Middle Neighborhoods

Attending the 2024 Reclaiming Vacant Properties conference in St. Louis later this week? You won’t want to miss “Preserving Middle Neighborhoods for Future Generations” including members of the Middle Neighborhoods Steering Committee: Tom Goddeeris— Detroit Future City; Tiffany S.— Heartland Next and Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation, University of Chicago; and Kimberly Smith Drake, MPA— University of Washington Medical Center Redevelopment Corporation. The panel will also feature Kristopher Hoff and be moderated by Christopher J. Tyson of NCST (National Community Stabilization Trust). The session explores shifts and movement of Middle Neighborhoods over the past 50 years. Local practitioners will discuss tactics and policy approaches to stabilize all three communities. See you there on Friday morning (October 11th at 8:30am)!

Volunteer Management Software vs. Traditional Methods – Is the switch worth it? During our July Engagement Chat, special guest Liz Warner from Habitat for Humanity (Tompkins and Cortland Counties, NY) joined us to share ideas and strategies for using volunteer management software vs self-created tools like spreadsheets or (gasp!) paper-based systems. We learned a lot: Helper Helper: The App Liz’s program transitioned to the app “Helper Helper” a couple of years ago, which offers unique and useful options for volunteer management. The app is designed for mobile use – but can be accessed and used on desktops, laptops and tablets as well - and provides an affordable platform for tracking volunteer hours, listing volunteer and project opportunities, and streamlining communication. The program costs about $550 a year, is user-friendly (and has tech support options) and has innovative features such as photo integration, map functionality, and automated reminders. Transitioning to Digital: The transition from paper-based to digital volunteer management systems can take time and requires planning. Not all volunteers are equally tech-savvy and organizations may encounter resistance during initial stages from both staff and volunteers – especially since volunteers will need to set up a profile to sign up for a shift. Though implementing the system will take time, the long-term benefits can be great. One option to help with the transition, if available, is to use college students to help volunteers set up the app and their profiles. Liz’s program asked student volunteers to join them at events and use tablets to help people create a profile to clock in and download the app onto their personal devices. Once profiles were set up, the app became an intuitive tool for volunteers to find and sign up for shifts on their own. READ MORE ON OUR WEBSITE: https://lnkd.in/ewrneM3E

Middle Neighborhoods Best Practice Series: Analyzing the Investor Population in Your Middle Neighborhood   Investor purchase of single-family housing for rental has increased across the nation and in many instances has disproportionately affected middle neighborhoods. This is mostly due to the type of housing and neighborhoods that large national investors are interested in. Learning the facts about who owns which properties in your neighborhood, and what their business models are, can help practitioners and policy makers shape responses to curb negative impacts on a neighborhood. At the end of this case study, you will find a worksheet to help you with collecting and organizing data in your community.   Methods and Motivation Real estate investors can bring both benefits and challenges to a neighborhood depending on their goals and skill at property management. Here are some examples of potential benefits and problems that investors may bring to a neighborhood. Potential Benefits of Investors § Investors often acquire properties that no homebuyer would, i.e. properties that need a lot of repairs. § Investors might want to invest in the property for long-term equity gain, in which case they’ll likely take care of the property and manage it well. § If they are local, investors usually care about the community, and participate in community development efforts. § Investors may provide much needed rental opportunities for households seeking a single family home instead of a multi-unit apartment. § They may be interested in providing a good product at a fair price. Potential Problems with Investors § Investors often outbid homebuyers who might otherwise buy and become long-term members of the community. § They may strive to drain cash from properties, in which case they are less likely to invest significantly and may not even pay real estate taxes. § If they are out-of-state or international investors, they may have little knowledge of or interest in the communities in which their properties are located. § If investors are acquiring many properties in a cluster of blocks, homebuyers might be hesitant to buy there, and the community may not have enough long-term residents to care for the neighborhood. § Investors may raise rents drastically, impose new fees and have a rapid eviction policy.   Steps to Completing an Investor Analysis Here are the basic steps to completing an analysis of real estate investors:                                              Step One: Note what’s going on in your community Step Two: Make a data plan. What are the five main questions you want answers to? Step Three: Complete a data search Step Four: Build a map of impacted properties and neighborhoods Step Five: Build a story and a strategy. Define ways to protect neighborhoods and build strong working relationships with investors.   To read the full Case Study, visit our website at https://lnkd.in/eY6BsmCK    

