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Long time ForeclosuresMass Member and Boston local Tito Jackson is running for Boston City Councilor-at-Large and we wanted to learn more about what he's campaigning for, what's happening with the real estate market in Boston, what he plans to do about it and how this all affects real estate investors.We caught up with Tito Jackson on the way out of the State House and asked him these questions and more.
ForeclosuresMass Monthly: How did you find yourself running for Boston City Councilor-at-Large?
Tito Jackson: I've been a life long resident of Boston and was born and raised in Dorchester, MA. I've always wanted to do more for the city. Recently, I worked in Governor Deval Patrick administration in the economic development department. I wanted to drill down deeper and help the city I grew up in to be better a place.
FMM: What are the major issues that you're campaigning for?
TJ: I've established what I like to call Jackson's 5 Point Plan for the City of Boston. My 5 Point Plan covers:
FMM: Tell us more about the Jobs issue.
TJ: The jobs issue is first and foremost. Everyone knows someone - a family member or friend - who is out of work. I'm following in my father's foot steps. He helped secure construction jobs not only for people from out of state, but for people in the city of Boston, too. By helping residents of our local neighborhoods, I hope to carry on my father's torch.
In the Patrick administration, I worked on creating jobs, primarily in the information technology space. My focus was on job creation, job retention and tracking the results. I know what companies need in order to grow their business here, hire employees and open their doors.
One is streamlining the permitting and regulatory process, as this can be burdensome. If you're looking to start or invest in a business and hire the amazing and local workforce we have here, it needs to be easier.
I'm very bullish on cleaning up the regulatory environment to make it simpler for employers to secure permits and clear regulatory hurdles to open their doors.
FMM: What's your plan for making housing more affordable in Boston?
TJ: It's important to look at homes as building the fabric of communities in the city of Boston.
I'm proposing a multi-year lease program that would allow a tenant to secure a five-year lease with lower annual rent increases. In exchange, property owners would receive a tax incentive. This approach provides financial security for tenants and reduces management costs for landlords.
There are many people who would love to live in Boston, but the city often loses young families to areas that are more affordable.
It's important to take advantage of the state programs that are already in place. The Massachusetts Neighborhood Stabilization Fund is a $20 million-dollar fund that extends low-interest loans to investors. This program lets investors purchase foreclosed homes and re-purpose them into affordable housing.
FMM: What do you plan to do with all of the foreclosed properties in the city of Boston?
TJ: Ideally, we could purchase and re-purpose them all. In my own neighborhood, properties have been purchased, fixed up and put back on the market at affordable rates.
There are many people out there who have seen this situation as an opportunity. One of the things I've been seeing is investors purchasing these properties, fixing them up and putting them back on the market.
I think it's important that we cultivate and encourage investors and community development corporations who can take these properties, re-purpose them into better use properties, and sell them at affordable rates.
Instead of leaving properties vacant, let's put people to work to rehab them and put them back on the market. We can do this through partnerships with groups such as the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance.
FMM: Can you tell me a bit more about Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance?
TJ: The MAHA offers a Soft Second program which splits home financing into two loans providing a low interest second mortgage that helps homeowners to avoid paying PMI.
When you look at the MAHA loans, their portfolio has exponentially lower rates of foreclosure. They've been very successful at keeping people in their homes as MAHA maintained a higher standard and partnered with banks that avoided unscrupulous sub-prime practices.
When we think about the long term, the actions we take now will impact the future. Too many banks were looking to make a quick buck today with no regard to the long term viability of their loans.
The numbers I see on the ForeclosuresMass.com website on a week-to-week basis show the results of the bad loans that were out there.
MAHA has been very successful by taking a long-term investment perspective.
FMM: What does all of this mean for investors in and around Boston?
TJ: What I'd like to see is an environment where we have a clear path for folks to obtain building permits, clearing excessive regulatory hurdles and therefore lowering the cost of remodeling properties. Investors would be able to pass on those savings to the buyers.
We would have the ability to plant the seedlings of the continence to build strong neighborhood relationships. It's important not only to purchase a house, but to be able to look out for your neighbors. That's how the neighborhood watch programs came about making neighborhoods much safer.
I believe in people making profits, too, and this also allows investing to be more profitable. It creates a better environment for buyers, allowing them to purchase properties at better rates, and build the kind of equity and wealth they need to retire or put their kids through college.
FMM: How can the citizens of Boston get involved?
TJ: They can visit TitoJacksonForBoston.com or reach out to me directly at 781-507-3987. On the website you can find out more about my platform, and sign up to volunteer. You can also, friend me on Facebook, and follow me on twitter.
