New Fund aims to help Florida’s most vulnerable Homeowners
- At May 10, 2022
- By fhfla
- In News
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A new program in Florida aims to prevent at least 20,000 families from losing their homes.
The Homeowner Assistance Fund has awarded more than $6.2 million so far to people who have experienced a financial hardship and need help paying their mortgages, utilities, and other bills.
Congresswoman Lois Frankel and other lawmakers want to get the word out that there’s hundreds of millions of dollars still on the table. Florida has more than $676 million set aside for the fund, made possible by the American Rescue Plan.
Eligible homeowners need to have experienced a financial hardship from Jan. 21, 2020, or that continued after that date, and they can only request assistance for their primary residence.
Priority is given to Florida’s most vulnerable homeowners who are defined by the following criteria:
The annual household income is less than or equal to 100% of the Area Median Income (AMI) (or 100% of the U.S. AMI, whichever is greater); The eligible property is in a census tract with a median income that is less than or equal to the U.S. AMI; The applicant is a Socially Disadvantaged Individual, or the eligible property is in a Florida economically distressed rural county or city.
Money homeowners are awarded can be used towards not only their mortgage, but also homeowner’s insurance, utility payments and internet.
So far, 386 applications have been approved by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. More than 24,000 eligible registrations have been submitted.
Homeowners can complete the first step in determining their eligibility by clicking here.
Register Now for this Realtors Virtual Fair Housing Month Event titled “FAIR HOUSING, KNOW YOUR OBLIGATIONS & RESPONSIBILITIES.”
- At April 28, 2022
- By fhfla
- In News
- 0
Click here to register for this very informative webinar.
SAVE THIS DATE! REGISTER NOW FOR VIRTUAL FAIR HOUSING MONTH CELEBRATION EVENT!
- At April 06, 2022
- By fhfla
- In News
- 0
On April 20, 2022 please join the Fair Housing Center of the Greater Palm Beaches, Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, and the City of West Palm Beach as we celebrate Fair Housing Month this April. We will be hosting a virtual presentation featuring Dr. Andre Perry, as he discusses how we can combat the discriminatory practices involving the house evaluation process.
Dr. Perry is a Senior Fellow at Brookings and a scholar-in-residence at American University. He is the author of “Know Your Price: A Conversation About Valuing Black Lives and Property”. Dr. Perry is also a nationally known and respected commentator on race, structural inequality, and education.
Wednesday, April 20, 2022 ~ 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
via ZOOM
Register in advance for this meeting:
HTTPS://US06WEB.ZOOM.US/
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the event.
Fair Housing Center of the Greater Palm Beaches and Other Fair Housing Groups Reach Historic Settlement with Fannie Mae
- At February 26, 2022
- By fhfla
- In News
- 0
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The Fair Housing Center of the Greater Palm Beaches, along with the National Fair Housing Alliance and 19 locally-based fair housing groups, have reached a landmark $53 million
settlement with Fannie Mae to resolve claims the company discriminated in its maintenance and marketing of foreclosed homes it owned in majority Black and Latino communities. Fannie Mae denied all allegations.
This historic settlement resulted from a comprehensive four-year investigation of more than 2,300 Fannie Mae-owned foreclosed properties in 39 metropolitan areas throughout the country. Fair housing groups collected more than 49,000 photographs revealing poorly maintained properties in Black and Latino communities, compared to properties in predominantly White neighborhoods.
Blacks and Latinos were actively targeted by predatory subprime mortgage lenders in the run-up to the 2008 Financial Crisis. As a result, homes in Black and Latino neighborhoods were respectively 2 and 2.5 times more likely to be foreclosed than homes in White communities. Millions of homeowners in Black and Latino communities lost their homes, and these neighborhoods were decimated.
The momentous and groundbreaking settlement is the first of it’s kind in U.S. history and brings hope to underserved neighborhoods throughout the nation and the people living in them. Because of the efforts of the FHC and it’s partners, Fannie Mae has implemented practices that represent the gold standard for maintaining and marketing foreclosed homes equitably.
The agreement has far-reaching implications. Fair housing groups will spearhead initiatives that target Black and Latino communities, who were harmed by Fannie Mae’s alleged discriminatory conduct. The relief will fulfill a central purpose of the Fair Housing Act: ensuring equitable treatment of neighborhoods regardless of their racial makeup.
This recognition has significant meaning with similar cases pending against lenders, like Bank of America and Deutsche Bank.
The FHC and the other fair housing groups were represented by noted civil rights law firms Relman Colfax PLLC and Dane Law LLC. The organizations were also represented by Morgan Williams, General Counsel of the National Fair Housing Alliance, and Julia Howard-Gibbon, Supervising Attorney of Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California.
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