Foreclosure

The community land trust (CLT) model has shown itself to be remarkably resilient through the foreclosure crisis sweeping the U.S., with CLT homes having a foreclosure rate of 0.52 percent, compared to the national average of 3.3 percent in 2008. The foreclosure crisis also presents opportunities for CLTs to get involved, both in helping to keep families in non-CLT houses in their homes, as well as to purchase homes post-foreclosure where foreclosure prevention is simply not possible. The following resources are a good starting point for any CLT looking to get involved in this issue.
 

General CLT Foreclosure Information

Policy Link -- Foreclosure Recovery Planning
Policy Link has developed a toolkit to provide a framework for developing a comprehensive foreclosure recovery plan and showcases the most innovative and promising strategies for the acquisition, maintenance, management, and transfer of these properties to low-income renters and homeowners, or for other beneficial neighborhood use. Communities can use this information to develop effective foreclosure recovery plans and compete for the additional $2 billion in new funding available in the federal stimulus package’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). Policy Link Foreclosure Toolkit

CLT Network Foreclosure Survey
Starting in 2007, the National CLT Network has been conducting an annual survey of our membership to determine the rate of foreclosure of community land trust homeowners. For the past two years, the foreclosure rate of CLT homes has been many times lower than the national average.

• 2008 Foreclosure Survey - Executive Summary
  
• 2007 Foreclosure Survey - Executive Summary

Articles

• "Homeownership Done Right", by David M. Abromowitz
  
• "What Foreclosure Crisis?  Community Land Trusts Offer Secure Homeownership", by Van Temple
• "Invest Wisely to Fix Real Estate Crisis", by Aaron Miripol

Foreclosure Prevention Programs

Colorado CLT's are working with homeowners in default to help them stay in their homes.

• Foreclosure Prevention Program Estimator
• CLT Foreclosure Prevention

Post-Foreclosure Programs

Samples Programs Around the U.S. Include:

City First Homes (Rochester, MN), REO acquisition/rehab program:

• Description
• Program Proposal

City of Lakes CLT (Minneapolis, MN), lease purchase program:    

• Foreclosures in Minneapolis
• Project: Reclaim
• Sample Letter

Diamond State CLT (Delaware)

• Description

Additional Resources on Foreclosure

• www.stablecommunities.org (NeighborWorks America)
  
• www.enterprisecommunity.org
  
• Foreclosure-Response.org is an online guide to foreclosure prevention and neighborhood stabilization developed and maintained by the Center for Housing Policy, KnowledgePlex, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and the Urban Institute.