A Study of Baltimore, Maryland, 1968-1970  The low-income housing situation in American cities is becoming steadily worse, Michael Stegman asserts, and solving housing problems with new construction is "economically inefficient" as well as "politically intolerable." This study seeks approaches that would combine the strengths and capacities of private investment with those of the public sector to achieve satisfactory housing for all low-income families in a reasonable period of time.  Although the question has often been debated, Stegman points out that no inquiry into low-income housing problems can afford to ignore the underlying market forces at work in the inner city. No one has consulted the so-called slumlord or made use of his intimate knowledge of the operations of the inner-city real estate market in developing low-income housing policies. "How many of them are competent and responsible property managers who should be encouraged and assisted in their efforts?" he asks. "What proportion are simply speculators who would turn public programs to prop up the inner city into windfall profits? Under what circumstances, if any, would they improve their properties voluntarily? Should housing policy attempt to phase them out of the picture or enlarge their role? These questions can no longer be ignored...."  Housing Investment in the Inner City begins by discussing the salient characteristics of Baltimore's inner-city landlords—their personalities, motivations, methods of operation, market sophistication, organizational skills—and the housing situation of low-income families. It then examines the operations of the inner-city housing market, analyzing cash flow statements for properties of different levels of quality in an attempt to identify what determines economic success or failure. For the first time, problems of both tenant and landlord are seen in a common framework as the question arises, How does increased tenant activism affect housing quality? Chapters in the book also focus on the demand for low-income home ownership and on nonprofit rehabilitation efforts.  This study sets up no fullblown solutions but rather presents a synthesis of the many ways in which city housing and related activities affect the nature of the inner-city housing market and investment climate in a large city which suffers complex urban problems, yet which is small enough to be understood and managed. From this particular experience, Stegman makes general recommendations aimed at leveling off the declining housing market and firming up the investment climate, while improving inner-city management capabilities.

Housing Investment in the Inner City: The Dynamics of Decline

Arts & Photography

Stegman, Michael A.

Architecture

M.I.T. Press

Beginning this year, federal payment recipients will receive their government benefits through electronic funds transfer (EFT)-- what most of us call direct deposit. Although cost-cutting is the driving force behind the move to a virtually all-electronic federal payment system, Michael Stegman believes the initiative has a far broader potential: to bring poor Americans into the banking mainstream. In this book Stegman outlines how many families will enter the mainstream banking system through EFT '99, as the program is called. He explains in careful detail the thinking behind the shift to EFT and the implementation of the program this year. He also argues that, for maximum success, EFT '99 should be combined with a program of national Individual Development Accounts (IDAs), dedicated savings accounts for low-income people that can be used for purchasing a first home, acquiring more education or job training, or starting a small-business. Essentially, EFT '99 will bring people into the banking system, and IDAs will give them an incentive to use the system to its fullest in order to make their money work for them and their children. There are other steps that the government can take to boost EFT's ability to help public aid recipients achieve self-sufficiency. It can: add a direct deposit option to state benefits payments programs; give banks significant additional Community Reinvestment Act Credit for establishing accounts for EFT recipients; and regulate fees for cashing government benefits and voluntary accounts so that people are not charged excessively for accessing their money. This book demonstrates that — with careful planning and a relatively small investment — the government's EFT initiative can have a major payoff in real assets and improved prospects for those who have been, for far too long, on the fringes of the country's mainstream banking system. Brookings Metro Series

Savings for the Poor: The Hidden Benefits of Electronic Banking

Business & Money

Economics

Brookings Institution Press

Some argue that no single housing program will make much difference and a new paradigm is needed. This conclusion is not surprising given that the work of a generation in piecing together a housing policy has been undone over the past decade. Even federal support for housing programs, for example, had been cut by 80 percent. For most of the same period, all-in cost of mortgages (including "points') stayed in double digits. While the mortgage interest deduction survived, lower income tax rates reduced its impact. Federal tax advantages for developers and builders of housing were drastically curtailed. And the savings and loan industry, originally intended to provide low-cost mortgage money, self-destructed. It should come as no surprise, then, that recent levels of annual housing sales are approximately the same as those at the time the nation had only a little over half our current population.When the national government, as it must, turns serious attention to the problem of housing for the nation's middle- and low-income families, 'More Housing, More Fairly' surely will be a significant source of ideas and guidance for those charged with creating a new housing policy.

More Housing More Fairly: Report of the Twentieth Century Fund Task Force on Affordable Housing

Politics & Social Sciences

Politics & Government

Twentieth Century Fund

State and Local Affordable-Housing Programs: A Rich Tapestry

Urban Land Inst

The Dynamics of Rental Housing in New York City

Routledge

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Books by Stegman, Michael A.