Housing Law Commons^™

Please Check One--Male Or Female?: Confronting Gender Identity Discrimination In Collegiate Residential Life, Katherine A. Womack

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Equal Protection And Aesthetic Zoning: A Possible Crack And A Preemptive Repair, Louis G. Tassinary, Dawn E. Jourdan, Russ Parsons

UF Law Faculty Publications

In Village of Willowbrook v. Olech, the property owner alleged "the Village intentionally demanded a 33-foot easement as a condition of connecting her property to the municipal water supply where the Village required only a 15-foot easement from other similarly situated property owners." The complaint further described the village's demand as "irrational and wholly arbitrary." According to the Seventh Circuit, the property owner could allege an equal protection violation by asserting the state's action was motivated solely by a "spiteful effort to 'get' him for reasons wholly unrelated to any legitimate state objective." On appeal, the Supreme Court agreed, …

The Role Of The Exhaustion And Ripeness Doctrines In Reasonable Accomodation Denial Suits Under The Fair Housing Amendments Act, Matt Hall

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

Section 8, Source Of Income Discrimination, And Federal Preemption: Setting The Record Straight, Jenna Bernstein

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Home Is Where The Hatred Is: A Proposal For A Federal Housing Administration Truth And Reconciliation Commission, Brian Gilmore

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.

Problems In Mortgage Servicing From Modification To Foreclosure: Hearing Before The S. Comm. On Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs, 111th Cong., Nov. 16, 2010 (Statement Of Associate Professor Adam J. Levitin, Geo. U. L. Center), Adam J. Levitin

Testimony Before Congress

The mortgage foreclosure process is beset by a variety of problems. These range from procedural defects (including, but not limited to robosigning) to outright counterfeiting of documents to questions about the validity of private-label mortgage securitizations that could mean that these mortgage-backed securities are not actually backed by any mortgages whatsoever. While the extent of these problems is unknown at present, the evidence is mounting that it is not limited to one-off cases, but that there may be pervasive defects throughout the foreclosure and securitization processes.

The problems in the mortgage market are highly technical, but they are extremely serious. …

Robo-Signing, Chain Of Title, Loss Mitigation, And Other Issues In Mortgage Servicing: Hearing Before The Subcomm. On Hous. And Cmty. Opportunity Of The H. Fin. Serv. Comm., 111th Cong., Nov. 18, 2010 (Statement Of Associate Professor Adam J. Levitin, Geo. U. L. Center), Adam J. Levitin

Testimony Before Congress

The US is now in its forth year of a mortgage crisis in which over 3 million families have lost their homes and another 2.5 million are currently scheduled to lose theirs. Repeated government loan modification or refinancing initiatives have failed miserably. To this sad state of affairs, there now come a variety of additional problems: faulty foreclosures due to irregularities ranging from procedural defects (including, but not limited to robosigning) to outright counterfeiting of documents; predatory servicing practices that precipitate borrower defaults and then overcharge for foreclosure services that are ultimately paid for by investors; and questions about the …

Complaint, Nikolich Et Al V. The Village Of Arlington Heights Illinois, 870 F.Supp.2d 556, Docket No. 1:10-Cv-07395 (Northern District Of Illinois 2012), Allison Bethel, John Marshall Law School Fair Housing Legal Clinic

Court Documents and Proposed Legislation

No abstract provided.

Transparency In Lending In The United States And The United Kingdom: Which Business Model Does It Best, Mara Hart

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The recent downturn of the global economy, spurred in large part by an unparalleled housing crisis and credit crunch in the United States and abroad, cannot be practicably understood or explained by an examination of isolated factors. Although the impact of the economic downturn has been felt globally, many blame the meltdown of the U.S. subprime mortgage market for their individual country's woes. Therefore, the mortgage regulatory scheme in the United States, in terms of lending practices and housing policies, is an important place to begin an inquiry into the origins of the global crisis. In order to better understand …

Bringing Human Rights Home: The Dc Right To Housing Campaign, Meetali Jain

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Discriminatory Housing Advertisements On-Line: Lessons From Craigslist, Rigel C. Oliveri

