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But that’s not nearly enough, said Carroll Fife, a housing activist who helped the mothers and just won a seat on the Oakland City Council. The new law gives nonprofits a streamlined way to purchase such properties. of Redondo Beach, took the property it had gained in a foreclosure auction and sold it to the land trust, which will use it to house homeless mothers. Gavin Newsom and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, the investor, Wedgewood Inc. Heavily armed sheriff’s deputes evicted the women, collectively known as Moms 4 Housing. It purchased an investor-owned home after a group of homeless and housing-insecure moms took it over late last year in a protest that drew national attention. In the Bay Area, the Oakland Community Land Trust recently took a slightly different direction. Trust South L.A., for example, would like to purchase homes and work with tenants or the defaulted homeowner to let them stay in the properties, Monge said. With that money, those community land trusts - which take land off the private real estate market so it can be used for affordable housing - could buy foreclosed homes.

Kevin Stein, deputy director of the low-income advocacy group California Reinvestment Coalition, said his organization is also encouraging banks to meet their obligations under the federal Community Reinvestment Act by lending or giving grants to community land trusts. “Something that needs to be lived in, rather than invested in.” “What we want to do is to address the commodification of housing and treat it more like something that needs to be provided,” he said. He said he sees an opportunity to use funds the city already has for combating homelessness, as well as future funds that may come once Joe Biden is president. Bonin said he plans to submit a motion in the coming weeks that asks city staffers to identify funds the city could use to buy homes that become accessible through the new law. Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin, who represents many Westside neighborhoods, said he wants to tackle that problem. “We are creating good policies that don’t come with resources,” said Oscar Monge, associate director of Trust South L.A., a community land trust that buys land with the goal of creating affordable housing. Amid the pandemic-fueled recession, many are strapped for cash, and the new law doesn’t earmark any money for these home purchases. They’d like to, but funding could be an issue.

Will nonprofits and government entities snap up these homes? Hobbs said borrowers might have some luck with a small bank or credit union if they’ve already built a good relationship there, but “I don’t think a traditional mortgage lender would lend on this.” Dustin Hobbs, a spokesman for the California Mortgage Bankers Assn., said the rules call for offers to be submitted in full, in cash or cashier’s check, which means the buyer would need their lender to hand over money outside the typical escrow process. “I am aware of clients who bought foreclosed properties in the Central Valley that were money pits,” Brown said.įinding financing could be tricky too. The buyer would be responsible for carrying out any necessary eviction. It could also be impossible to inspect a house for defects before buying it, especially if someone still lives there. There is a chance of additional liens on the property that could raise questions over who is the true owner, leaving the buyer vulnerable to litigation. Maeve Elise Brown, executive director of Housing and Economic Rights Advocates, recommended working with an experienced real estate agent who understands the foreclosure process.

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The manager of the foreclosure auction is required to maintain a website that details the highest bid at the auction and how to submit competing offers.īut if you are a traditional home buyer, experts say to be careful. “When we have rules that give advantage to a corporation. “Homeownership is the primary way people have to build up generational wealth,” she said. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), the bill’s author, said her goal was to make it easier for individuals and affordable-housing groups to compete with investors. Known as SB 1079, the law takes effect Jan.

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