Fostering Homeownership Stability, Creating a Model for Other CDFIs

About this Project

This loan will allow Sustainable Neighborhoods, a national community development financial institution (CDFI) subsidiary of the Center for NYC Neighborhoods, to preserve and protect homeownership and to continue expanding its work outside of New York City.

The Center for NYC Neighborhoods was created in 2007 to help address the subprime mortgage crisis and Great Recession; it has also played a critical role in Hurricane Sandy relief.

The Center provides mortgage assistance, foreclosure prevention, flood insurance, scam prevention, home repairs, and retrofit services. It serves households with an average income of $46,000 and has assisted more than 3 million homeowners across New York State, saving more than 17,000 homes and preserving more than $10 billion in property value.

In 2024, its Sustainable Neighborhoods subsidiary was the only national CDFI with a comprehensive array of financial products such as loans and services aimed at protecting and preserving homeownership. It provides a model for how CDFIs can make investments that preserve and protect homeownership.

Learn more at cnycn.org/.

Challenge

While there are many initiatives underway to increase homeownership rates, there are limited federal resources or public or private programs aimed at preserving homeownership, adding complexity to the housing crisis.

People lose homes for multiple reasons, including critical unattended repairs or foreclosure, which occur when ownership becomes unaffordable—often due to the increasing cost of homeowners insurance, property tax hikes, or the loss of a job of other income. The Federal Reserve estimates the cost of needed home repairs at more than $149 billion nationally.

Among both homeowners and renters, people of color are more likely to live in substandard housing, due to policies and practices that often limit housing choices in practice to aging or substandard homes. Center for NYC Neighborhoods’ data show that private-market lenders approved only 23% of home improvement loans from applicants who are Black and 19% of applicants who are Hispanic in East New York.

Solution

Protecting homeownership—often a household’s most valuable asset—can positively impact health, safety, and short- and long-term financial security and can have a broader effect on the stability of entire neighborhoods. It also creates generational wealth and offers an asset that owners can borrow against for goals like starting a business or paying for education. Sustainable Neighborhoods manages New York State’s HomeFix program, which provides affordable low-interest loans for home repairs.

The average HomeFix loan is $30,000 and can be used for home maintenance, improvements, or energy-efficiency upgrades. Loans can also be used for weatherization improvements to protect homes from flooding and other extreme weather events. Sustainable Neighborhood’s affiliate, the Center for NYC Neighborhoods, also helps borrowers complete needed applications, secure contractor bids, and inspect construction work to ensure home repair quality.

In the Spotlight

MJ, a 68-year-old Bronx homeowner who is blind and cares for her disabled daughter, faced a series of challenges. After her mortgage servicer misapplied her payments, MJ sought help from a legal partner to resolve the issue. During this process, serious damage to her roof was uncovered, requiring urgent repairs. Through the HomeFix program, MJ secured funding for the repairs, only to encounter another obstacle—a lingering foreclosure judgment from 2015 that prevented her from accessing the funds.

Despite her bankruptcy filing and loan modification years earlier, the judgment had not been vacated due to miscommunication and instability among mortgage servicing and legal service providers. With legal support, an emergency court application was filed to vacate the judgment, clearing the way for MJ to move forward with her home repairs. Her story highlights not only the systemic biases and inefficiencies that disproportionately affect vulnerable homeowners but also The Center’s unique capability to provide wraparound services. By addressing interconnected issues, programs like HomeFix protect homeowners, preserve generational wealth, and strengthen communities.

Center for NYC Neighborhood’s Impact Measures

• Expand HomeFix and Sustainable Neighborhood programs by providing loans to 150 households across New York State and preserving $105 million in property value.
• Increase equitable access to home improvement and resiliency loans.
• Provide a model for preserving homeownership by financing home repairs, preventing foreclosure through mortgage assistance, and providing affordable insurance and legal assistance to prevent tangled titles.