Reports and Studies

While the United States faces one of the most significant housing crises in the nation's history, many forget that Indian housing has been in crisis for generations. This report seeks to take some important steps toward a future where safe, affordable, and decent housing is available to Native people in numbers sufficient to meet the housing needs that exist in Indian country today. This study provides first-of-its-kind analysis of a critical barrier to homeownership on Indian lands. It analyzes the success of tribes that have taken responsibility (in whole or in part) for administering the land title process on tribal lands. It also addresses the challenges those tribes have faced. Section 1 outlines the significant obstacles to homeownership strategies for Native communities. In Section 2, the report delves into the experiences of five tribes that are managing aspects of the land title process in their communities. In Section 3, the report details findings from a site visit and in-depth interview at the Bureau of Indian Affairs regional offices in Portland, Oregon and Aberdeen, South Dakota. Finally, Section 4 of the report draws conclusions and makes specific recommendations about the future of land title processing on Indian lands. This report is the culmination of two years of research funded by NeighborWorks America and Stewart Title Company. Complete info »

This is a case study of the first resident-owned community created outside of New Hampshire under the guidance of the ROC USA system, and featuring PathStone, a member of the NeighborWorks Network and a certified technical assistance provider (CTAP) for ROC USA. Complete info »

In 2008, NeighborWorks America made a formal commitment to "go green". A key component of that initiative is to support our nationwide network of community development organizations in bringing green tools, building techniques, and healthy environmental impact to urban, suburban, and rural communities across America. Over the last year we've made great strides, expanding our Green Course curriculum that provides education and skills training in healthy homes and green construction, and launching a Green Certificate program to train practitioners in successful strategies for green building and sustainable design. With the support of The Home Depot Foundation, NeighborWorks made more than $1.7 million in grants to support the NeighborWorks network in "green" activities including new construction, rehabilitation/renovation, and multifamily energy efficiency. A portion of that grant money also went to conducting Green Audits at twenty NeighborWorks organizations across the country. Working with the sustainability consultancy that helped us measure our own carbon footprint, these Green Audits provided each organization with a snapshot of their current environmental impacts, annual carbon footprint, and recommendations for going green. This guide builds on the observations gathered during those twenty-two Green Audits of NeighborWorks organizations. Its goal is to provide community development organizations with tools and strategies to go green. From understanding how to measure your organization's environmental impacts to choosing quick and easy ways to improve your office practices, we hope that this guide can be a source of inspiration. We've also included case studies from current NeighborWorks organizations, so that you can see how organizations like yours are incorporating green elements into their business operations. Whether you're ready to join us in the ambitious goal to reduce our carbon footprint by 10% in three years, or just looking for a few simple ways to be more eco-friendly at work, this guide is a great place to start. Read it all the way through, or sample a few pages as needed. Just be prepared -- once you start the process, the benefits of going green become hard to ignore! Complete info »

In 2008, Community Housing Partners (CHP), with funding and research support from NeighborWorks America, engaged in a study to better understand the financial impact of resident services on property performance in service-enriched affordable family rental housing. Examining data from FY 2006 and 2007, this study finds that operational costs relating to vacancy loss, bad debt and legal expenses were significantly lower at properties with resident services than at those without resident services. In addition to these findings, the report offers opportunities for future replication, development of best practices and recommendations for next steps. Complete info »

Annual report of NeighborWorks America's Community Building and Organizing Initiative. Complete info »

How do you reach the people at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure -- before it's too late? Too many homeowners don't reach out for help soon enough. Whether due to fear, embarrassment, or lack of knowledge about the alternatives, delay can make the difference between renegotiating a mortgage on workable terms, or losing a home.

The following case studies, focusing on outreach to niche communities, provide organizations with new tools and strategies. Each case study describes a real organization addressing the real challenges of reaching various constituencies they serve. Each includes a summary of lessons learned and who to contact for more information. Complete info »

Real estate owned (REO) housing resulting from the recent foreclosure crisis threatens to destabilize low- and moderate-income neighborhoods across the country. Nonprofit organiza-tions seeking to redevelop these properties into affordable housing face weak market condi-tions and operate with limited resources and capacity. This study presents a framework through which nonprofits can analyze REO redevelopment opportunities for 1- to 4-unit properties within their communities. The paper specifies the conditions necessary for REO redevelopment and discusses how local market conditions, the geographic distribution and the physical characteristics of REOs, their ownership and legal status, internal organizational capacity, and public policies each affect nonprofit efforts to acquire, rehabilitate, sell and rent REO properties. Finally, this paper considers the unique difficulties of the current situation relative to past vacant-housing scenarios and concludes that many nonprofits may wish to pursue alternative, non-redevelopment strategies. Complete info »

The purpose of this handbook is to provide community development organizations (CDOs) with basic information useful for the following:

- Developing organizational continuity of operations plans.

