Note: please note that this issue brief should (a) link back to the issue overview on this topic, (b) be focused either the local, state, national, or global level, and (c) be neutrally presented, based on facts, and include footnotes for each of the items.  See the Research Guide and 

Information Sources to assist you.  Goal Statement

• Link here to Home Foreclosures overview page for the goal statement

  Scope of the Problem - Saint Paul 

• Foreclosures have devastated the urban community in Saint Paul and Minneapolis.  In the map below, blue dots represent 2007 foreclosures while the tan-to-brown color build-up shows median household incomes by census tract.
•    (UPLAN Report, 20)
• The spatial correlation between low and middle income census tracts and foreclosures is very clear from this map. Of particular note is the dark brown (high median household income) in the lower right corner of the map representing Highland Park.  There is a noticeable difference between the number of foreclosures within Highland Park when compared with the number in low and middle income neighborhoods across the city.   

Solutions 

• There are several programs operating on local, state, and federal scales to mitigate the effects of the foreclosure crisis in Saint Paul. 

  • Federal: Through the Recovery Act, the Department of Housing and Urban Development has aquired  $1.93 billion for the purchase and rehab of foreclosed/vacant properties. To disperse those funds, HUD is currently requesting applications for its Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP).  NSP is designed to stabilize neighborhoods hit by foreclosure and home abandonment through purchasing vacant properties for rehab/resale or demolition.  The City of Saint Paul is currently applying for a $45 million + grant to purchase 400 homes, rehab 300 and demolish 100.  The goal of Saint Paul's program is to sell these houses to new home-owners and will provide a $15,000 homesteading incentive.  The city will use local CDC's (Community Development Corporations) as city agents to manage the process.  The funding will hopefully be available beginning in January 2010.
  • State: A new foreclosure law passed during summer 2009 by the Minnesota legislature that delays that sheriff sale on a property another 5 months, giving home owners a chance to pay back what they owe. 
  • City: Saint Paul's foreclosure mitigation program      
  • Non-Profit: The non-profit community has stepped forward on several levels to address the problem.  Saint Paul has quasi-governmental District Councils that work within defined neighborhoods to mitigate the foreclosure crisis.  Many District Councils and CDC's offer home buyer incentives to families looking to homestead a property in their neighborhood.  Some non-profits like the Aurora-Saint Anthony CDC have worked to empower local community members to devise their own solution to the problem of vacant housing.  
  • Community Development Banks: Banks with a community focus have created programs specifically designed to encourage the purchase, rehabilitation and resale of vacant/foreclosed properties.  University National Bank, a registered Community Development Financial Institution, created a Houses to Homes lending program that provides financing to housing rehabbers.  The program has financed the rehabilitation of over 1,500 homes since 2000 and continues to grow as housing prices fall.

Policy Options   

• Link here to Home Foreclosures overview page for the policy options and/or model programs

  Key Organizations/Individuals   contacts for public and private organizations and key individuals

• University National Bank is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) serving the urban core of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.  It currently offers a "Houses-to-Homes" program supporting local home rehabbers buy and fix foreclosed properties.
• U-PLAN Community Planning studio developed a report on foreclosure crisis in Frogtown/Rondo neighborhoods of St Paul: U-PLANForeclosuresReportApril2009.pdf

  Glossary of Terms

• Link here to Home Foreclosures overview page for the glossary of terms related to this issue brief 

  Bibliography   web sites, reports, articles, and other reference material