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Home Loans to the Poor Good Policy, UNC Says
Published in The News & Observer: December 18, 2008
By David Ranii
Home ownership has social benefits in addition to economic ones, according to a study by researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill
Low-income and minority homeowners are, for example, roughly twice as likely as renters to vote in local elections. They're also significantly more likely to vote in national elections and are more likely to be involved in their children's schools, according to the university's Center for Community Capital....
The ongoing study compares 4,000 low-income and minority homeowners across the country with a comparable group of renters. The homeowners obtained loans from lenders working with the Center for Community Self-Help, a nonprofit in Durham led by Roberto G. Quercia. Self-Help's program — which involves a partnership with mortgage lender Fannie Mae and is funded by a $50 million grant from the Ford Foundation — also helps lenders meet their obligations to low-income borrowers under the Community Reinvestment Act.
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