On Friday, June 29, housing advocates, homeowners and allies gathered in front of Alameda County Courthouse and blocked the auction of foreclosed homes including that of CJJC Homeowner Clinic Coordinator Nell Myhand and Synthia Green. People power stopped the sale on Friday and we send a thank you to everyone who came out in support. Check out our photos!
Meanwhile, the state legislature passed the Homeowner’s Bill of Rights today. The bill establishes important protections for homeowners at risk of foreclosure. The bill now heads to Gov. Jerry Brown for signature.
SB900 and AB278, sponsored by Attorney General Kamala Harris, would among other things:
Restrict dual tracking, making it illegal for banks to move forward with foreclosure plans while still negotiating with a homeowner about a loan modification.
Require proper and accurate foreclosure documentation
Require banks to assign a single point of contact rather than making homeowners try to explain their situation to a different person each time they call
Provide borrowers with the right to sue the banks when they violate the law.
Protect tenants who are renting homes that have gone into foreclosure.
Increased enforcement from mortgage fraud.
Nearly 2 million homeowners are threatened by foreclosure and 500,000 are predicted this year for California alone. Since 2007, there have been more than 10,000 completed foreclosures in Oakland, according to a new report from “Who Owns Your Neighborhood” by the Urban Strategies Council. Of the 10,508 completed foreclosures in the city since 2007, 62 percent (6,523) were either still owned by a financial institution or had been acquired by an investor.
Investors at auctions such as the one we were at, symbolize how the foreclosure crisis has fast-forwarded the process of gentrification in our communities, pushing out working class people and communities of color, destabilizing neighborhoods, driving up homelessness, and destroying our financial well-being.
At Friday’s Auction Action, protestors followed bidders and auctioneers, banging pots and pans, pounding drums, blowing whistles and chanting messages through the bullhorn. The bidders worked through earpieces, text messages and notes, doing all they could to ignore us. Apparently, they became so frustrated in their efforts, the auction was shut down for the day.
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Elruido de las ollas y sartenes, haciendo sonar silbatos y gritando fuerte ayudó a cerrar con éxito la subasta frente al Juzgado del Condado de Alameda, 29 de junio! Lea los detalles aquí.
También estamos entusiasmados con la aprobación de la Ley de Propietarios de los derechos por parte de la Legislatura del Estado de julio 2, que ofrece importantes protecciones para propietarios en riesgo de ejecución hipotecaria. Es un triunfo histórico para los propietarios de California! Por favor llame al gobernador Jerry Brown en el 916-445-2841, e instarlo a que firme este proyecto de ley.
Y un nuevo informe y excelente publicado por el Consejo de Estrategias Urbanas “Quién posee a su vecindario” sólo demuestra lo que hemos estado viendo y escuchando a nosotros mismos de nuestros clientes, que hay una concentración desproporcionada de particulares fuera de la ciudad los inversores recogiendo los hogares ejecución hipotecaria, debido a los préstamos abusivos. Nosotros decimos ¡BASTA!