JULY 30TH - FREE MIDDLE NEIGHBORHOODS WEBINAR Block Makeovers as Catalysts for Change in Middle Neighborhoods July 30th, 1:30 - 3:00 pm eastern Register at https://lnkd.in/eV_x3Q6e Block makeovers – coordinated improvements to one block during a single, week-long event — can create powerful visual impact, build community, and trigger spinoff investment in similar projects throughout the neighborhood. Because the improvements are clustered, their individual impact is leveraged to create a ‘wow’ result, and with intentional strategy they can inspire others to:   - make DIY improvements with access to tool lending libraries as available;   - apply for bigger home repair and improvement loans and grants; - engage with neighbors to organize block cleanups and social events; and - learn new home maintenance skills, such as power washing, landscaping strategy and simple carpentry.   Successful block makeovers require thoughtful planning and coordination. Choosing the right block, soliciting the participation of property owners and residents, securing resources and volunteers, and managing the timeline of multiple projects are key to a smooth week. In this webinar, hear from three practitioners about their experience with block makeovers: why they do them, the results they’ve seen, and tips for event planning and execution.   Guest panelists: Amber Lynch, AICP, Executive Director, Invest DSM   Justin Tirsun, VP of Neighborhood Investment and Community Engagement, Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise, Inc.   Amber Jones, Community Engagement Specialist, Community Action Partnership of North Alabama   Moderator: Marcia Nedland, Organizer Middle Neighborhoods Community of Practice

Check out this Middle Neighborhoods Best Practice on Using Down Payment Assistance to Advance Equity in Middle Neighborhoods.

New Tools to Advance Equitable Homeownership in Middle Neighborhoods June 13, 2:00-3:00 Eastern REGISTER AT OUR WEBSITE: https://lnkd.in/eV_x3Q6e SPCP is the shorthand used to describe targeted lending products designed to specifically advantage an economically disadvantaged group of people, under the Special Purpose Credit Program provision in the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Many national lenders have launched SPCP products such as low- or no-interest mortgages; down payment and closing cost grants; low-interest, low-fee refi products, and more. A growing number of regional lenders are doing the same. And one state HFA, the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, is about to launch an SPCP funded by a new $100 per-transaction recording fee. CDFIs and other nonprofit lenders are considering how they might implement SPCPs, too. In this webinar, we will hear from the National Fair Housing Alliance, co-author of the SPCP Toolkit, on the history and opportunities of the SPCP, as well as current trends in program design by all kinds of lenders. Next we will hear from Champlain Housing Trust about how their SPCP works, what went into its design, and how the uptake is going. Please join us to learn how you can help residents in your middle neighborhoods locate and access these programs, or even design one of your own to help close racial wealth and homeownership gaps while stabilizing your middle neighborhood.   Panelists Shanti Abedin, Vice President of Housing and Community Development, National Fair Housing Alliance, Washington, DC Julie Curtin, Director of Homeownership, Champlain Housing Trust, Burlington, VT Moderator: Marcia Nedland, Organizer Middle Neighborhoods Community of Practice

Join us for our Next Engagement Chat: Getting money for events AND volunteer management software When: Wednesday, April 17 -- Noon Eastern time Zoom: https://lnkd.in/eDwHaTTg

Check out this Middle Neighborhoods Best Practice on Shared Equity Housing.

FREE Webinar The Secrets of New Market Tax Credits in Middle Neighborhoods Monday, March 25 12:00-1:30 pm Eastern To Register: https://lnkd.in/eV_x3Q6e Did you think that New Market Tax Credits (NMTCs) were only for business development? Or that you had to be a large, high-capacity organization to access them? Or maybe you never heard of them at all? In this webinar, our speakers will let you in on all of the secrets to accessing this underutilized tool to raise gap-filling, flexible capital for homeownership development — in middle neighborhoods. A growing number of local governments and nonprofits of varying sizes have begun to raise large amounts of flexible capital using NMTCs, for both new construction and acquisition-rehab of homes for homeownership. Some projects are new cluster developments and some are scattered-site. Although NMTCs are a proven and powerful tool to scale for-sale housing development, the credits are underutilized for affordable homeownership development. Of the $76 billion deployed thus far, less than 2% has been used for affordable homeownership projects, in part because people in the housing field just don’t know about or understand them. Our speakers will explain how NMTCs work and how they got started with them, and they’ll describe a wide variety of projects in which NMTCs brought the critical piece of capital that made them possible. Speakers: Donna Aronoff-Smith, Executive Vice President Smith NMTC Associates LLC, St. Louis Jeff Hasser, Project Manager, Strategic Initiatives Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership, Indianapolis Donna VanNess, President Housing Channel, Fort Worth Moderator: Marcia Nedland, Organizer Middle Neighborhoods Community of Practice