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Committee questions MOHCD after limited-equity BMR units were lost to foreclosure
Summary
Supervisors pressed the Mayor—s Office of Housing and Community Development about procedures after two limited-equity below-market-rate (BMR) homeownership units foreclosed (Mission Walk); MOHCD said it halted 24 foreclosures overall, lost four units (less than 1% of the portfolio), and now has budget authority to purchase at-risk LEP units; public commenters disputed MOHCD—s responsiveness.
Supervisor Jane Kim opened a hearing on MOHCD—s procedures to track and intervene on below-market-rate (BMR) limited-equity homeownership units at risk of foreclosure, saying preservation is as important as production and noting the office previously preserved 101 units at South Beach Marina Apartments.
Olsen Lee, Director of the Mayor—s Office of Housing and Community Development, walked the committee through the redevelopment-era history of shared-appreciation and restricted-resale models and explained why the city moved toward long-term affordability tools such as ground leases and extended covenants. Lee said the MOHCD homeownership portfolio is large — "approximately a total of, I would say, 26,000 units" — and that redevelopment-era units make up a portion of that portfolio.
Maria Benjamin, MOHCD—s director of homeownership and BMR programs, outlined current foreclosure-prevention practices, partnerships with Homeownership SF and HUD-approved counseling agencies, quarterly outreach to homeowners, and targeted mortgage-assistance funds (MELP). She said MOHCD intervened to halt 24 foreclosures but acknowledged the office lost four units to foreclosure; MOHCD staff said two of those were tied to nonresponsive homeowners and changes in mortgage ownership. "We were able to actually halt 24 foreclosures," Benjamin said.
Supervisors and public commenters pressed MOHCD on the Mission Walk cases and on apparent gaps in responsiveness. Bettina Cohen, an HOA board member at Mission Walk, said HOA and property-management staff alerted MOHCD earlier about pending foreclosures and did not receive timely assistance; Supervisor Peskin said she would follow up offline to reconcile conflicting timelines. MOHCD told the committee it has recorded notices, updated monitoring, and budget authority to purchase LEP units at market rate to prevent loss of long-term affordability when necessary.
Supervisor Kim closed by noting this was the third hearing on BMR preservation and said she expects further follow-up to ensure past losses are not repeated. The committee continued the item to the call of the chair for additional review and follow-up.
