|
Fannie Mae Accused of Racial Discrimination for Neglect of
Foreclosures in Toledo and More Than 200 Other U.S. Cities
Toledo Fair Housing Center Joins Civil Rights Groups to
Announce Filing of National Discrimination Lawsuit Over
Neglected Foreclosures in African American and Latino
Neighborhoods
This week, Toledo Fair Housing Center joined the National
Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and 19 other local fair housing
organizations from across the United States to file a
housing discrimination lawsuit against Fannie Mae in federal
district court in San Francisco, California.
The lawsuit alleges that Fannie Mae fails to maintain its
foreclosures (also known as real estate owned or “REO”
properties) in middle- and working-class African American
and Latino neighborhoods to the same level of quality as it
does for foreclosures it owns in white middle- and
working-class neighborhoods. The data supporting the federal
lawsuit, which includes substantial photographic evidence,
reveals a stark pattern of discriminatory conduct.
Based on an investigation
conducted from 2011 through 2015, the lawsuit contains
information from more than 2,300 foreclosures, including 125
properties in the Toledo area.
“Communities of color that are striving to recover from the
foreclosure crisis face an uphill battle when lenders do not
fulfill their responsibility to maintain properties,” stated
Michael Marsh, president and CEO of Toledo Fair Housing
Center. “When African American and Latino neighborhoods do
not receive the same level of care and attention from Fannie
Mae as white neighborhoods, they do not have the same
opportunity to build strong and stable communities. Fannie
Mae’s negligence demonstrates a disregard for the laws that
were put in place to ensure everyone has a fair shot at
pursuing the American Dream. We will not allow this inequity
to continue.”
|
U.S. Rep Marcy Kaptur, FHC Board Chairman Louis Escobar, FHC
CEO Michael Marsh
In 2011, this house was listed for
$63,000 and the owners had clearly maintained their home.
Fannie Mae came into possession and in 2012 listed it for
$10,500. Two months later it sold for $6,200 after Fannie
Mae continued to let it deteriorate …
Fannie boarded the windows instead of repairing and chose
not to repair the stucco. |
|
Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur joined Monday’s news conference
and expressed her disappointment in Fannie Mae’s actions,
stating, “What Fannie Mae is doing is outrageous. The wealth
of our society is measured by the value of our properties,
and Fannie Mae isn’t doing its job.”
During the past several years, NFHA notified Fannie Mae many
times of its failure to maintain and market its foreclosed
homes in communities of color to the same standard to which
it was maintaining and marketing the foreclosed homes it
owned in similar, predominantly white neighborhoods. In
spite of numerous meetings between NFHA and Fannie Mae to
address these disparities, Fannie Mae persisted in its
willful neglect of its properties in African American and
Latino neighborhoods. Fannie Mae continued these practices
even after the filing of a HUD complaint in 2015, so the
decision was made to escalate the case to a federal lawsuit.
Shanna L. Smith, president and CEO of NFHA, commented,
“Fannie Mae’s intentional failure to correct its
discriminatory treatment in African American and Latino
neighborhoods—the same communities hardest hit by the
foreclosure crisis—can only be seen as institutional racism.
This systematic and intentional neglect of foreclosed homes
in communities of color devalues not only the property but
the very lives of the families living in these
neighborhoods.”
Fannie Mae-owned properties in predominantly white working-
and middle-class neighborhoods are far more likely to have
the lawns mowed and edged regularly, invasive weeds and
vines cleared, windows and doors secured or repaired, litter
and trash removed, leaves raked, and graffiti erased from
the property. Conversely, Fannie Mae-owned properties in
predominantly African American and Latino neighborhoods are
more likely to be left neglected with debris and trash on
the property, overgrown grass, and invasive plants. The
windows and doors are often unsecured, left wide open, or
boarded.
The poor appearance of the Fannie Mae-owned properties in
middle- and working-class neighborhoods of color destroys
the homes’ curb appeal for prospective homebuyers and
invites vandalism because the homes appear to be abandoned.
Additionally, the blight created by Fannie Mae results in a
decline in home value for the predominantly African American
and Latino families who live nearby, deepening the racial
wealth gap and inequality in America.
Highlights of Significant Racial Disparities in Toledo
Between 2012 and 2015, Toledo Fair Housing Center
investigated 125 Fannie Mae foreclosures in
African-American, Latino, and white neighborhoods in metro
Toledo.
-
32.4 percent
of the REOs in White communities had fewer than five
maintenance or marketing deficiencies documented,
while only 9.8 percent of the REO properties in
communities of color had fewer than five deficiencies.
-
37.3 percent
of the REOs in communities of color had 10 or more
maintenance or marketing deficiencies documented,
while only 13.5 percent of the REOs in White
communities had 10 or more maintenance or marketing
deficiencies.
-
25.5 percent
of the Fannie Mae REOs in communities of color had
trash or debris on the premises, while only 5.4
percent of the REOs in white communities did.
-
31.4 percent
of the REOs in communities of color had an unsecured,
broken, or boarded door, while only 12.2 percent
of the REOs in white communities did.
-
58.8 percent
of the REOs in communities of color had a broken,
boarded, or unsecured window, while only 29.7
percent of the REOs in white communities did.
-
7.8 percent
of the REO properties in communities of color had
graffiti, while none of the REOs in white
communities did.
-
45.1 percent
of the REOs in communities of color had missing or
out of place gutters, while only 20.3 percent
of the REO properties in white communities did.
|
