal f $50 per husehld. BUT it s free fr CTI emplyees. We expect t have abut 250 students cmplete the seminars this year. These seminars are advertised n as well as the CTI website. Many f the students that attend the seminar have wn a husing lttery. Other students learn, fr the first time, abut the availability f mney frm varius cmmunities t help hme buyers with their dwn payment and clsing csts. Even students wh have already signed an Offer T Purchase n a hme welcme the infrmatin and manage t learn smething new. Cntact Cathy Dyl at x5614 r cdyl@cmteam.rg if yu have any questins. Lking t Shwcase Yur Vacancy r Lking t Mve? Cmmunity Teamwrk Inc. (CTI) develped a new website designed t help landlrds shwcase their vacancies, and tenants t easily find them. This free service is ffered thrughut the Merrimack Valley and the Nrth Shre. r cntact Avi Glaser at aglaser@cmteam.rg

5 Merrimack Valley Husing Reprt 5 The Merrimack Valley Husing Reprt is published by UMass Lwell and the Middlesex Nrth Registry f Deeds Richard P. Hwe Jr., Editr Richard.Hwe@sec.state.ma.us David Turctte, Editr David_Turctte@uml.edu Emily Vidrine, Research Assistant /Writer Emily_Vidrine@student.uml.edu Jann Vaillette, Publicatin Assistant Jann_Vaillette@student.uml.edu Center fr Family, Wrk, and Cmmunity University f Massachusetts Lwell 600 Sufflk Street, First Flr Suth Lwell, MA Tel. (978) This prject is funded in part by the Office f the Chancellr and the Office f Outreach. UMASS LOWELL Subscribe t the Merrimack Valley Husing Reprt T begin receiving this mnthly e-publicatins, please David Turctte at David_Turctte@uml.edu The Merrimack Valley Husing Reprt thanks its majr spnsrs: Merrimack Valley Reginal Netwrk t End Hmelessness & Cmmunity Teamwrk Inc.