The Rutgers historian wrote the book on an obscure form of predatory lending from the mid-20th century that victimized black home buyers when banks would not lend them mortgages. Her book, "Family Properties," came out in 2009, on the heels of the housing crash. And as she traveled the country talking about it — about families defrauded from the homes they thought they owned, about sellers who promised home ownership but collected deposits and evictions instead — people kept approaching her.
"Pretty much everywhere I go, people say 'I’ve been hearing about this,'" Satter says. "Contract" selling is making a comeback.
In this model, buyers shut out from conventional lending are offered an alternative: They can make monthly payments on a home directly to the seller, instead of a bank, with the promise of receiving the deed only once the property is entirely paid off, 20 or 30 years down the road. In the meantime, they have few of the legal protections of a typical home buyer but all of the responsibilities of one. They don't build equity with time. They can be easily evicted. And if that happens, they lose all of their investment.
According to the Detroit Free Press, more homes were bought in Detroit last year using such "land contracts" or "contracts for deeds" than conventional mortgages. In a series of recent stories, the New York Times has reported that Wall Street is now betting on this market, with investors buying foreclosed homes by the thousands and selling them on contract. Earlier this week, the Times reported that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is now investigating the practice's resurgence, although it is not by definition illegal.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...urgence-today/
I still think, all told, housing policy is the key instrument of white supremacy in the US.
So the next time you hear someone B!tch and Complain about Ghetto's, just remember who where the Ass-Hole's who created them.