http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories ... 21&ntpid=4

Undocumented workers could get home help
City proposal would aid workers buy homes
By Judith Davidoff
May 10, 2005

Undocumented workers who pay Social Security taxes would be eligible for homeownership and housing rehab assistance from the city, under a proposal endorsed by the Board of Estimates.

The City Council will consider the measure next Tuesday.

In an interview, Barb Constans, grants administrator for the Community Development Block Grant Commission, said the commission took five months to come up with underwriting criteria to mitigate some of the risks the city would face in loaning funds to undocumented residents.

Under the proposal, for instance, undocumented residents would have to come up with at least a 5 percent down payment.

Constans said the city's debt-to-income ratios are also more stringent than what many lenders' require.

The proposal aims to help an "underserved population" in the city, she said. "These are individuals working in the U.S., earning money and paying taxes."

Undocumented workers without Social Security numbers often are required to obtain ITIN numbers (individual tax identification number) from the federal government through which they pay taxes they will likely never see back in the form of Social Security retirement benefits.

Ald. Zach Brandon queried Constans and Peter Munoz, director of Centro Hispano, on the justification for the measure, but little opposition was expressed at the Board of Estimates meeting Monday and it passed easily.

Ald. Austin King, a member of the Community Development Block Grant Commission, said in an interview he could not support the proposal as is because it creates a two-tier system.

Only undocumented workers have to come up with a 5 percent down payment from another source, he said.

"If you are documented you can get 100 percent loan to value," said King.

But King said he supports the main aim of the proposal and will try to amend it when it is considered by the full City Council.

"On the whole, this is a great step forward for Madison," he said. "It really brings us into the 21st century in terms of our practices as a lender. This is the direction the entire country is heading in."

E-mail: jdavidoff@madison.com


Published: 9:41 AM 5/10