One of the rising trends that is resulting from an increase in foreclosures is with regard to school districts and their efforts to verify kids’ addresses. In order to prevent children from attending school in a district that they no longer live in, some officials are employing private investigators to track down addresses. Some school districts, reports the Wall Street Journal, even offer “tip lines” that parents can call when foreclosures force kids in the neighborhood to move.

The idea is to try and prevent overcrowding in some districts and underfunding in others. However, the tactic may not be legal. The Wall Street Journal reports that children can’t be chased out of schools because of foreclosures:

Schools can get it wrong when they attempt crackdowns, because of unreliable public records or ignorance of education law. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, an updated version of a 1987 law, says school districts can’t deny enrollment to children who are homeless because of foreclosure or other economic hardship.

“No district should be chasing people away because of foreclosure, but we know they are,” says Laurene Heybach, director of the Law Project of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.

If the reason for forcing some kids to switch schools has to do with foreclosures, parents may have recourse. But that could end in even more funding difficulties for school districts due to lawsuits. Maybe the school districts should back off a bit.

It is already distressing enough for a child to be forced from his or her home. Kicking kids out of school — in the middle of a school year in some cases — and forcing another emotional upheaval by taking them away from their friends adds another layer to an already painful situation.

image credit: PRA, via Wikimedia Commons

Tags: foreclosures, foreclosures increase, home mortgage loan, foreclosures school districts,
mortgage loan blog, foreclosures kids

One of the rising trends that is resulting from an increase in foreclosures is with regard to school districts and their efforts to verify kids’ addresses. In order to prevent children from attending school in a district that they no longer live in, some officials are employing private investigators to track down addresses. Some school districts, reports the Wall Street Journal, even offer “tip lines” that parents can call when foreclosures force kids in the neighborhood to move.

The idea is to try and prevent overcrowding in some districts and underfunding in others. However, the tactic may not be legal. The Wall Street Journal reports that children can’t be chased out of schools because of foreclosures:

Schools can get it wrong when they attempt crackdowns, because of unreliable public records or ignorance of education law. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, an updated version of a 1987 law, says school districts can’t deny enrollment to children who are homeless because of foreclosure or other economic hardship.

“No district should be chasing people away because of foreclosure, but we know they are,” says Laurene Heybach, director of the Law Project of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.

If the reason for forcing some kids to switch schools has to do with foreclosures, parents may have recourse. But that could end in even more funding difficulties for school districts due to lawsuits. Maybe the school districts should back off a bit.

It is already distressing enough for a child to be forced from his or her home. Kicking kids out of school — in the middle of a school year in some cases — and forcing another emotional upheaval by taking them away from their friends adds another layer to an already painful situation.

image credit: PRA, via Wikimedia Commons

Tags: foreclosures, foreclosures increase, home mortgage loan, foreclosures school districts,
mortgage loan blog, foreclosures kids

The latest incarnation of a housing relief bill comes from the Senate — and it has been cautiously praised by the White House. The Senate housing relief bill (dubbed the Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008) is a bi-partisan exercise in compromise from the committee dealing with urban affairs, housing and banking. FHA Mortgage Guide reports on the highlights of the housing relief bill:

The measure will allow the FHA to insure as much as $300 billion in new mortgages to replace existing toxic loans — but only for homeowners, not investors, and only if lenders will accept write-downs.

One of the main complaints coming out of the White House was the House version of the housing relief bill did too much to help mortgage lenders and speculative investors at taxpayer cost. The new version places greater emphasis on helping homeowners and forestalling foreclosures. The New York Times reports on the White House response to the new bill:

Tony Fratto, a spokesman for the White House, said the administration still needed to review the specific language in the bill. But, he said: “We appreciate and encourage the efforts to create a strong, independent regulator” for the government-sponsored mortgage finance companies. “We’ll look forward to seeing the details of the bill,” he added, “especially provisions to expand programs of the Federal Housing Administration.”

Now, though, with a House version already passed, there needs to be agreement on the two bill. This will be worked out in a special conference committee. There are hopes that Republicans will be willing to deal. They proved that certain realities were willing to get them to the table in the Senate — where Republican cooperation is more important than it is in the House.

Do you think that there should be help for troubled homeowners to avoid foreclosures?

Tags: Senate housing bill, housing relief bill, home mortgage loan, mortgage loan blog,
mortgage lenders, White House, foreclosures