Occupy Homes takeover of 3325 2nd Avenue: a public discussion on the Minneapolis Issues List

BY ED FELIEN

I think Andrea Schaerf echoes the sentiment of most readers on this list when she says, “I just am not sure I get what Occupy is doing here.” I think there is clear agreement on what they’re doing, but there are no easy answers to “Why?” and “What do you hope to accomplish with squatting in a house?”

First, let me make clear, I am not a spokesman for Occupy Homes. They don’t have spokespeople. They don’t need spokespeople. Their message is their action. I’m just a cheerleader on the sidelines—as I was at Roosevelt High School from 1954 to 1956. And, I admit sometimes the implications of Occupy’s actions can be confusing.

Some of the people in Occupy believe the banks should just turn the property over to the community. I think that’s naïve and utopian, and I don’t think there would be wide popular support for such a position. I have argued on this list that the city should intervene when a house is in default on its mortgage and about to go into foreclosure. Using its powers of eminent domain to prevent blight and neighborhood deterioration it should negotiate a fair price for the house. Banks have refused to re-negotiate a mortgage when a house is underwater—that is, when the owner owes more on the house than its market value, even though it is banks and mortgage bankers who bear responsibility for the collapse of housing values and the economic recession of 2008. I have never advocated that the city then just give the house to the homeowner. Jim Graham misunderstands my position: “Minneapolis could use the power of eminent domain to take property in order to give it to someone else.” The city should then SELL the house to the homeowner at a fair market value and a fair interest rate. This would be an abnormal situation. The city should not, normally, get into the mortgage and refinance business. But these are abnormal times. Banks have shown they are unwilling to make mortgages and they don’t really care to turn over houses quickly. As a result of bundling mortgages and reselling them again and again, many times they’ve lost the paperwork and it could take a year to find out just who does own the title. In the meantime we have crack houses, blight and neighborhood deterioration. This is a time when our local elected officials should step up and take some responsibility for their communities.

I think Mark Anderson is wrong when he says, “those who take over houses and stop foreclosures are slowing the process of the housing recovery. As John suggests, the positive actions we can take would be to hasten the turnover of defaulted houses. The squatters [that] this thread is about are doing the opposite of what is needed.” I am very much in favor of a quick turnover of defaulted houses. That is not happening with current banking practices. It’s the opposite of Woody Allen’s joke about dining in the Catskills, “The food is terrible and the servings are so small.” In our case, “The interest rates are great, but you can’t get a mortgage.” Once again, in order to speed up the turnover and preserve our neighborhoods, the city should use its powers of eminent domain and intervene.

Finally, John Gall criticizes me for comparing what Occupy has done with 3325 2nd Avenue to Habitat for Humanity rehabilitating a house and reclaiming it for the community: “I think you hit the nail on the head in your first sentence. Habitat for Humanity PURCHASES a house THEN fixes it up. That’s a great thing. Guess what, homeowners and investors also PURCHASE homes and fix them up. Same result. The home goes to market, home is purchased and a legal owner occupies the home.” I think John overlooks the fact that most of the people who get homes through Habitat could never qualify for a mortgage. That’s the situation for most of the people who are being foreclosed. The foreclosure will be the final nail in their credit coffin. I agree with John, “Lets say the banks are at fault.” I would go further. I would say the banks caused the crisis and we as homeowners and members of the community have to pay the price. It’s ironic that even though they acted illegally their credit is still fine. The government is happy to lend them billions to get back on their feet. And those of us who have lost our jobs and are about to lose our homes can’t get any help from a government that turns away and tries not to notice.

I am grateful to Occupy Homes for having the courage to act. I am grateful to Jessica English for her courage in facing arrest. It is absolutely disgraceful that our City will give $675 million to Zygi Wilf for football stadium, and it will call in the police to drive a woman and her children into the gutter, rather than find a way to help them keep their home.