NHSB Gives Testimony to City Council

Letter to the Taxation, Finance and Economic Development Committee
Organization: Neighborhood Housing Services of Baltimore
Testimony for Bill # CC 08-0037R
Written By: Alicia Schuller and Tanya Washington
January 22, 2009

History and Approach
Neighborhood Housing Services of Baltimore is a non-profit housing organization that has fought to provide access to the American dream of homeownership since its inception. Our mission to create and sustain homeownership opportunities through customized lending and consumer education insures successful homeownership.


Preventing Foreclosure as Apart of Our Mission
In July of 2007 we incorporated foreclosure prevention as a business line because we recognized the vast need for the service and the relevance foreclosure has to sustaining homeownership, a key part of our mission. We currently offer an emergency bridge loan of up to $5,000, which is meant to bridge the gap and buy time for the homeowner, while we refinance them into a lower rate or modify their loan with their bank.

Recent Trends in Clientele
The homeowners seeking our services are most commonly victims of sub-prime and exotic mortgages, such as 80/20 rate loans. Additionally, catastrophic life events including job loss, illness, death of a spouse, and simple over-extension of the borrower’s financial responsibilities have been the root cause of delinquencies we have seen. The core demographic of clients reaching out for our services is African American, single parent, head-of-household, women.

We currently maintain a waiting list of over 500 people who are in need of our foreclosure prevention services, however about half of those have failed to return required materials to move forward on their cases. Since July of 2007 NHS of Baltimore has counseled more than 170 families and individuals facing mortgage delinquencies and foreclosure. However, due to funding constraints, we have only been able to provide 39 households with the Emergency Bridge Loan. The demand for the loan has been so high that NHS of Baltimore depleted allocated monies for it by the December of 2008. We are currently exploring more funding options as the demand continues to be high.

It is imperative that state and federal officials recognize the large need for foreclosure prevention programs such as our own to insure that they continue to receive ample funding. The foreclosure and economic crisis is far from over, but it is clear that successful homeownership is not only key to making sustaining vibrant Baltimore neighborhoods, but in maintaining a strong and healthy economy.
Thank you,
Neighborhood Housing Services of Baltimore