Building Assets, Building Credit: Creating Wealth in Low-Income Communities » (New Edition)

Nicolas P. Retsinas is director of Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies and a member of the faculty of the Graduate School of Design and the Kennedy School of Government. He served as assistant secretary for housing and as federal housing commissioner at the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as director of the Office of Thrift Supervision.

Eric S. Belsky is executive director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies and an adjunct lecturer in public policy at the Kennedy School. He served as research director for the bipartisan Congressional Millennial Housing Commission and is a specialist in housing finance, economics, and policy.

Today, more low-income Americans have greater access to credit than ever before, thanks in large part to the growth of global capital markets and liberal use of credit scores. But not all have benefited equally from the opened spigots. Some are overpaying for mortgage credit, others are getting in over their heads, and some have become the victims of predatory lenders.

In this volume, noted analysts examine how low-income families can continue to participate in the American dream of homeownership, building up assets and equity along the way, and what businesses and government can do to ensure that low-income families succeed in homeownership.

FOREWORD by Edward Gramlich
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
1. NEW PATHS TO BULIDING ASSETS FOR THE POOR by Eric S. Belsky and
Nicolas P Retsinas
2. CREDIT MATTERS: BUILDING ASSETS IN A DUAL FINANCIAL SERVICE SYSTEM by
Eric S. Belsky and Allegra Calder

PART I: MAKING CHOICES
INTRODUCTION by George McCarthy
3. TO BANK OR NOT TO BANK? A SURVEY OF LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS by
Christopher Berry
4. REFINANCE AND THE ACCUMULATION OF HOME EQUITY WEALTH by Frank E.
Northaft and Yan Chang

PART II: BEYOND PRIME
INTRODUCTION by Edward Golding
5. CHANGING INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION OF HOUSING FINANCE AND CHANGING ROLE OF COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS by William C. Apgar and Allen J.
Fishbein
6. EXPLORING THE WELFARE EFFECTS OF RISK-BASED PRICING IN THE SUBPRIME MORTGAGE MARKET by J. Michael Collins, Eric S. Belsky, and Karl E. Case

PART III: KEEPING SCORE INTRODUCTION by Stephen Brobeck
7. HITTING THE WALL: CREDIT AS AN IMPEDIMENT TO HOMEOWNERSHIP by Raphael
W. Bostic, Paul S. Calem and Susan M. Wachter
8. CREDIT SCORING'S ROLE IN INCREASING HOMEOWNERSHIP FOR UNDERSERVED
POPULATIONS by Hollis Fishelson-Holstine 

PART IV: ROLE OF REGULATION
INTRODUCTION by Allegra Calder
9. MODES OF CREDIT MARKET REGULATION by Michael S. Barr
10. ACCURACY IN CREDIT REPORTING by Michael E. Staten and Fred H. Cate 
11. COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF DEBTOR PROTECTION RULES IN SUBPRIME MARKET
DEFAULT SITUATIONS by Duncan Kennedy 

PART V: WORKING TOWARD SOLUTIONS
INTRODUCTION by Ken Wade
12. INSTITUTIONS AND INCLUSION IN SAVING POLICY by Michael Sherraden and
Michael S. Barr
13. UNBANKED TO HOMEOWNER: IMPROVING FINANCIAL SERVICES FOR LOW-INCOME, LOW-ASSET CUSTOMERS by Ellen Seidman and Jennifer Tescher 
14. INNOVATIVE SERVICING TECHNOLOGY: SMART ENOUGH TO KEEP PEOPLE IN THEIR HOUSES? by Amy Crews Cutts and Richard K. Green CONTRIBUTORS INDEX