- Proactively assisting their communities with preparedness.

- Pre-planning for recovery and actual disaster recovery.

More detailed information on these topics can be obtained from Web sites referenced at the end of this document.

Typically after disasters, the vast majority (80%) of the affected population is able to manage its own recovery. The remaining 20% will need special assistance that CDOs and nonprofit organizations are uniquely positioned to provide. The kinds of assistance victims need varies greatly based on the type of disaster or crisis that has occurred and on each individual household's particular circumstances.

CDOs have aided their communities' recovery from disaster with counseling services such as foreclosure prevention, help with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Small Business Association (FEMA and SBA) process, disaster recovery case management, rehabilitation services, recovery fundraising, volunteer management, new construction management, assistance in development of economic recovery, temporary housing to disaster victims, funding for day care, providing meeting spaces for recovery planning, communication with clientele, mental health services and so on. CDOs have also worked with local government to create a recovery that is sustainable and creates a better community than prior to the disaster. CDOs have responded to the needs of their existing clientele as well as disaster victims who were not in need of the CDOs' services previously.

In order for CDOs to be positioned to provide assistance they must still be operational after the storm has passed. The first section of this handbook is a workbook designed to assist CDOs with step-by-step development of an organizational business continuity plan (BCP).

The second portion of this handbook lists steps that organizations can take to work with emergency management leaders in their communities to encourage individual households and communities to be better prepared for natural and man-made disasters.

The third and fourth sections of this handbook address issues associated with recovery. There is a guide to pre-planning for recovery, a guide to developing a disaster recovery notebook and best practices, and considerations and opportunities for housing, economic and community recovery are suggested.

A resources section is included to provide additional information on preparedness for and recovery from disasters. Complete info »

Complete info »

In the midst of all the foreclosures sweeping the country, and the turmoil on Wall Street, nonprofit housing organizations are quietly going about the work of stabilizing communities hard hit by the crisis. Most have had frontline responsibility for counseling families threatened with foreclosure. With their assistance tens of thousands of families have restructured their budgets, negotiated with servicers to modify their loans, and saved their homes. Other families, too far along in the foreclosure process to stop it from happening, have received help transitioning to new housing arrangements.

While the work with distressed homeowners must continue, nonprofits are feeling increased pressure to deal with the growing foreclosed housing stock. These units are causing incalculable harm to neighborhoods, and any hope of housing recovery must ensure that these units are swiftly put back into productive use or demolished. This collection of 14 case studies outlines strategies that nonprofit organizations across the country are using to begin the process of repairing damaged communities.

The stakes are enormous. Vacant housing invites vandalism, and becomes a hub for gangs and crime. Virtually all case study subjects reported that, within weeks of housing becoming vacant, thieves break into the units and strip them of their valuable copper plumbing and wiring, heedless of any destruction they leave in their wake. In Phoenix a half-finished, abandoned subdivision was used as an informal "Home Depot" as other homeowners broke in and helped themselves to fixtures and appliances. In Cleveland, vandals remove not just the copper but the aluminum siding from vacant houses. In photos these houses have a desolate, post-disaster look, like the aftermath of a hurricane. When units get demolished the vacant lots soon sprout grass and trash, adding to the community's forlorn appearance.

Vacant, deteriorated units place a downward pressure on housing values that puts nearby neighbors in a bind. In order to sell their units they will have to reduce the price, as no one will pay top dollar to live in a blighted neighborhood. Yet their ability to refinance into a more affordable mortgage may be compromised by the drop in property values; in some cases this leads to additional foreclosures and the downward cycle continues.

Intervening in these troubled neighborhoods is challenging. In some markets housing prices are still falling, making it hard to determine the value of the units. Bank asset managers and servicers often lack detailed knowledge of the markets, or even of the units they have in their own inventory. This leads them to overvalue their properties and hold out for more than they are worth, delaying the process of acquiring and renovating them for resale to new homebuyers. Finally, the complex ownership structure of mortgages which were rolled into collateralized debt obligations and other investment vehicles makes it very difficult to establish who owns properties and who has authority to negotiate their sale.08 Complete info »