I'm a self-professed computer geek. It's important that people have access to their public officials and that there's transparency and that we can be held accountable. These online tools allow anyone to keep up with what I'm doing on a day to day basis.
- Creating Great Jobs for Great People
- Making Housing Affordable
- Providing First Class Public Education
- Securing Safe, Clean Neighborhoods
- Building Partnerships that include YOU
FMM: Tell us more about the Jobs issue.
TJ: The jobs issue is first and foremost. Everyone knows someone - a family member or friend - who is out of work. I'm following in my father's foot steps. He helped secure construction jobs not only for people from out of state, but for people in the city of Boston, too. By helping residents of our local neighborhoods, I hope to carry on my father's torch.
In the Patrick administration, I worked on creating jobs, primarily in the information technology space. My focus was on job creation, job retention and tracking the results. I know what companies need in order to grow their business here, hire employees and open their doors.
One is streamlining the permitting and regulatory process, as this can be burdensome. If you're looking to start or invest in a business and hire the amazing and local workforce we have here, it needs to be easier.
I'm very bullish on cleaning up the regulatory environment to make it simpler for employers to secure permits and clear regulatory hurdles to open their doors.
FMM: What's your plan for making housing more affordable in Boston?
TJ: It's important to look at homes as building the fabric of communities in the city of Boston.
I'm proposing a multi-year lease program that would allow a tenant to secure a five-year lease with lower annual rent increases. In exchange, property owners would receive a tax incentive. This approach provides financial security for tenants and reduces management costs for landlords.
There are many people who would love to live in Boston, but the city often loses young families to areas that are more affordable.
It's important to take advantage of the state programs that are already in place. The Massachusetts Neighborhood Stabilization Fund is a $20 million-dollar fund that extends low-interest loans to investors. This program lets investors purchase foreclosed homes and re-purpose them into affordable housing.
FMM: What do you plan to do with all of the foreclosed properties in the city of Boston?
TJ: Ideally, we could purchase and re-purpose them all. In my own neighborhood, properties have been purchased, fixed up and put back on the market at affordable rates.
There are many people out there who have seen this situation as an opportunity. One of the things I've been seeing is investors purchasing these properties, fixing them up and putting them back on the market.
I think it's important that we cultivate and encourage investors and community development corporations who can take these properties, re-purpose them into better use properties, and sell them at affordable rates.
Instead of leaving properties vacant, let's put people to work to rehab them and put them back on the market. We can do this through partnerships with groups such as the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance.
FMM: Can you tell me a bit more about Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance?
TJ: The MAHA offers a Soft Second program which splits home financing into two loans providing a low interest second mortgage that helps homeowners to avoid paying PMI.
When you look at the MAHA loans, their portfolio has exponentially lower rates of foreclosure. They've been very successful at keeping people in their homes as MAHA maintained a higher standard and partnered with banks that avoided unscrupulous sub-prime practices.
When we think about the long term, the actions we take now will impact the future. Too many banks were looking to make a quick buck today with no regard to the long term viability of their loans.
The numbers I see on the ForeclosuresMass.com website on a week-to-week basis show the results of the bad loans that were out there.
MAHA has been very successful by taking a long-term investment perspective.
FMM: What does all of this mean for investors in and around Boston?
TJ: What I'd like to see is an environment where we have a clear path for folks to obtain building permits, clearing excessive regulatory hurdles and therefore lowering the cost of remodeling properties. Investors would be able to pass on those savings to the buyers.
We would have the ability to plant the seedlings of the continence to build strong neighborhood relationships. It's important not only to purchase a house, but to be able to look out for your neighbors. That's how the neighborhood watch programs came about making neighborhoods much safer.
I believe in people making profits, too, and this also allows investing to be more profitable. It creates a better environment for buyers, allowing them to purchase properties at better rates, and build the kind of equity and wealth they need to retire or put their kids through college.
FMM: How can the citizens of Boston get involved?
TJ: They can visit TitoJacksonForBoston.com or reach out to me directly at 781-507-3987. On the website you can find out more about my platform, and sign up to volunteer. You can also, friend me on Facebook, and follow me on twitter.
I'm a self-professed computer geek. It's important that people have access to their public officials and that there's transparency and that we can be held accountable. These online tools allow anyone to keep up with what I'm doing on a day to day basis.
Dorchester native Tito Jackson is running for Boston City Councilor-at-Large and can be reached online at www.TitoJacksonForBoston.com, by phone at 781-507-3987, on Twitter, on Facebook and on LinkedIn.
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