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Coldwell Banker launches short sale program in California and Arizona

Feb 08, 2009

National Low Income Housing Coalition statement on Senate passage of $15,000 homebuyer tax creditMortgagePress.comNational Low Income Housing Coalition, U.S. Senate, National Housing Trust Fund The following is a statement from Sheila Crowley, president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), on the U.S. Senate passage of the $15,000 homebuyer tax credit: "If the country can afford to subsidize over a million families no matter what their income to buy new houses, surely we can afford to prevent a huge increase in the number of people who lose their homes altogether and become homeless. "This evening, the U.S. Senate adopted an amendment to the pending American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that will give every homebuyer this year, no matter his or her income, a $15,000 tax credit. The cost is $18.50 billion. The amendment did not include an offset, so the cost is added to the total cost of the bill. The amendment passed by voice vote without a single Senator raising an objection. "Yet, the same Senate has not included any funding in the bill that will produce a single new unit of housing that is affordable to the poorest families in the country. The Senate bill does not capitalize the National Housing Trust Fund to build and rehabilitate rental homes that are affordable to low wage workers, the unemployed, the disabled, and the elderly. Nor does the Senate bill provide funding for housing vouchers that would help low income families afford to rent existing housing in the market. "Both items have been sought by advocates for low income people to prevent a surge in homelessness due to the foreclosure crisis and the recession. The two items together would cost $13.60 billion, and provide 400,000-500,000 poor families with decent homes they could afford. Any increase in unemployment causes the poverty level to rise. One in 10 people who are poor will lose their homes unless steps are taken to prevent them from becoming homeless. An unemployment rate of 9% is predicted to result in at least new 800,000 people, including children and seniors, becoming homeless adding the existing homeless population. "The bill does include $1.5 billion for emergency housing assistance for people facing homelessness, an important element to a homelessness prevention strategy. But permanent affordable homes are required to assure housing stability for the lowest income households. "Capitalizing the National Housing Trust Fund is also an economic stimulus; housing construction and remodeling are labor and material intensive, thus creating jobs, increasing the sales of building and home decorating goods, and generating new state and local tax revenue. The construction of each new multi-family rental unit produces 1.16 new jobs and every $100,000 spent on home remodeling produces 1.11 new jobs. "If the country can afford to subsidize over a million families no matter what their income to buy new houses, surely we can afford to prevent a huge increase in the number of people who lose their homes altogether and become homeless. I strongly urge the Congress to reexamine its spending plans in the Economic Recovery bill in light of this expensive tax cut and do more to help those who are hurt the most by the economic crisis. It is simple fairness." For more information, visit www.nlihc.org.
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Feb 08, 2009
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