Real estate and housing leaders around the country gathered at the Brooklyn Marriott on June 25th, 2012 to discuss housing issues and to try to find ways to make home ownership more affordable. This private roundtable discussion was limited to chosen invitees only and provided an opportunity to candidly discuss some of the challenges faced in helping people buy or keep their homes. “I’ve never seen such a well-rounded group of housing experts in one meeting,” stated John Reinhardt, who is the president of Brooklyn’s largest real estate firm, Fillmore Real Estate. The meeting gave the local housing professionals a great chance to bounce off ideas and to see the concerns of others.
Mark McArdle, Deputy Chief, Treasury Homeownership Preservation Office offered an informative update as to how certain government programs were working. The encouraging news was that changes were made that now allow more people access to government programs. A lot of work is being done to push for principle reduction in HAMP programs; and that would be a huge benefit.
Challenges were identified and solutions such as better education to all those involved in the process, including foreclosure attorneys, will help speed up the process.
The invitation list of the Help for America’s Homeowners roundtable included:
U.S. Treasury, HUD & Partners
Mark McArdle, Deputy Chief, Treasury Homeownership Preservation Office
Carol Lambert, Manager of Marketing, Treasury Homeownership Preservation Office
John Dalton, President, The Housing Policy Council
Philip Caulfield, Senior Program Analyst, HUD
Jacqui Cosgrove, State Relations Manager, Freddie Mac
Jeff Markowitz, Vice President of Government Relations, Freddie Mac
Bruce Read, Director, Fannie Mae
Jim Orr, Assistant Vice President, Regional Analysis Funtion, Research and Statistics, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Faith Schwartz, Executive Director, HOPE NOW
State & Local Government
William Carbine, Assistant Commissioner of Neighborhood Services, New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development
Lindsay Haddix, Chief of Staff, New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development
Boris Noble, Housing Specialist, Office of the Brooklyn Borough President
Rebecca Sinclair, Senior Community Development Advisor, Office of Governor Cuomo
Mortgage Servicers
Bonnie Boards, Vice President of the Homeownership Preservation Office, JP Morgan Chase
Roger Braggs, Vice President, National Mortgage Outreach, Bank of America
Mark Folweiler, National Outreach Manager, GMAC
Jeff Jaffee, Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer, CITI Mortgage
Hugh Rowden, Regional Servicing Community & Home Preservation Director, Wells Fargo
Real Estate Professionals
Jaren Davis, President & Chair of National Association of Realtor’s Conventional Finance and Lending Committee, JLD Development
John Reinhardt, President & CEO, Fillmore Real Estate
Julie Thum, Realtor, REMAX and Former President, Women’s Council of Realtors
Dawn Tsein, Executive Vice President, Prudential and President, AREAA Metro New York
Community Organizations, Housing Counselors & Other
Salvatore D’Avola, Executive Director, Neighborhood Restore
Jennifer Jones Austin, Senior Vice President for Community Investment, United Way
Ayanna Forston, Operations Manager, National Urban League
Janelle Greene, Director of Government & Community Relations, Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City
Bernell Grier, CEO, Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City
Daniel Martin, President & CEO, Housing Partnership Development Corporation
Shiela Martin, Chief Operating Officer, Housing Partnership Development Corporation
Christie Peale, Executive Director, Center for NYC Neighborhoods
Yahya Raji, Executive Director, Brooklyn Neighborhood Improvement Association
Cy Richardson, Vice President for Housing & Community Development, National Urban League
Max Weselcouch, Data Manager & Research Analyst, NYU Furman Center for Real Estate
Jessica Yager, Policy Director, NYU Furman Center for Real Estate
Fillmore Real Estate (fillmore.com)
