For a pdf version of the full stories and other contextual articles in social, economic and political areas, contact Bo…
Category: State issues
From following laws changed through the Supreme Court of Texas and the Texas Legislature to programs and procedures of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, we’re exploring statewide issues here.
City Council to vote (finally) on East Austin Homestead Preservation District
On Thursday October 16th the Austin City Council will take up the issue of creating the Homestead Preservation District. This…
Texas farmworker housing problems impact state’s agriculture industry
Motivation Education & Training, Inc (MET) the leading leading advocate and social service provider for Texas farmworkers. It was founded…
Analysis of HUD report on low scoring subsidized housing in Texas
A total of 107 or 9.4 percent of HUD assisted housing apartment developments in Texas earned a very low score…
My recommendations for dealing with the low-income homeownership problems in Texas
I was invited to testify today before the Texas Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee on the status of state programs to…
Bo McCarver’s weekly housing news compliation – 10/7/2008
An autopsy of Fannie Mae is offered this week by the New York Times, which asserts conflicting pressures to back…
Bo McCarver’s weekly housing news compliation – 9/30/2008
Tent cities continue to sprout across the nation as foreclosures soar and jobs disappear. The financial institutions that might generate…
Bo McCarver’s weekly housing news compliation – 9/23/2008
My friend and fellow houser Bo McCarver shares with the Texas housers blog the housing related stories from his weekly…
Lessons from Kartina and Rita about rebuilding permanent housing for low income hurricane survivors
We learned valuable lessons from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita about providing post-disaster housing assistance to low income families. This is…
How to judge the success of Hurricane Ike housing relief? Count the blue roofs in six months.
They are called blue roofs. The roofs are blue because FEMA pays contractors to stretch blue plastic tarps over the…
Bo McCarver’s weekly housing news compliation – 9/16/2008
My friend and fellow houser Bo McCarver shares with the Texas housers blog the housing related stories from his weekly…
Our ten point plan for rehousing low income Hurricane Ike survivors
There are many critical housing needs facing Hurricane Ike survivors of all incomes. Our focus is on the area of…
Apply the lessens of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita to the Ike relief efforts
We learned a lot of valuable lessons from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita about providing post-disaster housing assistance to low income…
We could have been better prepared for Hurricane Ike
At this hour the Houston-Galveston area is bracing for a forecasted direct hit from Hurricane Ike. Once again the impact…
Revitalizing nuisance properties to be explored at Dallas meeting
I have discussed the problem of getting cities to take action on abandoned and derelict properties in low income neighborhoods. …
Bo McCarver’s weekly housing news compliation – 9/10/2008
My friend and fellow houser Bo McCarver shares with the Texas housers blog the housing related stories from his weekly…
Texas should prioritize energy efficiency in low income housing development
Utility costs are a large and growing problem for low income families. We need to explore the cost effectiveness of…
State housing agency board acts fiscally responsibly on LIHTC awards
My compliments to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) board of directors who rejected pleas from low…
Bo McCarver’s weekly housing news compilation – 9/3/2008
My friend and fellow houser Bo McCarver shares with the Texas housers blog the housing related stories from his weekly…
When the next hurricane hits most low income Texas homeowners will not have any insurance
Many people were shocked in the wake of Hurricane Rita at seventy percent of the homeowners (who were overwhelmingly low…
New Census study documents stunning levels of income inequality in Texas
This week the US Bureau of the Census released a report titled. Income, Earnings, and Poverty Data From the 2007…
Bo McCarver’s weekly housing news compilation – 8/27/2008
My friend and fellow houser Bo McCarver shares with the Texas housers blog the housing related stories from his weekly…
As the pumpkin season approaches there is not housing for farm workers in the Texas pumpkin capital
The farm worker housing development in Floydada, TX and in the Texas Panhandle’s Floyd County is closed. Farm workers are…
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…
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…
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…
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…