Welcome to The Home Equity Theft Reporter, a blog dedicated to informing the consumer public and the legal profession about Home Equity Theft issues. This blog will consist of information describing the various forms of Home Equity Theft and links to news reports & other informational sources from throughout the country about the victims of Home Equity Theft and what government authorities and others are doing about it.
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Another Gov't Housing Program Gone Haywire? NYC's Biggest Slumlord (Itself) Faces Intense Heat For Both Alleged Corruption & General Goofing-Off By Employees Surrounding Program Designed To Allow Poor Tenants To Buy Their Apartments In City-Owned Buildings For $250; A "Freaking Disaster Zone" Says Ex-Employee Of Those Running Outfit
In New York City, DNA Info (NYC) reports:
A city-backed housing program that advocates say has not delivered on its promise of offering tenants apartments for next to nothing is coming under intense scrutiny from investigators and the city's public advocate.
The Tenant Interim Lease program (TIL), which was meant to be a pathway for renters in city-owned buildings to purchase their units for just $250, is currently being probed by the Department of Investigation for issues ranging from stolen money to city employees slacking off, sources and reports said.
Now, Public Advocate Letitia James is calling for an independent review of the program, which she said has been inadequately funded and poorly managed by the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
“As our city faces a crisis in affordable housing, it is shocking that a city-run program is allowing hundreds of affordable units to remain vacant,” James said, noting that roughly 40 percent of the more than 2,300 units in TIL buildings are empty.
Tenants and advocates have labeled the program a “failure,” noting that many buildings have fallen into disrepair while residents have waited years to buy them.
The public advocate's criticism of the program has been laid out in a policy brief expected to be released Thursday, as the City Council's Committee on Housing and Buildings conducts an oversight hearing on the program.
The brief states that the program is “rife with corruption” and that HPD “has not adequately performed their jobs, because they were frequently unavailable or unreliable, inadequately trained or inexperienced, or failed to follow-up on critical matters.”
It also comes amid the DOI investigation, which has been ongoing for more than a year, the New York Post reported.
The probe reportedly includes investigating money stolen from a tenant association by residents, tenants allowing squatters to live rent-free and HPD employees slacking off.
The DOI would not confirm the investigation and declined to comment further, a spokeswoman said.
A former HPD employee, who spoke to DNAinfo New York on the condition of anonymity, characterized the agency as incompetent and called the unit overseeing the TIL program a “freaking disaster zone.”
“The biggest and only reason why the unit is a failure is the staff. The whole unit in itself needs a complete overhaul… everyone needs to go,” the former employee said.
“You wonder why HPD is considered the slumlord of the city because tenants don’t want to deal with them."
CBC News: Betrayal of Trust (A CBC investigation reveals how lawyers across Canada have misappropriated and mishandled clients money, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, or sometimes even charging vulnerable people top dollar for shoddy services)
Land Contract/Contract For Deed/Rent-To-Own Rackets
The New York Times: The Housing Trap (In the wake of the housing crisis, low-income families have turned to seller financing to buy homes but these deals can be a money trap)
Beware The Fine Print: Consumers Forced To Sign Away Their Rights To Use Court System
The NY Times: Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking the Deck of Justice(Part 1 in series examining how clauses buried in tens of millions of contracts have deprived Americans of one of their most fundamental constitutional rights: their day in court)
Foreclosure Mills' Abysmal Record In Complying With New NYS Foreclosure Requirements
Justice Deceived: How Large Foreclosure Firms Subvert State Regulations Protecting Homeowners
MFY Legal Services Report On Questionable Practices By Process Servers In Debt Collection Cases
Justice Disserved: A Preliminary Analysis of the Exceptionally
Low Appearance Rate by Defendants in Lawsuits Filed in the Civil Court of the City of New York
Mortgage Mess Redux: Robo-Signers Return (A Reuters investigation finds that many banks are still employing the controversial foreclosure practices that sparked a major outcry last year)
CNN Video: As Foreclosures Mount, Florida Court Turns To 'Rocket Docket'
The Wall Street Journal: A Florida Court's 'Rocket Docket' Blasts Through Foreclosure Cases (2 Questions, 15 Seconds, 45 Days to Get Out; 'What's to Talk About?' Says a Judge)
"Produce The Note" Strategy When Dealing With Missing Promissory Notes In Foreclosure Actions
ABC Video: Fighting Against Foreclosure (Some homeowners have found a new tactic to keep the banks at bay)
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