Affordable Housing Podcast

Partnerships are key to the development of affordable housing and lenders like Wells Fargo Bank play an indispensable role in insuring that projects are completed and services are provided to residents. These days, banks also play an important role in helping customers to understand their options when they're unable to make payments on their mortgage loans. In this episode of the Affordable Housing podcast, host Joanne Greene speaks with Eden Housing Board member Tim Silva, Senior Vice President and Regional Director of Community Development for Wells Fargo Bank, who explains what the bank is doing to assist customers in avoiding foreclosure.

How Banks Help Customers Facing Foreclosure

Internet access and computer education are key components to the services provided to residents of affordable housing developments. In this episode of the Affordable Housing podcast, Joanne Greene speaks with Alan Greenlee, Vice President of One Economy California, an organization that helps to provide broadband access to low income individuals and other underserved populations. Alan speaks about the funds allocated to broadband in the federal economic stimulus package approved by Congress.

Stimulus Money for Broadband Access

There's much to be learned from the current housing crisis, according to Wellesley College Economist Karl Case. In this episode of the Affordable Housing podcast, he and host Joanne Greene discuss how we can move forward and take advantage of some of what's happened to create more affordable housing. Case say the primary lessons are that markets don't solve all problems, housing prices don't always go up, and the use of leverage must be controlled.

Lessons from the Housing Crisis

California ranks 48th in the new state report card on child homelessness, "America's Youngest Outcasts". In this episode of the Affordable Housing podcast, Joanne Greene speaks with Ellen Bassuk, president of the National Council on Family Homelessness, about the new study, how homelessness impacts children adversely, and what is being done throughout the country to address this growing problem, particularly in view of the increased number of home foreclosures.

"America's Youngest Outcasts" - Report on Child Homelessness

Though credit has been extremely tight, there has been plenty of activity of late in the San Francisco Bay Area real estate market. In this episode of the Affordable Housing podcast, Joanne Greene speaks with David Stark, Public Affairs Director for the Bay East Association of Realtors, a trade association serving over 5000 real estate professionals throughout the Bay Area. With a special focus on central and southern Alameda County, Stark assesses the market, what we can anticipate in the months to come, and the impact of foreclosures on the sale of homes.

Impact of Economy on SF Bay Area Real Estate

Details of President Obama's foreclosure relief plan have been announced and on this episode of the Affordable Housing podcast, George Duarte, Vice Chairman of the California Association of Mortgage Brokers, explains how the plan will assist some homeowners in avoiding foreclosure. From his vantage point as both a mortgage and real estate broker, Duarte offers an assessment of where we are in the credit crunch and how things are moving.

Fannie / Freddie Foreclosure Relief Plan

There's much that can be done on the county and city level to aid those who face foreclosure. In this episode of the Affordable Housing podcast, Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia talks about counseling to help residents to maintain their homes as well as efforts to deal with the numerous homes that have been lost in the crisis and are now empty. Supervisor Gioia addresses short term as well as long term solutions to the problem and shares his optimism that things will improve in the new presidential administration.

Foreclosures: Local Impact/Local Strategies

In her work leading the Child Health Impact Assessment Working Group, Dr. Lauren Smith, Medical Director of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, has uncovered many links between safe, appropriate affordable housing and children's health. In this episode of the Affordable Housing podcast, Dr. Smith explains the ways in which children's health suffers when they're denied stable housing and how connecting the dots will hopefully inform policy to improve access to acceptable affordable housing for low income families.