Faculty Publications

The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to publish discriminatory housing advertisements. This has long been applied to newspapers, which have effectively screened all discriminatory housing ads from sight. However, in 1996 Congress created a loophole when it immunized website operators from liability for the content posted to their sites by third parties. Without publisher liability, websites have no incentive to screen out discriminatory housing ads. The result is that such ads are proliferating in cyberspace.While this situation is problematic from a fair housing standpoint, it presents a valuable opportunity. For the first time in a generation discriminatory housing advertisements …

Following Industry's Leed : Municipal Adoption Of Private Green Building Standards, Sarah B. Schindler

Faculty Publications

Local governments are beginning to require new, privately constructed and funded buildings to be “green” buildings. Instead of creating their own, locally-derived definitions of green buildings, many municipalities are adopting an existing private standard created by members of the building industry: LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). This Article explains and assesses the privately promulgated LEED standards. It argues that the translation of LEED standards, which were intended to be voluntary, into law raises several theoretical and practical problems. Specifically, private green building ordinances that rely on LEED do not ensure a reduction in the negative local environmental impacts …

Protecting The Unsophisticated Tenant: A Call For A Cap On Late Fees In The Housing Choice Voucher Program, Wendy Tolson Ross

Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Landlords Of Last Resort: Should The Government Subsidize The Mortgages Of Privately-Owned, Small Multifamily Buildings?, David Reiss

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Will The Current Economic Crisis Fuel A Return To Racial Policies That Deny Homeownership Opportunity And Wealth?, Marcia Johnson

The Modern American

No abstract provided.

Women And Subprime Lending: An Essay Advocating Self-Regulation Of The Mortgage Lending Industry,Symposium On Law As Transformative Agent: Thinking And Doing Law In New Categories, Carol N. Brown

Law Faculty Publications

The subsequent national mortgage foreclosure crisis that seemed almost 5 uncontrollable by 2007 ignited a mortgage-related financial crisis that affected the global market place. News media, business reports, government investigations, 6 regulatory inquiries, and citizen suits focused national attention on the housing crisis and the problems attending what soon came to be known as the “mortgage meltdown.” A dual mortgage market had emerged in which subprime lending 7 disproportionately affected minorities (particularly blacks and Hispanics), women, and the elderly.8 Evidence of the disparate impact felt by certain minority borrowers is abundant and the evidence of gender disparities in subprime lending …

Green Cards For Foreign House Buyers: A Way To Help Stabilize Housing Prices, Gregory S. Crespi

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

The continuing decline in US housing prices is making it difficult to effectively address our nation’s financial and economic problems. Any measures that would serve to help stabilize housing prices without requiring substantial government expenditures merit serious consideration. Richard Lefrak and Gary Shilling have recently set forth in the Wall Street Journal the broad outlines of a proposed change in immigration law that would confer conditional residency and eventually permanent residency upon foreign purchasers of US houses. In this article I present and discuss a modified version of their proposal that is more comprehensive and that seeks to avoid the …

"How Did This Happen To Me?": The Ugly Truth About Real Estate Scams, Valerie Uribe

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Missouri's Public Defender Crisis: Shouldering The Burden Alone, Sean O'Brien

Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Privatopia In Distress: The Impact Of The Foreclosure Crisis On Homeowners’ Associations, Casey Perkins

Nevada Law Journal

Part I of this Note provides an introduction to HOAs, the foreclosure crisis, and the resulting recession that currently threaten many associations' financial stability. Part I begins with a discussion of the rise of common interest communities in the United States, as well as basic association functions. Following this historical introduction is a discussion of the foreclosure crisis and an overview of the severity of this crisis in Nevada.

Part II introduces the problems faced by HOAs across the country because of the foreclosure crisis. These problems fall into two general categories, budget shortfalls and physical deterioration of abandoned properties. …

First Principles For An Effective Federal Housing Policy, David J. Reiss

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Federal housing policy is heavily funded and made up of a morass of programs. This article provides a taxonomy of goals for housing policy. The article first asks what the aim of housing policy is. In other words, what can a well-designed and executed housing policy achieve? The answer to this question is not at all clear-cut. Some argue that the aim of housing policy is to allow all Americans to live in safe, well-maintained and affordable housing. Others argue for a more modest aim – achieving an income transfer to low- and moderate-income families that mandates that the income …

