PASADENA—More than fifty people filled the office lobby of Fannie Mae on Wednesday, June 11, 2014 in a call for the federal housing agency to change policies which are evicting long-term homeowners.
The rally opened with chants of “Hey, hey, Fannie Mae, don’t take the American Dream away!” and “Fannie Mae, how many people did you evict today?”
Gisele Mata began the press conference by stating, “We're calling on Federal Housing Finance Agency director Mel Watt to return Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to their original purpose, which was to support home ownership, not make Wall St investors rich.”
The crowd gathered to call attention to the plight of Jaime and Juana Coronel, an Azusa couple who have “worked their whole life to afford the house they’ve lived in for almost 25 years. The Cornels lost their home of 25 years to improper foreclosure. Now, the Cornels, after renting three years from Fannie Mae, they qualify to buy back their home. We have a letter here today that proves that the Coronels are qualified to buy back their home at fair market value, but Fannie Mae won’t sell it back to them at market price. Fannie Mae is intent on evicting the Coronels to sell this house at the same price, that the Coronels can afford, but to someone else.”
“Crooks! Crooks! Crooks! Crooks!” jeered the crowd at this announcement.
Ms. Mata continued to explain, “Fannie Mae will probably sell this home to an investor who is going to flip it or rent it out. It is time to end this policy.
“Fannie Mae would like to make Wall St investors rich. Today you will hear from several families who are not going to let the FHFA bad policy destroy their lives any more. They’re fighting back.”
The crowd cheered back, “Fannie Mae, you will pay!” before Juana Coronel took the microphone to tell her own story. As an interpreter revealed, landscaper Jaime lost his job during the housing crisis. “We asked for a modification three times and they wouldn’t give it to us. Fannie Mae told us they would rent it to us, so we agreed, and we rented it for three years, never missed a payment, then they decided to evict us.”
“Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!” responded the crowd.
“My husband got so stressed out on this situation that he had a stroke. We are trying to buy back the house but they are demanding we pay $450,000 for this house that is only worth $260,000. All we’re asking is for them to sell us the house at the same price anyone else is going to buy it for, which is the market price,” concluded Mrs. Coronel.
As Juana Coronel signed a gigantic check for $260,000, Gisele Mata explained, “They are ready and willing with an investor who will buy back their home for them.”
California state assemblymember Roger Hernandez (48th District) and state senator Ed Hernandez (24th District) both sent letters of support for the Coronel family. “Thousands of hardworking homeowners are still impacted by the foreclosure crisis. To restore our economy and give everyone an equal opportunity, we must promote homeownership and prevent homeowners from needlessly being evicted,” wrote Roger Hernandez. “At this point, all major banks are using principal reduction to keep hardworking homeowners in their home as they continue making payments. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are among the last to utilize any form of principal reduction.”
A representative from Occupy Fights Foreclosures, Carlos Marroquin, spoke next, explaining, “We are here at Fannie Mae, not because we don’t have anything to do, [but] because things have not changed and we are very, very disappointed with the current status quo.
“We have 10 million American families that are underwater, yet Fannie Mae refuses to change their policies, not to throw them out into the streets, not to lose their home to foreclosure. It’s time for Mel Watt to realize he’s in office to represent the people of the United States, not Wall St!
“These polices back date from President Bush! Why are we still trying to force something that doesn’t work? We have seen millions of families thrown out to the streets because of these policies that don’t work. We want policies that work. We want Fannie Mae to work with families. They were bailed out by taxpayers! Now is time to make things change.”
Realtor Felipe Acuna from Century 21 addressed the crowd to explain the price at which the Coronels are willing to buy back their home, and to explain how FHFA polices for selling foreclosed homes are hurting homeowners, local businesses, and our economy.
Wednesday’s press conference was organized by the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) and Occupy Fights Foreclosures (OFF), who kept the location of the conference a secret until just hours before the event. After past experiences being locked out of Wells Fargo and Bank of America buildings, the activists knew they had to employ an element of surprise to get close to Fannie Mae. After arriving at Pasadena City Hall, the rally traveled through an underground parking garage to take an elevator with direct access to the Fannie Mae foyer.
After the press conference concluded, the people took to the sidewalks outside the office building to continue the rally. The picket line chants included: “Fannie Mae got bailed out! We got sold out!” and “Fannie Mae, you can’t hide! We can see your greedy side!”
Citizen journalist Nowhere Man wrote of the afternoon, “Strange characters began showing up in the Pasadena heat. Unmarked black-tinted windowed vehicles with men in suits appeared and began filming protesters. Who were they? Not sure, activists began filming them back—including their license plates.”
Livestreamer Patti Beers asked Carlos Marroquin why so many people showed up in Pasadena today, and he responded, “There’s about 20 million at risk of foreclosure, yet we are still working with the same policies that have failed us for the last five, seven years.
“Mel Watt continues to close his eyes. He had promised he was going to bring changes. We continue to see Wall St benefiting from the foreclosure crisis. We continue to see Wall St invest in foreclosures and turn them into rentals. We are asking for principal reductions, They could do it, immediately, it would jump starting the economy and the housing market. President Obama needs to know that there are millions of families that are worried, that are hurting.”
The Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment is asking everyone to call and email Mel Watt demanding an end to FHFA Bush-era policies:
http://bit.ly/TKNci7 Protesting Fanny Mae in Pasadena (41:35) by @PMBeers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y-jqZrBbyE Los Angeles People’s Media
@LAPeoplesMedia
