PhillyTablet Inquirer Daily News
Mobile
Home Delivery
philly.com
email
font size
comments
0
options
 
Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Philly foreclosure program gets (more) national love

It's not every day that Philadelphia taxpayers can wake up and see that a local government program is continuing to gain buzz as a potential model for a national crisis, but here's the city's foreclosure prevention program featured positively in the New York Times.

This is on the heels of plenty of other local and national coverage of the program, and the designers need to be congratulated again for their innovative approach. It should be noted, though, that passages like this are cause for caution:

Some suggest the city’s program is plagued by the same basic defect as the Obama rescue plan: Nearly all the loans that have been modified have been altered on a trial basis, requiring homeowners to reapply for an extension of the terms after only a few months — a process that appears rife with obstacles, according to participants.

The program has boasted before about saving over 1,000 families from foreclosure, and we guess what the Times is saying here is: yes, maybe. The bottom line is that Philly's approach to this issue is more humane than most, and promising. But the jury's still out.

Review city services on our sister site, City Howl.
Posted by Doron Taussig @ 9:52 AM  Permalink | Post a comment
Comments   


0 comments
About It's Our Money
Every year, city government spends slightly more than $4 billion. Where does all that money come from? More importantly, where does it go? Are we getting the most bang for our tax buck? “It's Our Money” is a joint project between Philadelphia Daily News and WHYY, funded by the William Penn Foundation, designed to answer these questions.




MONEY AND JUSTICE DON'T MIX

City Hall

Imagine you're appearing in court, about a matter that's very important to you. You've never seen the judge before. But the attorney for the opposition has given his Honor thousands of dollars in campaign donations, which helped the judge become a judge in the first place.


ILLEGALLY PARKED TRUCK? CITY PASSES THE BUCK

City Howl

Randy Malone has a backhoe problem.


WILL THE NEW COUNCIL GIVE YOU A SAY?

 podcast

On this week's It's Our Money podcast, we talk with Zack Stalberg, president of government watchdog Committee of Seventy, about public comment in Council.

It's Our Money contributors

Tips? Comments? Questions?
Contact:

Doron Taussig:
215-854-5307
doron.taussig@gmail.com
@dorontaussig

Holly Otterbein:
215-854-5809
hm.otterbein@gmail.com
@hollyotterbein

Juliana Reyes:
215-854-5855
juliana.f.reyes@gmail.com
@juliana_f_reyes

Follow on Twitter

Advertise Here