Looking Back And Looking Ahead As The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Turns Thirty-Five: The Role Of Public Disclosure Of Lending Data In A Time Of Financial Crisis, Richard D. Marsico

Articles & Chapters

This article examines the history of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and makes proposals for improving it to help prevent another economic crisis. Passed in 1975, HMDA requires most lenders to disclose information about their home mortgage loans, including the number of home mortgage applications it received; the purpose of each application; the type of loan; the decision on the application; the race, gender, and income of the loan applicant/borrower; the location of the loan and the median income and racial composition of the neighborhood; and the interest rate on the loan. HMDA was originally conceived of as a …

Alternative Dispute Resolution In Real Estate Matters: The New York Experience, Gerald Lebovits, Lucero Ramirez Hidalgo

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

This article is intended to provide an overview of the available ADR options in New York for individuals and those in the real estate industry and the advantages and disadvantages as compared to litigation. The first section examines the different forms of ADR available to the real estate consumer. The second notes the general advantages and disadvantages of these ADR processes. The third looks at the particular advantages of ADR in real estate cases. The fourth presents an overview of different ADR programs promoted in New York to resolve real estate disputes.

Gentrification And Mediation: Where A Single Pronunciation And Differing Perceptions Converge, Tiffany Ansley

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

This Note seeks to establish that mediation, when gentrification is involved, is the most suitable form of dispute resolution. Mediation, a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution ("ADR"), is the most well equipped method of dispute resolution to handle the emotional, legal, and community-based issues that arise as a result of gentrification. I argue in this Note that the effects of gentrification can be significantly reduced or remedied through mediation. The sources from which I draw to support my argument are research on case law dealing specifically with gentrification, research on the perspectives of persons negatively affected by gentrification, commentary and …

First Principles For And Effective Federal Housing Policy, David Reiss

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Keep Arbitration Alive: Why The Fairness In Nursing Home Arbitration Act Should Not Be Passed, Margaret Baumer

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

Like it or not, arbitration agreements are part of our lives. Most cell phone and credit card companies include arbitration agreements in their customer contracts. Furthermore, many consumer complaints regarding trades through the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) are resolved through arbitration. However, despite their pervasiveness, consumers generally remain ignorant of arbitration agreements until a dispute arises, whereupon they discover that they must submit to arbitration proceedings, rather than sue sellers. Often, arbitration carries with it the added disappointment of high fees and perceived arbitrator bias in favor of the business entity. The same is true of a nursing …

Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac: Creatures Of Regulatory Privilege, David J. Reiss

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

This book chapter addresses the appropriate role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-chartered, privately owned mortgage finance companies, in the United States housing finance sector. The federal government recently placed Fannie and Freddie in conservatorship. These two massive companies are profit-driven, but as government-sponsored enterprises they also have a government-mandated mission to provide liquidity and stability to the United States mortgage market and to achieve certain affordable housing goals. How the two companies should exit their conservatorship has implications that reach throughout the global financial markets and are of key importance to the future of American housing finance …

Slums, Slumdogs, And Resistance, Tayyab Mahmud

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Housing Is Harm Reduction: The Case For The Creation Of Harm Reduction Based Termination Of Tenancy Procedures For The New York City Housing Authority, Megan Stuart

City University of New York Law Review

No abstract provided.

Home Foreclosures: Will Voluntary Mortgage Modification Help Families Save Their Homes? Part Ii? : Hearing Before The H. Comm. On The Judiciary Subcomm. On Commercial And Administrative Law, 111th Cong., Dec. 11, 2009 (Statement Of Associate Professor Adam J. Levitin, Geo. U. L. Center), Adam J. Levitin

Testimony Before Congress

The results to date from MHAP are deeply disappointing. Even the most optimistic view of HAMP and HARP’s potential would now project the programs as having only a minor impact on the foreclosure crisis. Until and unless the problems of unemployment; negative equity, and servicer capacity, incentives, and contract restrictions are addressed, we are unlikely to see noticeably different results. These issues cannot be addressed within the current structure of HAMP.

Unfortunately, none of the solutions for foreclosures due to unemployment are particularly satisfying, and without addressing unemployment, foreclosures will remain at elevated levels. Bankruptcy presents possible solutions to negative …