2008 is the 20th anniversary of the Texas low Income Housing Information Service (TxLIHIS). In 2000 the board of directors…
Plight of renters unaddressed in foreclosure crisis
While the country focuses on the plight of homeowners facing foreclosure, the plight of renters forced to move due to…
It is time to abolish the ineffective Texas Residential Construction Commission
The hopelessly flawed Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC) has been recommended for abolition by the Texas Sunset Commission staff. The…
Dallas considers major permanent housing committment for the homeless
Mike Rawlings, Dallas’ homeless czar, has proposed that the city build 700 homes for chronically homeless people throughout the city…
Bo McCarver’s weekly housing news compilation – 8/20/2008
My friend and fellow houser Bo McCarver shares with the Texas housers blog the housing related stories from his weekly…
Who says home equity loans are a good idea?
Who says home equity loans (second mortgages) are a good idea? Primarily the banks who pushed home equity loans into…
After 25 years one Austin community development corporation is a model of success
The Blackland Community Development Corporation (BCDC) in East Austin is a model of what a successful CDC should be. The…
Texas Senate committee hears strong support for Texas Housing Trust Fund
A chorus of voices spoke up for an increase in the Texas Housing Trust Fund in testimony this week before…
New report says Dallas, Houston show increases in concentrated working poverty rates
According to a Brookings Institution study released this week, trends suggest that the decline in concentrated poverty that occurred during…
A critical moment in the housing tax credit program looms
On August 14 the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) hosted a “work group” to gather input on…
Dallas Morning News op-ed makes economic argument against housing segregation
An extensive opinion piece headlined, Poor assumptions: segregating poverty in Dallas is a money-losing proposition authored by Dallas Morning News…
Bo McCarver’s weekly housing news compilation – 8/13/2008
My friend and fellow houser Bo McCarver shares with the Texas housers blog the housing related stories from his weekly…
Part 2: 40 years after passage of the Fair Housing Act, still waiting for integrated communities
In the previous post I explored the debate and political process that went into the passage of the Fair Housing…
Part 1: 40 years after passage of the Fair Housing Act, still waiting for integrated communities
It is interesting and a little discouraging that on the 40th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act, part of the…
Reporter alleges Section 8 tenant crime wave, but where is the evidence?
The elite media has decided to focus on whether Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher holders are bringing crime to suburban…
Poverty comes to the Texas suburbs
Wednesday’s blog post about the persistence of ghettos in Texas cities led me to do a little more research about…
Are we encouraging people to buy homes who shouldn’t?
House Financial Services Committee Chair Barney Frank, commenting on the current foreclosure crisis and the importance of the passage of…
The persistence of Texas ghettos is a problem for us all
Ghetto: a portion of a city in which members of a minority group live especially because of social, legal, or…
Bo McCarver’s weekly housing news compilation – 8/6/2008
My friend and fellow houser Bo McCarver shares with the Texas housers blog the housing related stories from his weekly…
Something went terribly wrong at the Pleasant Village Apartments
“This is a terrible place to live, and I just don’t know how to get out.” – a resident of…
Focusing on the big picture of housing assistance
Let’s take a step back and focus on the big picture of housing assistance using this chart I have prepared…
When cities do not act, let’s give communities the power to take over abandoned properties
The problem posed by abandoned, derelict housing where cities have failed to follow through on code violations extends beyond multifamily…
Texas Housercast: Talking energy saving and green building in low income housing
This week’s Texas housercast is an interview with Walter Moreau, executive director of Austin’s Foundation Communities the state’s largest nonprofit…
Dallas Housing Authority director resigns under pressure – this is one tough job
Ann Lott, executive director of the Dallas Housing Authority (DHA) has resigned under pressure from members of the housing authority’s…
New housing bill presents TDHCA a test of its public purpose
When President Bush signed the big housing bill Wednesday he ushered in a number of changes to the Low Income…
Bo McCarver’s weekly housing news compilation – 7/30/2008
My friend and fellow houser Bo McCarver shares with the Texas housers blog the housing related stories from his weekly…
Lt. Governor Dewhurst pledges to “double or triple” Texas Housing Trust Fund
Speaking before the annual Texas Housing Conference Monday, Texas Lt. Governor David Dewhurst pledged that the Texas Legislature would double…
Questions, answers, concerns about the new $4 billion foreclosed homes program in Texas
One of the subprograms of greatest controversy within the major housing legislation passed by Congress on Saturday (HR 3221) is…
National Housing Trust Fund bill passed by Congress!
On Saturday the Senate concurred in House amendments to HR 3221, “The Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008”. …
Austin housers win funding victory
Austin housers won a major victory Thursday when the Austin City Council reversed city staff recommendations and rejected deep cuts…